Page 6 of Sexploitation
I’m not surprised that Josie doesn’t understand. When her husband ended their marriage last spring and I proposed a ‘sexploration’, she was very hesitant. Then she ended up making August her first and final destination. Even after everything she’d been through with her ex, she was ready to settle right back down with someone else. Some people are just built that way, I guess.
“Look, I respected your need to be coupled up. Why can’t you accept the fact that I have no interest in that shit? I like my single life. I like being able to taste all thirty-one flavors, remember? And I don’t have any plans of ever settling on one.”
“Deny it all you want, but I know you, Parker. You want more than meaningless encounters out of life.”
Her words hit a nerve, my irritation growing into full-blown anger. I’m used to women judging my choices, looking at me like trash, treating me like they’re better than me. But Josie is my best friend.
“You don’t know a damn thing,” I snap. “You want to imagine us all happy and pregnant, living on the same street and growing old, but that’s not me. I don’t need a fucking happily ever after. I like having my quick, bare bones happy meals and tossing them away when I’m done.”
“I get it. I know you’ve been hurt in the past, but...”
“Hurt?” I huff out a laugh. “No, I don’t get hurt. And that’s the fucking point. I don’t let anyone close enough to get the chance.”
“Whatever.” She sighs, throwing her hands up. “Grow old, all alone and angry. But when you’re senile and there’s no one to care for you, don’t call me.”
“Fine.” I take a deep breath, shoving a stack of spelling tests into my bag. By the time I exhale, the anger is gone. I may be quick to explode, but once I’ve said my peace, I’m good. When my gaze meets Josie’s again, she tries to appear upset but can’t manage to keep her lips pursed. “You’d really leave me to die alone?” I chuckle.
“Of course not,” she drawls, a smile lighting up her face. “I’d toss you in a nursing home and let them deal with you.”
“Bitch.” I playfully shove her shoulder. “That’s so fucked up.”
“I signed on for crazy in this friendship. There was no clause for wiping your skinny ass or spoon-feeding you. Sorry, not sorry.”
“I hope that baby breaks your vagina and your titties shrivel up.”
She sucks in a breath, her mouth dropping open. “Okay...that’smessed up.”
I shrug. “I’ll take it backifyou promise to wipe my ass when I’m old. And I want a room in your house. No... I want a whole floor.”
“You’re younger than me. It’s more likely you’d end up wiping my ass. Butwe can totally get a place together in one of those retirement places.”
“Deal.”
She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in for a hug. I don’t bother resisting. There’s no point. When she pulls away, the tension in the air has completely disappeared. “So, what are we going to do about Elias?”
“We?”
“Well, yeah... I got you into this mess. Seems only fair I help you get out of it.”
I quirk an eyebrow. “So... you’re done trying to force him on me? No more secret ambushes and omitting information?”
“I’m one hundred percent Team Parker. Promise.”
“In that case... I think it’s time to show Elias exactly who he’s fucking with. I’m not some damsel he can toss over his shoulder and whisk into a tower. He thinks he can play games with me, but I always win. Because I make the goddamn rules.”
“Jesus, Parker. What the hell did the man say to you?”
“Oh, you know, just the regular bullshit, mostly.”
The man honestly believes a little sexual tension will leave me craving more. All right, he’s not completely wrong. His little speech today left my body feeling needy. The bastard. And then there’s that fucking pet name. Every time he says it, I hear his words to me that first night.
Fuck, you smell amazing. Like a Georgia peach. Ripe and ready to eat.
Such a goddamn tease.
“I’m almost afraid to ask, but... what’s your plan?”
“Let him think he won.” My lips curl into a wicked grin. “I’m going to go on a date with the sonofabitch. Then I’m going to rattle his fucking world.”