Nerds Are Freaks Too (6 page)

WantTheBIGOne
: ?

ThePuppetMaster
: That’s me slapping your ass…
my
ass!

The thought of him spanking the soft globes of her ass until
both cheeks jiggled made Roxanne rock on her toes. The room temperature
escalated. Beads of sweat broke out on her upper lip.

ThePuppetMaster
: I’m moving harder and faster and
you’re meeting every thrust.

As she kept pumping her finger, Roxanne found herself stuck
between an orgasm and frustration. She slipped her fingers between her legs and
rubbed her clit faster and faster, in time with her other hand. The feeling was
so unbelievable, her eyes rolled.

“This is insane,” Roxanne huffed, quickening her pace. No
way was she coming from some online chat!

But it appeared she was. Any second now…

ThePuppetMaster
: I’m about to come. You like that,
don’t you, the idea of me coming all over my keyboard. I want you to come too.

Finally given permission, Roxanne allowed her sexual
frustration to spill over into a full-throttle orgasm. Her knees buckled and
she sank to the floor, a shout of joy exploding from her lips as her release
gushed over her fingers.

Roxanne wasn’t sure how much time had lapsed before she
received another screen prompt. Unable to resist the strange pull Constantine
had over her, Roxanne dragged herself from the floor.

ThePuppetMaster: Did you like how I made you come?

Roxanne smiled despite herself. The arrogant bastard. He
wasn’t asking
if
she’d climaxed.

WantTheBIGOne
: I more than liked it. I might be
addicted.

ThePuppetMaster
: Me too. Now—can we get to know each
other better?

WantTheBIGOne
: Can I get that list first?

Chapter Four

“Miss Roxanne, your cell phone’s ringing.”

“Who is it, Jessina? I need to finish dressing this
mannequin for the front window before we get out of here.” Roxanne stepped back
to eye the intricate folds of the blue cocktail dress from French design team
Berge & Christian. The dress, a piece from their highly coveted spring
collection, was so beautiful. It reminded her of a wedding cake.

“If its Joplin’s, tell them I’m still waiting on those wool
berets I ordered over six weeks ago. By the time they get here it’ll be summer,
and I don’t know any Chicago socialite willing to rock wool after Memorial Day,
no matter how fashion forward they are.”

Jessina leaned over the front counter with the phone held
out, already anticipating Roxanne’s next move. “It’s Leo.”

Roxanne jerked, which caused the mannequin to teeter on its
three-prong stand.

Several gut-wrenching days had passed since she’d been
spanked by Leo, and they hadn’t spoken. They’d never gone this long without
either speaking or texting one another at least twice a day.

“I’ll call him back.”

“You’ll call him back?” Jessina set the phone back down on
the front counter. “Trouble in paradise?”

“No. I have so much to do so we can both get out of here
before midnight,” she lied. Despite having online sex with Constantine, she
still found herself thinking about Leo almost every minute of the day. So to
protect herself and to sort through the feelings slowly drowning her in a
mountain of confusion, Roxanne was being a coward. She was avoiding him.

“Do you think I was born yesterday?”

“Even if it’s none of your business, the answer is no,”
Roxanne replied. Ignoring Jessina’s disapproving look, she turned the mannequin
around to ensure the garment’s fit.

Jessina came around the counter spewing a litany of curses
in rapid-fire Spanish, one of the older Dominican woman’s regular habits.
Roxanne barely batted an eye.

“You’re right,
querida
. As your employee, it’s none
of my business, but I’d like to think you and I are more than that. I care for
you like I care for my own knuckleheaded
ninos
. That’s why I’m concerned
that you’re blowing Leo off. In the three years I’ve been working here, I’ve
never known you to not accept his calls. But today you’ve done it twice. So
what gives? What did you do?”

“Why would you automatically think
I
did something?”

“I know you and I know Leo,” Jessina replied. “What did you
do?”

Caged in with nowhere to run, Roxanne concentrated on the
mannequin, turning it this way and that. Noticing the gown’s loose fit near the
right hip, she reached into the craft apron tied around her waist and pulled
out a box of stick pins. Hopefully Jessina would take the hint and go back to
uploading the week’s promotional items on the boutique’s website.

No such luck. Jessina continued to stand there with her
hands planted firmly on her hips.

