Ask Me Something (The Something Series Book 2) (6 page)

“I’m
breastfeeding,” she stated.

Eric was clearly
uncomfortable with the turn of conversation. “Well I’d hoped to stay longer,
but my plans changed tonight with my son coming over. So I’m getting dinner to
go. He’s fourteen and in the car playing his video game.”

I was a little
stunned to think of someone my age having a fourteen-year-old. But considering
that having a kid at age eighteen wasn’t unheard of, I shouldn’t have been too
surprised. “What’s his name?”

“Devin.”

“I’d love to say
hi to him if that’s all right.”

His face
brightened.

Meanwhile, I
thought it ironic that I’d be willing to meet someone new in order to escape my
sister for a few minutes.

“He’s a flirt,
and he’d love to say hey to a pretty girl. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

After meeting
Devin, I complimented Eric on having a teenager with good manners outside of
the truck in a whisper so I didn’t embarrass the kid. “Devin is very polite and
definitely going to be a looker.” He had dimples and blue eyes very much like
his father.

“The manners I
can’t take credit for, that would be his mom. But the looks, well, maybe I can
take half credit.”

I gave him
another hug and Devin a little wave. There might not be a spark with Eric, but
there was something heartwarming about seeing the first boy I’d ever been with,
all grown up into a man and father.

After heading
back inside the restaurant, I went straight for the ladies’ room. I was almost
finished in the stall when the sound of my sister’s voice stopped me cold.

“Why do I bother
to make the effort? My sister thinks she’s better than everyone in this town.”

“I don’t know
why you try, either. And why did she go out there to meet his son as though she
likes kids?” Leslie, her best friend, replied.

I held my
breath, waiting for Addison to defend me to her friend. Explain to her that I
had been here for the birth of every one of her four children. That the kids
loved their Aunt Sasha. Point out that I was only being friendly to go out and
meet Devin. Polite to meet the son of the man I’d dated sixteen years ago.

“Seriously she’s
like the worst aunt in the world. I had to practically shove the baby into her
hands yesterday and I have to force the older kids to spend time with her. She
hates coming home. It’s like I’m the failure for finding love and being a
stay-at-home mom with four children.”

“Some people
aren’t cut out to be mothers. She can’t even hold a man for any length of time.
And by the way, I think she’s gained some weight since summer. Her ass looks
bigger in the pants she’s wearing.”

It took me a few
minutes to realize it was now silent, and they’d walked out. Any scenario I had
in my head of slamming the door open and telling them both where to go was now
lost. I concentrated on my breathing and forced myself to relax. The thing
about having anxiety is that I already had a complex that people were talking
about me. To have that fact confirmed wasn’t exactly conducive toward believing
it was all in my head.

In pulling out
my phone, I realized it was still early, only seven o’clock. Since I wasn’t
sure I could trust my voice, I texted Brian, figuring he would talk me down.

“Overheard my
sister tell her BFF that I’m the worst aunt in the world. In the bathroom
stall, ready to embarrass her in front of everyone. Please tell me I’m being
irrational and should go straight home!!”

“Leave no
prisoners SBF,”
he replied.

I smiled at the
Sasha-B-Fierce acronym in spite of how upset I was.
I needed a
few minutes, and then I’d get it together.

“Thanks for not
talking me down, gotta go.”

“Call me after.”

After making my
way out of the stall, I reapplied my lip gloss, smoothed my hair, and headed
back to the table.

“Where were you?
Your food is getting cold,” Addison commented, already shoveling down some oysters.

I took a moment
to deal with her friend Leslie first. Considering the woman had at least thirty
pounds on me, it was unbelievable that she would say something about the size
of my ass. “Hey, Leslie, Addison didn’t tell me. When are you due?”

Addison’s eyes
got big, and Ryan almost spit out his drink.

“I’m not
pregnant,” Leslie stuttered, instantly horrified.

“But I thought
you were having a baby, or was I wrong?”

She appeared
relieved, thinking I had the timing wrong. “That was last year. Chelsea is
almost a year old now.”

“I guess it’s
true what they say, then. Some women never lose that baby weight.” I got some
satisfaction watching her about choke on her food and faced my sister who was
glaring at me.

“That was cruel.
You have no idea how hard—” Addison started to say.

I cut her off.
“You’re right. I don’t have any idea. After all, I’m clearly not cut out to be
a mother. I think I’m better than everyone in this town, and I’m evidently the
worst aunt in the world to your kids, too? You have to shove the baby on me.”
She paled considerably.

