Perfecting the Odds (22 page)

“Maybe I just need some girl time,”
Karis half-lied with a shrug.

“Huh,”
Eve said, her brows sky high.

“What,”
Karis demanded.

“You really like
him.” Crap. Always the damn lawyer.

“Michael?”

“Obviously.”

“
Of course I like him. What kind of statement is that,” Karis asked, grabbing her margarita from the waitress.

“So what’
s wrong? You’re seeing him this Wednesday, right?”

“Yes, I’m meeting him for ice cream.”

“Meeting him?”

“Yes,”
Karis responded a bit too snarkily. “Diane’s watching the kids for a few hours.”

“Uh-huh. So you’re not letting him pick you up, you say.
” Karis sighed and took a sip as Eve studied her like Karis was a witness on the stand.

“
It’s too soon,” Karis said, hoping to sound convincing.

“
You find him hot, sexy as hell, though.”

“
You know I do,” she mumbled, take a gulp of her drink. Karis knew she was opening up a huge can of awkwardness with Eve. Talking about sex with Eve was like reenacting a porno sketch. She was all about details…giving them, extracting them, and worse of all, expanding upon them.

“Ohhh,” she drawled
then leaned forward looking like she’d just found the evidence to win a case. “You’re horny as fuck and feel like you won’t be able to control yourself…maybe a little guilt is thrown in there too.”

“
Keep your voice down,” Karis scolded. “I teach in this town.”

Ignoring
Karis as always, Eve teased, “I bet the man is hung, you lucky bitch.” Karis grimaced and blew out a puff of air. “Holy shit, Karis! Is that what you’re worried about? Because trust me, if he’s any good, everything will be fine, more than fine. It should be amazing.”

“
Maybe a little worried,” Karis whined. “I’m pretty sure the man will break me in half. But besides that, I feel like everything is moving too fast, and yes, I’m feeling a little guilty. Can you blame me?”

Eve
took a breath and another sip of her drink. “I guess that’s normal, but it sounds like the guilt isn’t really the problem, more so how attracted to him you are.”

Karis
leaned forward and lowered her voice. “If I told you the things that man can do with his mouth, you’d fall over and die.” Eve was speechless for like the first time ever, and Karis laughed loudly at the look of shock frozen on her face. “Why are you so surprised, anyway?”

“
Uhm, I’m not,” Eve stuttered out. “I just haven’t ever really heard you talk like that before.”

“You do all the time
,” she shot back.

“Yeah, but I’m a self-proclaimed slut who preys on man
whores,” Eve said straight-faced.

“You are not. Jeez. Maybe I’ve just had a sexual awakening or something.  Still...”

“You’re nervous. It’s understandable. You’ve been out of the game for a while.”

“
I’ve never been
in
the game. You know I’ve really been with one man. And then there’s the whole feeling inadequate part. I may have had a lot of sex, but I’m not what you would call experienced,” Karis admitted and flushed.

Eve
’s face morphed into what Karis deemed her closing-statement face. “Karis, from what you’ve already said about Michael, I guarantee he’s going to take care of you in bed. That aside, I’m not going to tell you to not feel guilty because you have to deal with that on your own, but Robert’s is gone, and Michael has been in your life,
your mind
, for a lot longer than you’re admitting. And to address your third issue, you’re a hot ride on the pussy train, Karis. Inexperienced won’t be in that man’s vocabulary when he gets a look at you. Think about it. He hasn’t even seen the main attraction yet, and you drive him wild. ” She ended her rant with a wink, and Karis laughed.

“You’re
crude, but you’re the best, Eve, you know that?”

“I do, and I’ve been told that on numerous occasions
, in and out of bed.” Eve grinned, earning her an eye roll from Karis.

Tuesday, Ten o’clock p.m.

Karis: Guess my favorite ice cream, and you win a prize.

