Stirred Up (20 page)

“Or not,” she said, biting her lip and
looking anxious. Like she thought he might turn her down. “I mean,
we can just be friends if you want to and forget the benefits.”

“I’m definitely going with door number one,”
he said, trying to keep it light. No need for her to know how deep
this went for him. “We’re too good at this to stop now.”

She laughed, clearly relieved, and scrambled
out of bed.

“Go ahead and hop in the shower. I’ll find
you some breakfast,” she said, grabbing a blue cotton robe from a
hook and heading out the door.

No doubt he stank like a cat in heat, so a
shower was definitely in order. Too bad it meant washing off her
scent as well. He found a bottle of mouthwash under the sink and
swished, then hopped in the shower. He made it quick, but it was
enough time to imagine getting her in the shower with him one of
these days.

When he was through he made sure there were
no puddles on the floor or stray hairs in the tub. The he padded
naked back to the bedroom, where he managed to unearth his clothes
from the general disorder and get dressed. Taking stock of himself
in the full-length mirror leaning against her closet, he decided he
could definitely pass for someone coming down with the flu.

He found Cheryl in the kitchen, looking
adorable in her blue robe and bare feet, her hair sliding over one
eye.

She looked up from buttering a sesame bagel.
“Sorry, no cream cheese. But if you wait a couple minutes I can get
you a cup of coffee.”

He looked at his watch. “Better not. I’ll be
lucky if I’m there before the kids arrive. But the bagel is
great.”

Then he just stood there feeling awkward, not
sure whether to go with his impulse, which was to kiss her, or wave
and say goodbye, casual-like. Did friends with benefits kiss each
other goodbye, or did all such physical demonstrations stop once
they were out of bed?

Or was he possibly over-thinking this?

“Here you go,” Cheryl said, handing him the
bagel wrapped in a paper towel. She stood on tiptoe and gave him a
soft, sweet kiss on the lips.

Leaning down, he pulled her close with his
one free hand and held her against him as he kissed her properly.
She gasped and then softened against him, her hands fisting into
his shirt. When he stepped back she swayed the tiniest bit, her
eyes glazed over.

“Have a good day,” he said, smiling, and
walked out the door.

He arrived at school with just enough time to
grab a cup of disgusting coffee from the teachers’ lounge. That was
just the first of many cups he drank in an effort to stay awake and
focused. Tired as he was, it was impossible to keep his thoughts
from drifting back to last night.

He managed to get through the day by showing
a Shakespeare movie one period and having the kids read aloud in
another. But he couldn’t do that all day, so he spent the remaining
periods pacing the front of the classroom in an over-caffeinated
frenzy.

Late in the morning he considered texting or
calling Cheryl only to hold back, afraid of freaking her out or
scaring her off. But he was a guy, and he’d learned early on that
he should be the first to get in touch after sex, and he’d damn
well have wanted to even if that hadn’t been the rule. So during
lunch he sent a quick text telling her she was amazing and he
looked forward to seeing her again.

He had to endure twenty minutes of anxious
waiting before she replied. “Right back at ya, hot stuff xo.”

“What’s got you smiling, Jason?”

Patty, sitting across from him at the table,
paused from eating her lunch to stare at him, waiting for an
answer.

“Just something a friend wrote,” he told her,
trying to dial down his enthusiasm.

“Must be some friend,” she commented, taking
another bite of her sandwich.

If only she knew.

***

Cheryl woke up shortly before eleven, then
dozed on and off again, her dreams full of sensation and color.
Silk sheets against her skin, hands skimming over her, a man’s
rough whisper. Her body hummed and floated, satiated and yet ready
for more.

The bright sun shining through a crack in her
curtains finally roused her. Stretching, she smiled at the pleasant
soreness that answered back.

Jason.

His scent was in bed with her, and she turned
her face into the pillow and breathed him in. What she wouldn’t
give to have him back in her bed this second. Something told her
they’d only scratched the surface of what they could do to one
another. Normally it took time to manage sex half that good, and
they’d done it their first go. But she shouldn’t be surprised. They
were so hot for each other, and Jason was a man who paid attention.
A fine quality in a lover.