Ryan spoke up
and looked between the two of us. “What’s this about? Addy?”

At least my
sister had the decency to look embarrassed.

“You know what?
I’m probably going to skip the fried food. Evidently, I’ve gained a few pounds
since summer and my ass looks kind of big in these pants. Right, Leslie? But
it’s okay; I’ll be the cruel one.”

She and my
sister exchanged looks but neither knew what to do.

I wouldn’t give
them the opportunity to try to figure it out. “Ryan, it was nice to see you
again. You tell my nieces and nephews we’ll have to take a rain check on our
movie day tomorrow. According to your wife, she has to force them into spending
time with me, and I’d hate to do that to them.”

My voice almost
cracked on the last word, but I kept my composure and left a stunned Ryan,
flushed Leslie, and pale Addison with the aftermath of Sasha-B-Fierce.

***

Home was only
ten minutes away. My parents were in the living room watching television when I
came through the door.

“Oh, you’re back
early. Everything all right?” my mother asked.

Plastering a
smile on my face, I went over to give them both kisses on the cheek. “Yes,
everything’s fine, but I have to leave tonight. I was hoping to get through the
week without a client crisis, but turns out I have to be in Charlotte in the
morning. So I’m driving over now.”

My mom looked
disappointed and then inadvertently made me feel guilty. “I thought you were
spending tomorrow with the kids. Kylie will be especially disappointed. She
loves spending time with her Aunt Sasha.”

“According to
Addison, she doesn’t. I don’t want to get into it. I’m just going to get my
stuff. I’ll be back down.” The very last thing I wanted to do was force my
nieces and nephews to spend time with me. I was barely in their lives. To
expect them to be excited about a seeing someone they hardly knew was selfish
on my part and I didn’t blame them for their lack of enthusiasm.

A few minutes
later, I was ready to go, suitcase in hand.

“It’s awfully
late to be driving,” my dad commented. The policeman in him was always worried
about my safety.

I squeezed his
hand. “I’ll be in before midnight and send you guys a text when I arrive.”

It was tempting
to stay the night with them instead, but I knew my sister would be over with
the kids in the morning, and I’d be trapped. No way would I make this easy on
her.

My mom got up
and moved towards the kitchen. “I wish you didn’t have to work so much, but we
understand. Let me pack up some pie and stuff to take with you.”

It was futile to
argue and, hell, maybe I would need some pumpkin pie for the road. I hadn’t
touched my dinner.

The city of
Charlotte was a five-and-a-half-hour drive west from coastal Carolina. I
stopped twenty minutes out of Beaufort to fill up the rental car with gas and
called Brian.

“Well, how did
it go?” he immediately asked.

I relayed the
details, then hopped back into the car and let the phone transfer to the
Bluetooth while I continued driving.

“Wow, you didn’t
take any prisoners, did you? Your brother-in-law said nothing?”

“Oh, I don’t
doubt he had plenty to say later. I think he was stunned for the moment.
Anyhow, I’m done and heading west as we speak.”

“What do you
mean heading west?”

“I’m driving to
Charlotte, coming in a night early. I know if I’d stayed in town, Addison would
have brought the kids over first thing in the morning, forcing them to spend
time with me and trapping us all into an afternoon none of us would end up
enjoying.”

“Wait, you’re
heading to Charlotte now?”

I loved the way that
I’d taken him completely off guard. “Yes, driving as we speak.”

“Shit, I’m still
in Virginia. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I’d hardly
expect you to drop everything. It’ll be past midnight by the time I get there,
and I’ll get a hotel room. I might even go into the office to work tomorrow.” I
was full of adrenaline and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do at the moment.

“Can I call you
right back?”

“Sure.”

It was ten
minutes later when he did so.

“I’m sending you
my address, so you can input it into your GPS when you’re closer to Charlotte.
My place is twenty minutes north of the city,” he said.

“You’re with
your family for the holidays, Brian, and even if you weren’t, I don’t know that
it’s the best thing if I stayed at your place.”

“I’m about to
leave for Dulles airport. I should arrive before you do if I can catch this
nine-thirty flight.”

“You’re joking.”
I had hardly expected him to drop everything.

“I’m not.”

“It’ll be late
by the time I get there.”

“I don’t care if
it’s three o’clock in the morning. I want to see you.”

Brian wanting to
see me made me warm and tingly. “I should still be annoyed with you for calling
me complicated last night.”

“I should be
ticked that you implied I should find someone else at the strip club and made
that crack about your ex-boyfriend.”