Karis
put her phone down on her nightstand not sure if Michael was still awake. She sat on the edge of her bed about to apply lotion to her legs when her phone buzzed and jumped…quickly followed by her body’s own alarming buzz, instigating a full body blush.

Michael: What kind of prize?

Karis: Your truck bed. Twenty minutes. Undisclosed location.

Michael: How many
guesses?

Karis
laughed out loud. He was taking this as seriously as she thought he would, and she loved, no liked, definitely liked, him for it.

             
Karis: Three…all at the same time…and I’m not telling you if you guessed correctly. You’ll have to wait and see what I order tomorrow.

Michael: Sexy and devious. I’m dying over here. Give me ten minutes. I have some serious thinking to do.

Karis: Do NOT text Eve. That’s cheating.

Michael: Dammit! Fine, I’ll play fair.

Karis finished applying her lotion and like a teenage girl, stared at her phone, willing it to vibrate. She quickly realized that his winning was as important to her as it was to him. Even though her heart and soul sat latent within her, Michael held the reigns while taking her on a journey of sexual awakening. Her heart skipped a beat in anticipation of his guessing the correct flavor.

             
Michael: Coffee…mint chocolate chip…cherry

Karis
let out the breath she’d been holding.

***

Sitting in the red booth at the local diner, Michael kept one eye on the door and the other on his watch. After his text conversation with Karis the night before, Michael could do little to settle both his throbbing dick and his pounding heart. Taking care of himself in the shower that night and this morning, well, didn’t.  As soon as he thought the release would ease the suffering, he’d think about her in that apron with that damn pastry bag in her hand…
fuck
. And to think her little “Guess my Favorite Ice Cream Flavor” game held the key to a twenty-minute hands and mouth session.

Fuck that
, he scoffed with an arrogant sneer. But as soon as the bell of the door chimed, his body and mind humbled itself. Like a charged mine underfoot, he felt her before he saw her. He turned his head just as the door pulled open. As if in slow motion, she glided through it with a natural grace and hint of feminine swagger. Damn, he had it bad, but she was so unbelievably perfect for him.

She hadn’t seen him yet and
smiled at the teenage hostess asking her name. The boy said something then pointed in the opposite direction of Michael. Michael smirked as Karis looked over the boy’s shoulder, affording the horny dipwad a chance to stare her breasts, unwittingly visible beneath her oxford blouse. Michael didn’t blame the boy. She shook her head and the boy finally pointed in Michael’s direction. Karis turned and met his eyes then slowly curved her lips into a wide grin, all white teeth and sparkling emerald eyes. So pretty. He deliberately drew his eyes down her body as she walked toward him, and she turned a pretty shade of pink, but continued to smile. He stood and kissed her cheek, and she quickly slid into the seat across from him.
Well-played
, he thought. He would have been trying cop of feel the entire time.

“
Hi,” she murmured and glanced downward shyly, her eyelashes fanning her cheeks. He could take his eyes off of her. It felt like days, years since he’d seen her.

“Hi yourself, sweetheart.
”

“How’s your week been, Michael,
” she asked, finally lifting her eyes.

He smiled.
“Good…considering. I have a crapload of essays to assess, but I’ll finish before the weekend. What about you,” he asked before reaching across the red formica to take her hands. He couldn’t help it. That initial chaste kiss was far in the past now, and he couldn’t help but touch her. And the best part? She softened beneath his touch, every time, giving herself willingly, no flinching or uneasy movement. He had to believe she enjoyed his touch as much as he did hers.

“Viola lessons, Boy Scouts…
and…” Michael noted her cheeks beginning to take a deeper hue. “I had to bake more cupcakes for that meeting. And let’s see.,, I, too, have essays to grade. I have to write a test by tomorrow. Forgot about that.” She wrinkled that lovely nose of hers. “Pretty standard week so far.” They fell into an easy silence as Michael stared into her eyes, mesmerized by how with each pass of his thumb over her knuckles, her irises deepened to a forest green, the pupils blending easily within the rich color.

