Teasing Hands (3 page)

What ha
d I just agreed to?

4

“You’re late.” Jennifer greeted us
wit
h
a tray of Jell-O shots in her hand, the multi-flavoured little offerings making my mouth water.

“Blame that one
.” I pointed at Steph, and then took one of the tiny cups with the delicious concoction inside. It tasted so good. The liquor slid down my throat and I moaned out a low, “Fuck.”

“Been a while, Mandi?”

I quirked my brow at Steph.

“
Since, you know, you’ve been fucked?” She answered my silent question.

I rolled my eyes at her. “You know it has! Way too long.”

They all knew it had been. It’d taken me two years to find myself after he left. Hunter was all I knew.

T
ogether since middle school, I’d loved him fiercely but that hadn’t been enough for him. He’d wanted to taste what the world had to offer, and that hurt more than anything. His words had made me feel small, like I wasn’t enough. 

I was ready to feel that
kind of connection again. Not a relationship with all the feelings attached, no. What I yearned for was a man’s touch. To be taken. Fucked. Worshipped.

“Amen.”

We all turned to look at Courtney.

“What? It’s true.”
She laughed.

“Well…”
This was new.
Jennifer blushed and looked away.

“Spill, bitch.” Grabbing her by the arm, I dragged her
in to the living room and placed the tray of shots on her coffee table. “Did you get laid?”

“When?” Steph demanded as we surrounded a giggling Jennifer. “And for the love of God
, woman, with who?”

Jennifer covered her face with
her hand and her muffled response left us speechless. “I slept with Coach Miller yesterday.”

Holy…

“Shit!” Courtney laughed, and the rest of us followed. The man was young for the position he held. Only thirty-six and single, he had every woman on our team drooling, and that heifer had slept with him.

“Well, cheers to that.” Everyone followed my lead and thr
ew a shot back. “Congrats, babe.”

“Can I just say that I’m proud to call you a friend?” Stephanie stood up and bowed before Jen. “Now, how big is he?”

“Damn. You beat me to it.” Court reached for the tray and grabbed another shot. “Was he impressive? We’ve seen his hands and feet. Is he as big as we all want him to be?”

“Those long fingers.” I fanned myself and joined Courtney in having another shot.

“I cannot believe I’m admitting this.” Jennifer stood up, walked over, and opened the side table by the couch. She pulled a measuring tape from within and measured out eight inches. “Very thick, too.”

“You lucky bitch.” It was the only way I could express how I felt. Impressive would be an understatement. “How the fuck did you play today? You should be sore.”

“Trust me, I am.” Her face said it all. She looked smug, and in my opinion, she had every right to be.

“Nice.” Stephanie’s face was comical. She wore an expression mixed between jealous
y and pride. “Now, let’s hurry up and get ready. I’m hoping to get lucky and meet someone tonight.”

“One
-night stands aren’t your norm,” Jennifer said what I was thinking.

“Yes, and that isn’t the case for tonight either.
” Steph grabbed her bag from the floor and stood up. She eyed the last shot on the table before grabbing it and tossing it back. “I’m hoping to meet someone … not fuck them. The cock riding comes much later in the relationship.”

“Amen,”
I agreed and followed her lead toward the guest bedroom.

Jennifer’s parents paid for this amazing apartment off Brickell Ave. It was
a spacious, two bedroom condominium close to both the bay and the nightlife downtown Miami offered.

The other two
split off and began to get dressed in Jennifer’s room. Steph and I took the guest room and bathroom as ours.

“W
hat time are the others meeting us, Mandi?” Stephanie rummaged through her bag and pulled out a little black number. It was a simple sweetheart-neckline dress that was tight on the body and ended mid-thigh. She pulled her hair into a sleek bun at the nape of her neck. For shoes she had a pair of black pumps, and then some gold teardrop earrings to finalize her look.

She
looked beautiful. I whistled and nodded in approval. “Cute dress.”

“Thanks.”

“We agreed on ten in front of Rage.”

Steph looked down at her watch and snapped her fingers at me. “Fuck, Mandi
, it’s nine already. Finish up while I go and hurry the other two up.”

Waving her off, I shimmied into my pair of distressed skinny jeans. They were tight and molded onto my curves perfectly. Eyeing the two tops I
’d brought, I turned to the mirror and pulled them in front of me.

Did I want attention? Show the curves hours at the gym and playing ball
had given me?

Or did I want to go with comfortable?

“Do it.”

I looked up then and caught Courtney’s eyes in the mirror.

“You're thinking about him again, aren't you? Well, fuck him
.
Show some skin. His stupid ass isn't here anyway. Flaunt what you worked your ass off for.”

