Covered: Part One (5 page)

She was waiting when I got there, which was never a good way to start a visit with Jenny. She liked to be the late one.

“Well, how kind of you to show up,” she said and jiggled her leg under the table.

“Did you order?” I asked and picked up a menu. I was only ten minutes late, it’s not like I’d given her mom cancer or something. I didn’t get the level of her irritation unless she was still pissed about being shut out by Gavin last night.

“Uh, no,” she replied, “I was waiting for you. But I’m
starving
.”

The waitress took our order and came back with two black coffees. Jenny sipped hers and pouted until I finally broke the silence.

“Did you have fun last night?” I asked.

“Not as much as you obviously.”

“I’m not going to hide it, I had a fantastic time.”

“It’s all over the blogs. Everybody knows
allll
about it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Uh, you basically made out with him in public, in front of everyone at the event. Blogs are sharing pictures, readers are sharing pictures. There’s a huge argument about people hooking up at book events on Twitter. It’s like world war three out there, all because of you.”

My mouth went dry and my throat closed. My entire existence was built up around being in the background. I was infinitely more comfortable letting people like Jenny shine in the spotlight.

I would hold her coat while she danced, that was where I felt I was meant to be.

To be exposed like this felt unnatural. “So is it just in the book community?” I asked.

“Isn’t that enough?” she demanded, “I am so embarrassed by this.”

“Why are you making it personal?” I asked, “This isn’t about you. This is about me and finally making a bad decision. Finally living.”

“You realize he used you,” she said, “he could tell I wasn’t interested so he moved on to you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I replied, “we both know that’s not true.”

I didn’t know why she was making it so personal, it had nothing to do with her really. She hadn’t become part of the book community until long after I had built my little empire. I truly had the most to lose here.

I grabbed my phone and checked out a few of my favorite blogs. The first had a small blurb about unseemly conduct at book events, but nothing too damning.

It got worse as I went along. By the end of my little tour, I was almost in tears.

There were photos of Gavin and I kissing, leaving together, and even some of us in my car driving away from the hotel. I was painfully aware of the disparity between us, he was gorgeous in every one and I looked plain and frumpy. I was even caught in mid glasses shove with my finger in the middle of the frame and my lips screwed up.

“This is bad,” I said and realized my food had arrived and already gone cold, “this is really bad.”

“I told you,” Jenny crowed, “he was just looking for a quickie at the event.”

“That’s not true though,” I replied, “we didn’t hook up. We never had sex. In fact, we’re going on a date tonight.”

Jenny’s face dropped, then she clamped her lips together and narrowed her eyes. “Well that’s sweet,” she said, “I’m really happy for you. You’ve waited so long for anybody to notice you, I guess it’s about time.”

That was the nicest thing I would get out of Jenny today so I took it as a compliment. We spent the rest of lunch going over her new duties as co-blogger, first and foremost doing damage control for the blog.

I can’t say that I trusted her, but I was feeling a little bruised and beaten down at that point. Being thrust into the public eye as the slut who banged Gavin James would do that to a person.

**

He picked me up as promised. At exactly six o’clock on the nose, Gavin James knocked on Auntie G’s front door wearing a tailored suit jacket over a white dress shirt and form fitting pants. He was delicious, sex on a stick as so many books say. I could have devoured him right then and there.

If Auntie G and seven or so of her closest cats hadn’t been watching.

“What did you say your name was again?” she asked Gavin and looked him up and down.

“Gavin,” he replied, “Gavin James.”

“Well, Gavin Gavin James,” she said, “you take good care of Sarai tonight or I’ll be forced to break open a can of whoop ass.” She cackled as she pulled a dollar store gag gift from behind her back. It was a can with, ‘Whoop Ass’ scrolled across the front in comic book letters.

I could have crawled into a hole just then, and made a mental note to meet Gavin at the restaurant next time.

“I will keep that in mind,” he replied with a serious look on his face, but humor was dancing around the edges of his eyes, “so what’s her curfew?”

She leaned in and looked up at him. Waaaaay up. Auntie G was only about five five, she always said my mother was supposed to be twins, that’s why she was double the height of a normal person. She wasn’t, of course, but she had been about six feet. Fashion model and all that. I took after her in height.

She appeared to not know if he was pulling her leg or not, gave him the once over and broke out into a laugh. “Bring her home by ten,” she said and gave me as stern a look as she could muster, “in the morning that is. I need a ride to my physio appointment and Lynette is too busy with her hot young yoga instructor to pay attention to me.”