“But you’re
not?” I tested, smiling.

“The
ex-boyfriend bit made me crazy jealous if I’m being honest.”

“The Jamie
comment set me off. No woman needs to hear that you have a sure thing any time
you’d want it.”

“I know and I’m
sorry it came out that way. This is probably a good time to bring up rule
number three, I think.”

“Which is?”

“No dating or
going out with anyone else.”

“I thought we
went over that, we would be monogamous. I get it.” Considering I wasn’t exactly
doing a whole lot aside from working, it wasn’t an issue for me. Besides this
ensured he wouldn’t be seeing Jamie, which was a relief.

“No, this is
different. Our arrangement won’t be known by a lot of people; however, we
aren’t dating others or taking anyone else to events in the meantime, either.
Not even as a cover.”

“Wait, but what
if Catherine asks me to go speed dating with her or double?” Not that I sought
to do either, but I also didn’t want to abandon her if she needed me.

“That’s exactly
what I’m talking about. No.”

I didn’t mind
not dating other people, considering I hadn’t done it in quite some time;
however I couldn’t make my friend feel like she was now on her own. “I can’t
hurt Catherine’s feelings, and more importantly, I don’t want her going out
alone with some stranger. Plus what would I tell her?”

“Tell her you
have other plans, then come home and fuck me.”

I sucked in my
breath with that vision now firmly implanted in my mind. “I can agree in
general, but not with Catherine. I need to be available to go out with her. I’m
her wingman, or whatever you guys call it. She’d be hurt if I wasn’t.”

“Okay. I get it.
Can we agree to discuss it ahead of time? Maybe I could meet you ladies out
like the last time and assist with the mission.”

I laughed
thinking he’d probably make a much better wingman than I would. “All right,
agreed. I’m assuming this doesn’t apply to clients?”

“I would think
it should. If there’s a male coworker or client who wants to get into your
pants, what’s the difference from a date?”

“But it’s not a
problem if they’re old or ugly?”

“If you send me
a picture and I agree, then perhaps.”

Imagining that scenario
amused me. “Oh, yeah, I can see that. Uh, hold still. I need to take a picture
of you and vet it according to rule number three with this guy I’m not yet
sleeping with. Oh, good news. You’re ugly enough that you pass.
Congratulations, let’s get dinner.”

He laughed. “I’m
sure we will have rectified the sleeping together situation by the time you’re
taking clients out.”

“All kidding
aside, I can’t say no to clients for a drink or dinner. I’m sorry but it’s not
reasonable and it crosses the line from personal into professional.”

He sighed
heavily. “No, I guess you’re right.” He didn’t sound happy about it, but at
least he understood.

I decided now
might be a good time to address some concerns. “So, I was on the Internet
yesterday, and I have a few things to discuss about my limitations.”

“Jesus, Sasha,
you don’t go and google shit like that. It’s like typing in symptoms of a cold
and the Internet tells you forty ways you could die. I haven’t finished going
over everything yet.”

“I was curious,
and wanted some ideas of what limitations I might need.”

“Okay, hold on,
I’m getting into the cab.” The phone muffled, and he said something in the
background.

“All right, I’m
back. Let’s hear them,” he said, resigned.

“Okay, I don’t
want any sort of muzzle or gag in my mouth.”

“That’s
definitely okay,” he agreed quickly.

“No whips, canes,
pain, or threesomes,” I added, thinking of a list of things that came to mind.

“That isn’t even
remotely close to what I want.”

“Okay. I’m
assuming I don’t need to tell you no animals.”

“Christ, woman,
you are starting to tick me off.”

“Hmm, I believe that
evokes rule number one.”

“Now you’re just
fucking with me.”

“Maybe a little.
What if I want to negotiate some dominant time with you?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because that is
non-negotiable.”

“Are you going
to tell me why?”

“Not in the
fucking cab I’m not.”

His temper had
me both smiling and turned on at the same time. “Did you want me to get a hotel
room tonight, after all?”

“Of course not.”
His voice had immediately lost all irritation.

“All right. Send
me your address and have a safe flight.”

“I will, and you
drive carefully. I’ll call you when I land, see how far out you are, okay?”

I agreed and
concentrated on the long drive ahead of me.

***

It was well past
midnight by the time I arrived at Brian’s house. After parking in his driveway,
I sent a text to my parents letting them know I arrived safely, got out of the
car and looked up, appreciating the enormous three-story townhouse. Boy, did I
miss the space I used to have in North Carolina.