The urge to call him came over her but she
ignored it. It was too soon, and she didn’t want to come off as
needy. Bad enough that the whole time he’d known her she’d been out
of her element and lacking in confidence. Then she picked up her
phone and saw he’d texted her twenty minutes earlier and her whole
body shivered with delight. She wrote back, and then flopped back
onto the bed, replaying all the delicious details of their night
together.

Eventually hunger drove her out of bed, but
she still didn’t quite know what to do with herself. The whole day,
the whole week really, stretched out before her. No more classes or
teaching. She literally had nothing to do until Beth came to visit
on Sunday. She’d been looking forward to this week ever since the
hell of exam preparation had begun, but now she felt at loose
ends.

Then again, there were things she’d neglected
for weeks, like food shopping, cleaning her apartment, a haircut.
Cleaning was no way to spend her first free day though, so instead
she called Emily and arranged to meet for lunch at their favorite
Mexican restaurant.

She took a cab over to the Bunkhouse to
retrieve her car, then headed to the restaurant. Emily was already
seated, and as soon as Cheryl joined her Emily narrowed her eyes at
her. She waited only until the busboy had filled their water
glasses and moved away before speaking.

“Just what I thought. You totally got laid
last night.”

Cheryl coughed and tried to hold down her
water.

“But why now?” Emily asked. “You’ve showed
such restraint all along.”

“True. But it was impossible to ignore how
hot we are for each other. Plus I’m not working with him anymore.”
Cheryl sighed and picked up her napkin, folding it in half, then in
half again. “It had to happen, but it doesn’t change how I feel
about dating him. He wants to believe he’s okay with me stripping,
but I don’t think he could ever really accept it – especially if I
were his girlfriend. It’s one thing to have sex with a stripper.
You could even say that’s every guy’s fantasy. But it’s another
thing to date a stripper, you know?”

“What about dating an ex-stripper?”

Cheryl shook her head. “It would still be a
part of who I am—a part of my past he could never really be
comfortable with. Eventually it would come between us. If I ever
have a real relationship, it will have to be after that part of my
life is over, with a guy who will never, ever know about it.”

Emily frowned. “It sounds like you’re saying
you have to lie about who you are to be loved.”

“I’m just trying to be realistic, that’s all.
I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment.”

Emily sighed. “It’s your decision, of course.
I just think you might be selling Jason short – not to mention
yourself. But if you’re not dating, what exactly are the two of you
doing?”

“I proposed the standard friends with
benefits contract. He seemed fine with it.”

“I see. Don’t you think that might get messy,
or confusing?”

“I don’t see why it should,” she said, trying
not to sound defensive. “Anyway, it’s the only reasonable choice at
the moment.”

“Okay, your call. Now tell me the good stuff.
I assume it was good since you’ve got the glow.”

“More like stupendous, off the charts great.
Best sex I ever had, times four.”

Emily laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Cheryl asked.

“You just got this dreamy look on your face,
and I’m happy for you. You deserve whatever he’s giving you.”

The conversation turned to Emily’s wedding,
and all the family drama that came along with it.

“I get that it’s kind of far, but I’m having
it here and that’s the end of it. People do fly to weddings, and
it’s not like he’s my sixth husband.” She sighed. “At least my
mother isn’t giving me a hard time. Anything else I can deal
with.”

“Are you still planning to quit the club
after the wedding?” Cheryl asked.

“I don’t know. Cutter’s business has been
steadily improving, so we don’t really need the money anymore, but
it’s the only time I get to dance now. I’m not sure I want to give
it up. I need to look around and see what other options there are
for me.”

Cheryl nodded. “I’m quitting as soon as I get
a teaching job, but who knows when that’ll be.”

“You’ll find something,” Emily assured her.
“Enjoy your freedom while you have it.”

