Operation Foreplay (28 page)

I licked the tip of the banana. “I bet yours will be better.”

“I don’t know. Not much beats memories when it comes to food and how it tastes, but I’ll do my best.” He looked up and his mouth dropped.

I kept my eye on him as I pushed the banana between my lips.

“What are you doing?” He swallowed.

I pulled the banana out and licked up the length of it. “Eating a banana.”

“You’re doing a good job.” He adjusted his pants.

“Yeah?” I opened my mouth and shoved the banana to the back of my throat, pulling in and out slowly.

“Son of a bitch, Melody.”

I bit off a piece and smiled. “What?”

“Stop playing with your food.” He took the remainder of the fruit from me and tossed it aside before leaning across the counter and grabbing me by the back of my head. He kissed me hard and I almost forgot to breathe. When he pulled away it was a moment before my heart regulated itself again. “Next time I won’t be so gentle.” He winked.

Knowing I wouldn’t win the morning innuendo battle, I rolled my shoulders and asked, “What can I do?”

“Well, you can go put some pants on. Can’t take the distraction right now. Working on making your breakfast.” He winked.

“You’re no fun.” I laughed and headed to my room and put on a pair of yoga pants.

My cell phone buzzed with a text. Berk was downstairs.

“Make extra pancakes,” I said as I walked to unlock the door. “Berk is coming up.”

“I forgot he was coming over.”

“Yep!”

“You excited about dinner tonight?”

“Eh.” I caught his raised eyebrow and figured I needed to explain. “I mean, dinner is going to be great but I don’t really know if I’m in the mood to go out.” I refilled my coffee mug. “I was kind of hoping for something simple. Small.” I stretched up on my toes. “Intimate.”

“Happy Sunday, bitches!” Berk entered the apartment with his usual flair. “Good lord, look at those cum gutters.” He stopped short in the middle of the living room and pointed at Jared. “I am jealous.”

“Look at those what?” Jared and I said in unison as Jared looked down at himself with his arms held open.

“Cum buckets.”

“Cum what?” I asked.

“Jesus. You’d think you’d listen when I speak.” He unbuttoned his khakis and pulled them down a bit. He flexed his stomach muscles. “Cum gutters.” He trailed his finger near the waistband of his Calvins and highlighted just above the hip.

I laughed so hard I had to cross my legs.

The ever lovin’ victory muscle.

The muscle that screams “Victory!” to any woman lucky enough to bed a man with one, providing the perfect indentations to put your thumbs when your hands are resting on his hips when your mouth is otherwise engaged.

“You don’t even have to flex to get them. What’s your secret?” Berk reached out and touched Jared’s cum buckets. The look on Jared’s face took all sound away from my laugh.

“Good genes and lots of planks?” Jared answered.

“Perfect. We should work out together.” Berk poured his coffee. “Are you a morning guy? Nighttime?”

“I, uh, usually work out whenever I have time. Doesn’t matter when.”

I doubled over.

“Why the fuck are you laughing?” Berk yelled at me.

“Cum gutters!” I could barely get the words out.

“Why is that funny?”

“Who calls them that?”

“Um, I do. What do you call them?”

I straightened up and put on my best serious face. “The victory muscle.”

Jared spit out his coffee. “Are we really discussing my abs?”

“What?” Berk and I asked.

“They’re a perfect representation of what all men should strive for. Really.” Berk saluted him with his coffee mug.

“And the perfect resting place for my elbows.” I sipped my coffee.

“Oh, I didn’t think of that. Cheers.” Berk and I clinked mugs.

“Elbows?” Jared seriously looked confused.

“You know, when we sixty-nine.” I bobbed my head back and forth.

“Whatever, stinky pussy, I’m putting on a shirt.”

“Don’t you dare!” Berk and I said in unison, again, before looking at each other and falling into each other, laughing.

“You’re both fucking nuts. Sit down and eat your birthday pancakes.”

Berk leaned in. “You have a stinky pussy?”

“No, I have a blister dick.” I smiled. “Long story. I’ll fill you in. What’s in the bag?”

Berk held up a brown shopping bag. “All the ingredients for the most delicious birthday drink ever.”

“Ooh!” I clapped my hands. “What is it?”

“Bacon Bloody Marys.”

“Yes fucking please.”

*  *  *

“Are you sure you don’t want to bang before we go? I mean, your balls have got to be the size of grapefruits by now.” I opened the bathroom door and leaned against the doorjamb as he showered after a trip to the gym.

“Can we not talk about the size of my balls? I’m all soapy.”

I checked out my eyebrows in the mirror.

He moaned.

“What are you doing in there?” I pulled back the curtain as he lathered up his stomach. His cock was at full attention. I thought I was going to pass out.

“Trying to wash my cock and balls without shooting a load.”

“Fuck.” I dropped my head and walked away, muttering about blister dicks all the way back to my room.

*  *  *

“Don’t forget the wine!” Jared yelled from the bedroom.

“Got it!” I yelled back and shoved the bottle in my oversize bag.

“You two are too fucking adorable,” Berk said.

He’d decided to ride with us to dinner instead of taking a cab. He wanted to experience the sexual tension, and he was particularly interested in our obvious issues with the withholding of orgasms and such.

“Yeah. Yeah. Adorable. We’ll see what happens.” I rolled my eyes.

“You totally dig him in a way I’ve never seen you dig anyone. I think it’s cute. Sickening enough to make me want to vomit but cute.” He took a sip of his beer.

“I go from smokin’ hot twenty-something vixen to cute, orgasmless thirty-year-old? Great.” I slid gloss across my lips.

“Maybe tonight will be the night.”