“You having some
size envy?” Brian quipped, standing outside the front door. He was wearing a
pair of low slung plaid pajama bottoms and a Panthers T-shirt with leather
slippers. He looked sexy as hell without even trying.

“I am. I’ve had
hotel rooms bigger than my condo in New York.”

“Here, I’ll get
your stuff. Come on in.”

He grabbed my
suitcase and led me inside. We entered a living area which was modern and
spacious, running lengthwise back to a large gourmet kitchen. “You hungry?” he
asked, ever the gracious host.

“Ah, no. My mom
packed leftovers. Matter of fact, I have extra if you want some.”

He patted his
stomach and shook his head. “I’ll pass for now. There are the stairs to the
bedrooms. I’ll give you an abbreviated tour tonight.”

I followed him
up to an impressive master suite. The centerpiece was the king-sized bed
against the wall, which had a massive wooden and steel bedframe. Everything
else was also tasteful in rich woods, sort of like Pottery Barn meets
Restoration Hardware.

“Master bathroom
is that door over there. Laundry is in that large closet in the hall, guest
room down the hall with another bathroom. In the basement is the theater room
and my office. I tend to hang out down there mostly.”

I nodded and
realized we were both kind of awkward. “I can take the guest room.”

“Actually my sister
is already asleep in there. She found out I was on the way to the airport and
decided to fly out with me. She wanted to be on our plane for the wedding.
There’s a pull-out sofa downstairs I’ll sleep on since I’m going to watch TV
for a while yet anyhow. I’d like it if you took my bed. If for no other reason,
I can brag that you’ve been in it.”

I smiled, and
then his words hit me. “Wait, your sister is here?” I wanted to smack the
amused grin off his face.

“Are you
disappointed we won’t be alone?”

I let out a
breath as I realized that all along he’d known there wouldn’t be a possibility
of us sleeping together tonight. “You could’ve told me that in the car.”

“I didn’t know
until I got to the airport and she decided to meet me there. And I wasn’t going
to risk you changing your mind.”

“How was the
strip club with Colby?” I decided to change the subject.

He held a finger
to his lips and closed the door.

I held my breath
when he came back and took my face between his hands.

His lips were at
my ear, teasing me with their proximity. “It wasn’t nearly as good as having
you standing here in my bedroom.” His hands roamed over my back, massaging
gently.

“Mm, good
answer,” I murmured, leaning into him.

“How are you
doing?”

“Fine.” I
practically moaned when his fingers kneaded my lower back.

He leaned back
and his knowing smile made me catch my breath. “We’ll have to work on the use
of that word. I meant about your sister and what she said. Did she call you?”

Right, that’s
what he meant. “She did call. I didn’t answer, and she didn’t leave a
voicemail.”

“Are you okay?”
His eyes searched mine, concern reflected in them.

Brian was aware
that I didn’t have the closest of relationships with my sister and that at one
point I’d questioned whether it had to do with my being adopted. “I’ll get over
it.” I shrugged to emphasize it wasn’t a big deal.

He held my eyes
with an uncanny ability to read me. “If you need to talk about it, you know
that I’m a good listener.”

I swallowed hard.
“Thanks.”

He pulled away
and moved toward the door. “I’ll be up a while. Help yourself to anything, take
a bath if you want, get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

I nodded and
stood there alone in the room for a moment before making my way into his
bathroom.

It was a dream,
with dual sinks, soaking tub and a large glass shower that included jets on the
sides. I wasn’t planning to wash my hair, but I couldn’t pass up all of those
streams of water.

After finishing
with my amazing shower, I took my time getting ready for bed. I was too wired
up to sleep, and the urge to touch myself was tempting. I should’ve felt
relieved his sister was in the house to keep me from rushing into things, but
instead I was disappointed. After throwing on my pajamas, I walked downstairs,
wanting to discuss more about the rules. I was in the middle of the theater
room in the darkness. When I listened there was no sound.

“Sasha.”

“God, you scared
me.” I put my hand to my chest.

He flipped on
the light and tossed me that boyish grin of his, and then his eyes ran down the
length of me in my shorts and tank top PJ set. “Did you need something?”

“I wanted to
talk more about the rules.” I folded my arms over my breasts lest he see that
my nipples were hard merely thinking about the subject.

He looked
hesitant. “Hold on, let me shut the basement door.”

I took a seat in
the corner of a sectional sofa with my feet tucked up underneath of me. I liked
the setup with the plushness of the sofa and the large screen television
against the wall.