A
body approached the table. “Hi, guys, my name’s Missy. Have you had time to look over the menu?” Michael swore he saw a little seductive smirk before Karis turned. Restless about winning the game, he admittedly was curious about how she would handle the game. How much thought had she put into this little competition? Michael kept his gaze on her, delighting in how her eyes now were her standard emerald green.

“I don’t know about him, but I know what I want.”

“I definitely know what I want,” he interrupted, not missing her lips part with a little gasp. Karis sucked her bottom lip for a moment. He would have thought she was nervous, but her eyes narrowed, making her mannerisms seem more contemplative.

“I’ll h
-a-v-e,” she drawled and glanced pointedly at Michael. Tilting his head, he leaned back against the booth and squeezed her hand. She smiled coyly and pulled one hand from his. “Hmm, decisions, decisions,” she chimed, tapping her forefinger on her bottom lip. Little pricktease! He shook his head in disbelief. She turned her head toward Michael and said, “Actually, would you mind giving us a few more minutes to decide, Missy?”

“Absolut
ely. Take all the time you need.”

“Thank you,” she said glancing up at the waitress and smiled sweetly.

Michael leaned forward and pressed his lips into a firm line. The woman was a force to be reckoned with; a minx in the best sense of the word. Was he pissed? A little, yes, but more frustrated, painfully. He’d been looking forward to his reward all week. In fact, being the arrogant bastard he was, he had thoroughly cleaned his truck bed and stocked it with blankets and a few pillows in anticipation of their twenty-minute truck bed tryst. Karis took one look at him and shrugged before her face split into a shit-eating grin.

“You’
re un-fucking-believable,” Michael whispered, his voice filled with a humorless edge.

Karis
’s lifted a shoulder and shook her head. “Just adding traits to your Karis-is-Perfect list is all.”

He couldn’t help the smile.
“So you’re a brat,” he said and leaned toward her. “and a cock tease,” he susurrated.

She frowned vampishly.
“You seem tense, Michael…prickly even.” Now it was clear. Memories of last Friday in her classroom flooded to the forefront of his mind. This little game was pay back for his guest appearance. Lucky for her, Michael loved games, and he was a competitive sonofabitch. Before he had time to calculate his response, the waitress returned and cocked her brow.

Karis inhaled deeply. “
Maybe I’ll have… gosh, everything looks so good.”

“Karis,” he warned with formidable promise. And then she had the nerve to giggle, a sound that traveled straight from her mouth to his cock. He shifted vainly in the booth.

“Yes! I think I’ll definitely have two scoops of mint chocolate chip…and hot fudge with whipped cream…and, ohhh, do you have those wet nuts,” she asked.
I’ve got your wet nuts.
His cock was in a virtual high-five with itself for guessing the right flavor. His mind quickly swam with images of his truck bed, Karis stark naked in the middle of it, he right on top of her, licking ice cream off every inch of her smokin’ body .

“
The walnuts in syrup,” the waitress asked, interrupting his fantasy.

“Yes,” Karis said, looking adorably hopeful.

“Yes ma’am, is that all?”

“
And a water with lemon, please. What about you, Michael,” she asked with a grin. She was clearly as thrilled with his correct guess.

“
Just iced tea, please,” he replied, not taking his eyes off of Karis’s face. The waitress departed, and Karis turned to avoid Michael’s heated gaze by ambling her eyes around the restaurant. Michael decided to let her marinate in the anxiety, now manifesting itself in fidgeting hands and worrying her bottom lip. Merely two minutes passed, but he swore she had begun to tremble under his silent perusal. He itched to lean over and suck and bite and run his tongue over that lip. But that would wait until later. In fact, if he would have known what would come next, he wouldn’t haven’t been half as cocky about his game playing…because if Karis’s cupcakes were a close second to sex, then watching Karis eat ice cream would tie it.