Lynette was her oldest and dearest friend, but she did have a short attention span when hot young men were in play. Reminded me of an older version of the same dynamic between Jenny and I.

“Will do,” Gavin said and reached for her hand, “it’s been a pleasure meeting you.” He gave it a small shake, but she pulled him in and threw her arms around him for a bear hug. He leaned down and accepted it, a crooked smile on his face.

“Seriously,” I said, “it’s not like you’re sending me off to get married. Get a grip, I’ll see you later.”

“Have fun,” she replied and winked at me knowingly. The ground could open up at any time, really, and I’d be fine with it.

“Take care,” Gavin said and we finally escaped her scrutiny. Halfway down the walk to his car, she poked her head out the front door.

“I like him, Sarai,” Auntie G. yelled after us, “don’t mess it up!”

Gavin chuckled and took my hand, gave it a squeeze and said, “She’s awesome, quite a character.”

Character is what polite people call bat shit crazy loved ones of people they don’t want to offend. But hey, I’d take it.

“Thanks,” I replied, “she can be a bit much at times, but she’s my only family so I’m stuck with her.” I grinned to let him know I was kidding. I couldn’t even pretend to not care for her, she really was my only family and I loved her with all my heart. She had picked up the pieces after my parent’s death and patched me together the best she could.

We got into his car, some sleek sports model worth at least six figures more than my shitty Corolla, and headed off to whatever the evening held. Our small talk was easy, we were natural with each other and he got my jokes. All of them. I was more than impressed by the time we pulled up in front of a towering building on Seattle’s waterfront and a valet leapt to his feet to whisk the car away.

We walked through a lobby straight out of Architectural Digest. I was silent as we strolled arm in arm, my heels clicking on the marble floors and my feet silently screaming at me for night two of abuse. I was so glad I didn’t slide on my old leather flats though, even in heels and a little black dress I felt shockingly underdressed.

“You look like you’re going to throw up, love,” Gavin whispered as we got into the elevator, “ don’t be nervous, I promise I won’t bite. Much.”

“I’m okay,” I replied, my nervous smoothing of invisible wrinkles in the fabric of my dress must be giving me away.

“Yes, you’re always okay,” he said and smiled. Suddenly he reached out and hit the emergency stop button. The elevator lights went dim and an alarm sounded.

“What are you doing?” I asked breathlessly.

“What I’ve wanted to do since you opened the door,” he replied. He stepped towards me, cupped my face in his huge hands and leaned down to kiss me.

It was one of those god damn feel it from the end of my hair to the tips of my toes kind of kisses. His lips were soft but persistent, his tongue seeking mine and conquering it with ease, I was completely pliant against him and willing to do anything at that point.

A speaker on the control panel buzzed and a voice broke through our bubble to ask, “Excuse me, is there an emergency?”

Gavin didn’t stop his kisses, but I stiffened up, pulled back and buried my head in his chest. He wrapped his arms around me. “They’re probably watching,” I whispered against his broad muscled embrace.

“Let them watch,” he replied and kissed the top of my head, paused and inhaled. “You smell so fucking good I could devour you right now, no matter who was spying on us.”

I felt a jolt of excitement course through me, a small thrill knowing that he didn’t care who might see what we were up to.

Then my good sense kicked in and I said, “I know, but I’m…not shy exactly…a hermit perhaps? That’s probably the best word for it. I’m sorry, I’m just not used to this.”

He touched my cheek with his hand, held it there and looked at me. “I’m the one who should be sorry,” he replied, “I forget that you’re not used to this. I was raised in the spotlight and have lived under the public’s scrutiny since I left home. It’s all a part of life for me, but not for you.”

He reached down and pulled the emergency stop button out. The lights flared, the alarms went off and the elevator started moving again.

He kissed me one more time before we made it to the fifth floor. This time I didn’t notice the doors open until he let me go. I blushed furiously when I caught the angry sideways glance of a beautiful, glamorous older woman. She and her husband pushed past us as we exited, they must have gotten a little show when the doors had opened.

“Such displays,” she muttered under her breath, “so crass.” She nudged her husband and he looked down at her.

“Lucky guy,” he said as the doors closed. Gavin and I laughed and he took my hand in his as we approached the maître d. On the way to our table I had a spare moment to catch my breath and take in my surroundings.