Roxanne pursed her lips. When Jessina latched onto a bone,
she was worse than any pit bull. “Leo wants to be more than friends.”

“And you’re just realizing this?”

Roxanne winced. It was one thing to admit the truth, quite
another to have someone else throw it in your face. “Someone forgot to forward
me the memo.”

Jessina snorted. “Obviously.”

“How long have you known about his feelings for me? Did he
tell you?” Unsettled by the direction of the conversation, Roxanne tried to
extract a couple of pins but the bones in her fingers had suddenly turned to
goo.

“Give me those before you drop them all over the floor.”

Roxanne hated showing any sign of weakness, but Jessina was
right. If she didn’t let her do it, they’d both be on their hands and knees
picking up stick pins.

Jessina pulled several pins out of the box and placed them
between her full lips. “I picked up on it the first day I met him,” she
mumbled.

Roxanne slapped her hand across her forehead. “I feel so
stupid.”

“Don’t beat yourself up,
querida
. The object of
affection is always the last to know. Still, that doesn’t justify your handling
of the situation.”

Anger stiffened Roxanne’s spine. “What do you mean
my
handling of the situation?”

Jessina waved her hand. “Don’t get your thong in a bunch. I
just think you’re being a bit childish about the whole thing. So what if Leo
finally told you? It doesn’t mean you have to hide from him.”

Roxanne folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not hiding
from him.”

One of Jessina’s thinly plucked eyebrows lifted as if to
say, “Who are you kidding?”

“Okay, okay, something happened between Leo and me and it
can’t happen again.”

Jessina’s face suddenly lit up like she’d discovered the
cure for cancer. Roxanne braced herself. “
Yo comprendo
. You’re not ready
to face the fact that you have feelings for him as well.”

Roxanne shook her head. “I love Leo, but not in the way he
wants.” Jessina looked up at her sharply and, reluctantly, Roxanne decided to
come clean. “Jessina, I’m so confused. What if it doesn’t work between us?”

“It’s a chance you have to take.”

“That’s just it—I don’t want to take a chance on our
friendship. It’s one of the best things in my life besides this boutique.”

“When it comes to love, caution only crushes true happiness.
If it doesn’t work between you two, it won’t be the end of the world.”

“Only the end of our friendship. Plus, I think it may be too
late.”

“What do you mean too late?”

Roxanne pulled on her earlobe. She was about to open another
can of worms. “I’ve sort of met someone else.”

“Who, and why haven’t I met him yet?”

If I have anything to do with it, you won’t.
“I just
met him about a week ago.”

“So the plot gets thicker,” the older woman huffed, plopping
her hands on her rounded hips. “And where did you meet lover boy?”

“I met him on an online dating website.”

“
Madre de Dios
,” Jessina moaned, clapping a hand over
forehead. “Now there’s no way I’m going to have a good night’s sleep. Don’t you
realize any and everybody can be on those things? If you don’t watch yourself,
you’re going to wake up dead.”

Roxanne’s lips quirked. “That’s going to be pretty
impossible, don’t you think?”

Jessina’s brow wrinkled. “Why?”

“How am I going to wake up if I’m already dead?”

Jessina pretended to pull the tight, salt-and-pepper curls
of her short afro from her scalp. “You know what I mean, smarty pants. But I
guess you think it’s funny that your behavior could land you in a landfill cut
up into a half-dozen pieces?”

Roxanne wrapped her arm around Jessina’s shoulders and
pulled her close. “My mother didn’t raise a fool. I’ve been extremely cautious.
I already know more about Constantine than most guys I’ve dated casually.”

“So did Ted Bundy’s girlfriends.”

“I might not know what he looks like, but I
do
know
we both come from large families, attended local colleges and we both own our
own companies. Oh, and he’s allergic to oranges.”

Jessina pulled away, a frown indenting deep lines in her
mocha skin. “Allergic to oranges? So is Leo. Do you remember when I made
morir
sonando
for the boutique’s Christmas party two years ago? Everyone loved
it, but Leo turned as red as a Santa Claus suit.”

How could I forget?
Jessina’s milk-and-orange-juice
concoction sent Leo to St. Francis’ emergency room gasping for air.

