Page 86 of Against the Clock
“He asked me to be his girlfriend.”
“Hell yeah, he did,” Cameron says. “Of course he did. He’s old. He’s going to want to lock your ass on down. Put a ring on it. Wife you.”
“Please don’t use wife as a verb. Gross.”
She shrugs a shoulder. “Whatever. It’s true.”
“He’s so great,” I gush. “I really like him. He’s so funny, and handsome—”
“And good in bed,” Cameron interrupts. “Right? That’s a plus when you date an older guy. They know their way around your feminine bud of pleasure. Around the freshwater pearl.”
“Oh my god.” I stare at her. “Why are you calling it that? Please.”
“I had to knock the watery grin off your face somehow. Get you back in game mode for our meeting.”
“Please don’t call it that again.”
“Your aching bead. The center of your pleasure.”
“Where is this coming from?”
“Listen, I’m happy for you. I’m glad someone’s getting some.” She sighs heavily. “Okay, so you’re his girlfriend now. How’s the whole I-despise-football-with-the-heat-of-a-thousand-suns thing working out for you?”
Oh.
My face falls, and my toes twitch inside my heels. “I don’t know yet,” I admit. “I’m just kind of taking it one day at a time. It’s easy to forget he plays football.”
“That must be nice. The time I dated a football player, it was all he cared about.”
I swing my gaze back up to her, but she has a faraway look in her eyes. “Is this the football player you’re going to be avoiding at the Beaver Ball?”
“Maybe.” She raises her eyebrows at me, and I know I’m right. “Are you going to tell me what went down between you two?”
“Nope,” she says. A look of pure discomfort turns her lips down and she stands up abruptly, focused on something over my shoulder.
"Am I interrupting?" John, our boss, is standing behind me.
“No,” Cameron says smoothly. “We were just discussing pitch ideas for the meeting.”
“Good. Kelsey, I’d like to talk about your AFL piece. In my office.”
“Right now?”
Cameron’s gaze darts to me, then slides back to John. Clearing my throat, I lock my computer and gather up a legal pad and pen, just to have something to do with my hands.
“Yep. I want to discuss it with you before the meeting.”
“Okay.” Standing slowly, I follow him back to his corner office. I glance back at Cameron and she gives me a thumbs up, then pretends to slice her throat.
I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean, but it makes me want to laugh.
The door closes slowly behind me, and I can’t help but feel like I’ve been called into the principal’s office.
I’m a grown woman, I’m secure in my career, but when the damn door closes in the boss’s office I feel like I’m in trouble.
“Sit, sit,” John says, motioning to a chair in front of his desk.
He doesn’t close the blinds, which is a relief, at least. I do as he says, scooching around until I feel both comfortable and alert. I’m glad I didn’t spend the night at Daniel’s. I need to be alert, and I have a feeling we would have spent most of the night awake.