She was right. It’
d been so long since he left—he’d abandoned our relationship the moment he was accepted into NYU. The twinge of hurt still simmered, but I was at the stage where breathing didn’t hurt. I no longer loved him, just missed what we’d had.

The flimsy
, light pink, crocheted halter-top felt light in my hands while I pulled it into position. “Can you tie me up?”

“The men tonight will be falling over themselves when they see you. Prepare to be eye
-fucked all night.” Court tied the top securely with a small smile on her face. “It’s nice to see you be yourself again.”

“I’ve always been here.”

“In a physical sense, yes. Sometimes, though, you’d be right in front of me, but mentally miles away.” Courtney placed her hands on my shoulders and gave them a squeeze. “Love’s a bitch, I get that, Mandi. That’s why I never pushed.”

“Thank you.” I squeezed her hand on my shoulder and finished getting ready.

A few gold bangles and some hoop earrings worked well with the outfit. Fingering the long gold necklace he’d bought me the last birthday we were together, I was tempted to put it on.

No.
Courtney was right.
Fuck him.

I kept the makeup light
, just some liner and tinted gloss to polish my look. What stared back at me from the mirror made me smile. It was me. The
me
from before he’d left.

The girls were all sitting in the living room when I walked out. Jennifer and Courtney
were keeping it simple tonight with similar bandage dresses. Jen’s dress was red—bright and sexy. It matched her strong personality. Her long, dark hair was up in a high ponytail and her makeup was simple except for the bold red lips which matched her dress.

Courtney’s dress was silver and short. Her long red hair had been kept down, the natural waves framing her face softly. Like me, she
’d kept her face clean and only wore gloss.

“Ready to go?” I asked while slipping my wedged sandals on. The girls were in similar positions, bent over and securing their strappy heels in place.

  “Fuck, yes,” they answered in unison and then laughed. There was a bottle of tequila on the center table that hadn’t been there before.

It was time to call a cab. There was no way in hell any of us would be sober enough to drive back.

We were late.

More than forty minutes behind schedule
, in fact, so we’d called the other girls to wait for us. The nighttime traffic tonight was ridiculous. Everyone in the city was out celebrating and drinking to one thing or another, most, like us, taking taxis to their destinations.

“Jesus
.” Steph whistled at the line before us. It wrapped around the building, toward the small parking area at the rear.

“Who’s working the door?” Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out a few bills and paid the
cabbie. We’d asked the driver to leave us a block away. Any closer, and we’d be lucky to get there by morning.

Courtney giggled while pulling her dress down. “I think Kevin is, Mandi.”

“Shit,” I grouched and turned to wave the taxi back. Kevin had had a crush on me for the last year. He’d asked me out countless times. I simply wasn’t interested.

“He’s cute,” Steph argued
, and I raised a brow. “Amanda, he’s—”

“Not my type.” My
tone had come out harsher than intended, but they needed to back off. It wasn’t the first time they’d tried to sell someone of the opposite sex to me.

“Guys
, leave Mandi alone.”

I gave Jennifer a thankful smile and accepted her outstretched hand. “Thank you.”

“No problem, babe.”

We walked off toward the club. The other two reached us soon enough
, apologetic puppy dog eyes in place. “Sorry.” They said in unison, and I nodded in acceptance. They meant well. It wasn’t their fault that I’d yet to meet a man who’d steal my breath.

Who’d take me to the edge and let me fall
, wrapped up in his arms.

There were many glares and curses
when we bypassed the line and went straight for the club’s main doors. Kevin was off tonight and I sighed in relief, much to the other bouncer’s amusement.

“The VIP section has been reserved for you girls tonight. Your party is already upstairs enjoying.”

“We didn’t request—”

He cut me off, smirk in place
, while looking down at his clipboard. “A Susana Brooks requested it for you and she left her credit card on file to cover the tab.”

“Holy
shit!” That came from me.

“Love your mom, Mandi.” Steph clapped twice and walked past me. The other two followed while I watched at a los
s.

I c
ouldn’t believe she’d done this.
How did she even know we were coming here?

“I told
Mom we’d be here tonight,” Court answered my unvoiced question. “Pretty cool of her.” And she was right. This was beyond nice of her.

My phone pinged then. I pulled it from my back pocket and opened the screen to my messages. Mom had sent me a text fifteen minutes ago. Only one word
:
Enjoy.

The walls inside the club thumped. It was reggae night and the space was packed to capacity
, bodies grinding and more ass on display than any strip club in town. The décor inside of Rage was a mixture of industrial chic meets brothel. Clean lines and sex. Steel-paneled walls and long leather couches. Smooth concrete floors and vintage chandeliers. It was an odd mix, yet it worked.