“Nope. We have twelve more days.”

“Whose moronic idea was this again?”

“His.” I rubbed my lips together.

“Honestly. I never thought I’d see the day when Melody Ashford gave up sex. And Jesus Christ. Have you
seen
him?” Berk leaned in and whispered, “I get a full-on chub every time I’m in the same room with him. How can you stand it? If I were you, I’d want that man’s scent slathered all over my body.”

“I know, right? It’s not easy. I swear to God I’ve had a hard-on since the first time I saw him in my apartment.”

“And you can’t even get yourself off.” He shook his head.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t remind me.”

“That shit better be worth it, that’s all I’m saying.”

“You’re not fucking kidding.”

“Ready?” Jared walked into the kitchen and took the beer from my hand and drank it down while giving me a look I’d grown to both appreciate and dread. The look that made my lady parts sing rounds of hallelujah and shit.

Fuck
.

“Let’s go!” Berk jumped up and danced his way out the door singing about bringing sexy back.

“Hey, Mel.” Jared put his hand on the crook of my arm as I hopped off the stool.

“Yeah?” I turned.

He leaned down and I felt his breath on my neck. I closed my eyes and thought about what Berk had said about rubbing his smell all over my body. He was right. I wanted to bathe in it, drown in it.

“It will be so fucking worth it.” He winked, smacked my ass, and walked away.

So much for clearing my head the rest of the night.

*  *  *

Jared parked and took my hand as we crossed the street to the restaurant. It wasn’t something I’d even thought about until Berk eyeballed me as Jared spoke to the hostess and whispered, “Someone’s falling in love.”

“Shut up! I am not,” I hissed.

“I’m going to use the bathroom. They won’t seat us until everyone is here.” Jared kissed the top of my head and walked away.

“Whatever, sister.” Berk poked me in the shoulder. “I know googly eyes when I see them and you have them. Certainly not something I thought I’d ever have to point out to you, but I’m happy for you just the same.”

“First of all, ouch.” I rubbed the spot he’d poked. “Second of all, I am not falling in love. It’s me! Melody! You know me. This here”—I waved between myself and Jared—“is a challenge that I have accepted. Someone called me out and I have to defend my honor. And of course see where things go after I’ve won the challenge.”

“Your honor?” Berk scoffed. “Face it, sweets. Jared’s got you all pretzeled up and you don’t know what to do about it. That man has a hold of your heart and
that
puts you in unfamiliar territory.”

“
Please
. Unfamiliar territory?”

“What’s going on between the two of you has absolutely nothing to do with sex. Yet. So all that fangirling you’re doing is coming from a place that isn’t physical.”

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to admit that what he said made sense but more so I didn’t want to even think about the
L
word, so I responded the only way I knew how when I was called out on my bullshit. “Fuck you.”

“You’re welcome. And congratulations on climbing on the bus to relationship town.”

“Bite me.”

“If I were straight, you’d be the first person I’d want to taste.” Berk winked and walked outside to meet our friends, who were just arriving.

*  *  *

“Did you have a good day?” Jared asked as he gently pushed me against the door of my apartment.

“I had a great day.” I kissed his neck. “Thank you. And it’s not Sunday anymore.”

“It’s not?” he asked between kisses.

“Nope. It’s Monday. Do you know what that means?”

“Eleven days.” He pushed the collar of my shirt aside and nipped at my collarbone.

“Eleven days.” I repeated between tiny moans.

He stepped back suddenly. I hated when he did that. “I have something for you.”

I pulled back. “You do?”

“Yeah. Just something small.” He inserted the key, unlocked the door, and pushed it open as he wrapped his arm around my waist. “Be right back.” He deposited me on the couch.

“What is it?” I asked when he returned carrying a small wrapped box.

“No big deal. I just thought you could use it. Open it.”

I pulled the ribbon and carefully unwrapped the box. My heart thudded when I saw it was from a jewelry store. “Jared?”

“Just open it.” He laughed.

Inside was a silver watch with a black face. “I thought maybe you’d want a new one since, you know, you threw the other one out the window.”

“Definitely.” I kissed him and turned my wrist over so he could latch the new watch.

“What’s this?” His thumb ran over the small tattoo I had on the inside of my wrist. He hadn’t seen it since it had always been covered by a watch or bracelet. “Believe?” He read it and looked at me.

“Yeah. I got it when I graduated college. Just a reminder.”

He unbuttoned his shirt, pulled it open, and pointed to the Chinese character on his ribs. “Believe.”

I ran my fingers over it, then touched my own. My heart tripped and in that moment I knew Berk was right. I was falling. Hard. Fast. And against my better judgment.

My eyes were locked with his, almost as if we were trying to find some way to disprove what we were both feeling.

“Come on.” He stood and held out his hand, breaking the connection. “Let’s go to bed.”

I handed him the watch and held out the wrist without the tattoo. He smiled and closed the latch before taking my other hand and looking at the word on my skin.

“Is something happening here?” I asked tentatively.

“Yeah. I think so,” he replied and took my hand.

Chapter Twenty-Three

A
nd after a long day of movie watching and procrastinating, Jared and I finally brought his two bags to Sarah’s apartment and settled him in.

He looked around the room. “It’ll do, I guess.”

Sarah punched him in the arm. “It had better do. You’re lucky I’m letting you crash here, little brother. Look, I’m going to order some pizza. Still like extra cheese, sausage, and peppers?”

“Always,” he responded with a smile. God, I loved that smile.

“Well”—I grabbed my purse—“I guess I’ll be leaving. You two have fun catching up.” I kissed Jared on the cheek before he grabbed my arm.