Jessina remained silent for longer than usual. Roxanne
braced herself. “Are you sure your new
novio
isn’t Leo?”

Despite her own lingering doubts, Roxanne shrugged off the
older woman’s insinuation. “Let me get this straight. You think Constantine and
Leo are one and the same because they’re both allergic to oranges?”

“
Si
! They’re both allergic to oranges. I’d never
heard of such a thing in all my years until I met Leo. And now your Constantine
suffers from the same ailment. And didn’t you say he owns his own company and
comes from a big family?”

Roxanne recalled the late-night online conversations that
usually lasted until the wee hours of the morning, and nothing raised any red
flags, even now. Granted, the orange allergy was odd. But Roxanne also came
from a large family—three older sisters and a younger brother—and owned her own
company. Plenty of people did.

“Purely coincidental, Jessina,” Roxanne concluded. “Plus,
Leo has too much common sense than to do something so stupid. If he did, he’d
wear my footprint for a week.”

Jessina chuckled, her meaty shoulders shaking in amusement.
“The heart knows nothing about common sense.”

It was true Leo was particularly determined when it came to
something he wanted. He wouldn’t be worth eight million cool ones if he wasn’t.
“If it makes you feel any better, I’ll meet Constantine.”

“When? And don’t come crying to me if your dead body is
found rotting in a crack house.”

Roxanne planted her hands on the older woman’s shoulders.
“As soon as I get home, I’ll jump online and set up a time and a place for us
to meet.”

“Fine. The sooner you meet, the sooner you can kick him to
the curb and be with the man you’re supposed to be with. And the sooner you
admit it, the happier we’ll all be.”

“And why will
you
be happier?”

Jessina tipped her head and gazed up at the ceiling with a fond
look. “Whenever Leo drops in, he brings those little red velvet cupcakes you
like so much.”

Roxanne shook her head. “So all of this boils down to a
cupcake fix for you?”

“Hey, I’m a menopausal woman married to an impotent husband.
What else is there for me to look forward to?”

* * * * *

“Are you up to date on your birth control?”

Roxanne turned to Jessina, the taxi’s polished vinyl seat
squeaking under her thighs. If both of them were closing, they always shared a
cab uptown. It was less time-consuming than taking public transportation, and
warmer too. “That’s kind of a random question, don’t you think? And don’t
forget, personal.”

“Just wondering,” Jessina replied as she looked out the
other widow. “You suddenly have all these
novios
and a girl can’t be too
careful.”

Thankfully, the cab was slowing to a stop. In an effort to
hurry her along, Roxanne reached over and pulled the door handle. Of course,
her self-appointed busybody took her time gathering her things. Still,
Roxanne’s patience outlasted Jessina’s pace.

“Have a good day’s rest tomorrow.”

“You too, Jessina. See you Monday.” Roxanne sat back so
Jessina could shut the door. But instead of doing so, Jessina stuck her head
back in.

“Miss Roxanne, can you do me a favor?”

“Sure, ask away.”

“Promise me you won’t be like one of those silly women in
romance novels, who only realize they want the hero when they see them with
someone else. Call Leo back and tell him you’ve changed your mind.”

Roxanne sighed. “Good night,
Jessina.” She leaned
forward and tapped the cab’s separating glass. “1455 Lincoln Avenue, please.”

“I can’t go anywhere unless she steps away from the door,”
the cabbie said, jabbing his thumb at Jessina.

Finding herself at an impasse with a cold Chicago wind
biting at her bones, Roxanne sighed. She rummaged through her purse and pulled
out her cell phone. “I’ll at least talk to him, if it will make you feel any
better. I’ll see if he’s free for dinner tomorrow.” In short order, Roxanne
sent Leo a text message.

Smiling brightly, Jessina stepped back and shut the door.
“Good night, Miss Roxanne.”

Roxanne could barely wave goodbye before the cab jumped from
the curb and merged into traffic. She tried her best to sit back and enjoy the
rest of the ride but with each passing block, Jessina’s words in her head and
no return text from Leo, Roxanne slowly worked herself into a dither.

Had she really fucked up for good? Already?
Had
he
moved on with someone else?
Suddenly unable to stand the taxi’s close quarters or the questions riding her
conscience, Roxanne tapped on the separating window. “Can you let me out at the
next light, please?”