“I’ll try,” Cheryl said. “Maybe I’ll skip
cleaning and just read and watch movies.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

Cheryl’s phone rang and she hunted for it in
her purse, her heart beating faster at the thought that Jason might
be calling her. Not that he needed to. But it turned out to be an
unknown number. She let it go to voicemail.

“You feel like going wedding dress shopping
with me?” Emily asked. “I have appointments at a few places
today.”

Cheryl was game for anything, but especially
that, so after they ate she hopped in Emily’s car and they spent
the rest of the afternoon in wedding boutiques.

“I always thought they’d be super nice and
bend over backwards for a bride,” Cheryl whispered. “Why is
everyone so snotty?”

They were standing in the dressing room of
their last shop, hiding out from the tightly coiffed blond
saleswoman.

“I don’t know, but nearly every shop I’ve
been to is like this. Maybe I should be more of a bridezilla to
level the playing field.”

Cheryl laughed, then stood back and looked at
her friend. “I think this may be the one. Let’s get you out
there.”

Emily stepped onto the carpeted rise and the
saleswoman bustled around her, pulling back the bodice so that it
fit snugly and showed the line of the dress. The style was simple
and elegant, just like Emily.

Emily turned to Cheryl, her eyes bright with
excitement. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s perfect.”

Emily turned to the saleswoman. “How much is
it?” she asked, her expression anxious.

The woman found the tag tucked into the back
of the dress, and it was within Emily’s budget.

“I’ll take it,” Emily said, looking at
herself in the mirror. Her eyes found Cheryl’s. “I’m really getting
married,” she whispered.

“You really are, honey,” Cheryl said, her own
eyes tearing up.

It wasn’t just that Emily looked beautiful
and perfect and she was thrilled for her. She couldn’t help
thinking about how Emily and Cutter had started off so casually,
never intending to be together for long, and then had fallen in
love. But that wasn’t going to happen to her. She and Jason would
never be more than what they were now. Which was fine, but it meant
that what they had was going to end, whereas Emily’s happiness was
only beginning. Talk about a reality check.

Emily stayed in the dress for a few more
minutes, reluctant to part with it, before finally letting Cheryl
help her change.

Cheryl checked her messages while Emily paid
for the dress and made her first fitting appointment. She had a few
more texts congratulating her and one voice message. As soon as the
voice message started she gave a little shriek.

Emily turned around, wide-eyed. “What’s
wrong?”

Cheryl finished listening to the message
before answering. “That was someone from Coronado High. The
Henderson principal recommended me to them, and they’re hoping I
can come in this week to interview.” She did a little jig. “This is
my chance. One of their English teachers is going on early
maternity leave and they need someone to start in January.”

“Oh my God, that’s amazing,” Emily said.
“Call them back.”

So she did, and they set up an interview for
Wednesday at ten-thirty. Cheryl hung up and looked at Emily. “I
need something to wear. Feel like coming shopping with me?”

“Absolutely. This is our lucky day.”

***

Cheryl got home from shopping and dinner
after six, and the first thing she did was call Jason.

“Hey there,” he answered.

“I have an interview,” she blurted out, too
excited for any preliminaries.

“That’s amazing. Where?”

She filled him in as she hung up her new suit
and changed her sheets. She was still too excited to sit still, and
they really had done quite a number on the bed.

“You must have really impressed Laurie,” he
said.

“I guess, but I’m so nervous. This might be
my only chance for next semester. I can’t screw it up.”

“You won’t. But it might be good to do a
practice run. Why don’t I interview you and you can work out the
kinks in your answers.”

“That would be great,” she said. “I’ll even
make it worth your while,” she added, pitching her voice so it got
all low and husky and come-hitherish.

“Well then I guess we have a deal.”

“Perfect. I’ll even feed you dinner.”

“You don’t have to–”

“I want to, so don’t argue.”

“Okay,” he said, laughing.

She could see him so clearly, the way his
eyes warmed and a dimple appeared, like her gift for amusing
him.

“How does six sound?”

“It sounds perfect.”