And check out his fine body as I followed him.

And I have to tell you, it was fine indeed.

The restaurant was built overlooking the water, the lights from the city twinkled all around us, and our table was close enough to the window that it felt almost dizzying, as though we’d pitch over the edge.

It was a large space, but the lights were dim and the tables positioned well enough that we had some privacy. I looked around and thought I picked out a fairly well known actress as well as a local athlete. No famous authors though, so I couldn’t be completely sure of their names. If they didn’t write books, I probably didn’t pay much attention to them.

“This place is amazing,” I said when I realized Gavin was watching me. I hoped I hadn’t been rubber necking like a country yokel. I felt a little out of my element around him, I had to admit that to myself so I could shake it off and let it go.

“You are amazing, love,” he said and reached for my hand. He took it in his and absent-mindedly stroked my skin with his thumbs. Each pass sent little shivers of sensation up and down my body. My stomach started to flip flop and I felt a tinge of giddiness creep up around the edges of my head.

“So are you,” I replied and smiled at him. He ducked forward for a kiss. We were interrupted by our waiter, so our contact was broken and we pulled back, smiling at each other secretly.

The waiter seemed completely bored of our display and handed us our menus with a slight huff. He walked away and left us to our little corner of the universe.

We studied the menu and I was overcome with the sudden urge to do something I’d never done before. I silently kicked my shoe off under the table, surreptitiously peeked to make sure the tablecloth draped down fairly far, and slid my bare foot up his leg.

He straightened in his chair and shot me a wicked grin. “Hello there,” he said and one hand dropped out of sight. He took my foot in his hand and played with my toes. I was, at that moment, eternally thankful for two things. The first, I had silky smooth feet due to Jenny’s insistence that I follow her to the spa a couple times a month. And two? That I had taken another shower just before meeting him. I hated to think of him bringing up his hand covered in toe jam.

“Are we ready to order?” our waiter asked, making me jump a little. My toes brushed over his form fitting pants and along something that could only be described as gigantic.

He had an erection and I’d just touched it.

My cheeks went furious red and I felt a surge of heat. The embarrassment combined with the fact that I’d touched his dick not once, but twice…or maybe three or four times now and I hardly knew him.

“We will have a bottle of your best red,” Gavin said without missing a beat, “and make sure it’s a proper vintage, not any of this local shite. You got that?”

“Yes sir,” the waiter replied and scurried away to pick out a bottle of wine that probably cost more than a semester’s tuition back in college. I’d been on scholarships though, so not like a full semester.

“So where were we?” he asked and flashed me that charming, panty melting smile once again. The world lost focus and all I could see was Gavin, all I could feel was his hot body against me, and all I could hear was my own heart pounding in my chest.

Against every fibre in my body protesting my bold behavior, I ran my foot up his thigh and found the rock hard ridge. I stroked it with my toes and revelled in the power that coursed through my body. The sexiest man in the world had set his jaw and half closed his eyes in pleasure and anticipation, all because of my little foot rubbing him through the fabric of his pants.

“I believe we were here,” I replied and bit my lower lip. I was extremely turned on, but mostly I was hiding my natural reaction to situations that caused me anxiety…laughter.

I’m not a guy, and I haven’t been with many, two if you recall, but I’m quite certain that none of them want to be giggled at when a girl touches their manhood.

“Ah, that’s a good place to start,” Gavin replied and pretended to read the menu while his hand was on my foot and my foot was on his dick. He moved slightly, rubbed himself a little and gave a small moan.

“Too much?” I asked hastily, worried I’d crossed a line.

“I’m okay,” he said and smiled, “so, so very okay.”

“Okay,” I replied and finally giggled, “as long as we know what we’re going to order.”

“Whatever takes the fastest to prepare,” he said and tightened his hold on my foot, his hand was hot and strong and felt as though it was burning through my skin. “I knew I should have taken you to the McDonald’s drive through.”

“That would have been all kinds of classy,” I laughed. “I wouldn’t have minded though, to be honest. I’m not with you tonight because I feel like you have to spend money on me.”

“I don’t mind spending my money on you, love, “ he replied, serious all of a sudden. “Don’t even think that’s an issue with me. What’s the use of having anything if I can’t share it with a beautiful woman?”

“Then you’d better find one!” I said and gave an iron laugh that came out more like a bark. I hated the way I sounded in that moment.

“Stop,” he said and his hand ceased motion on my foot, “I don’t want to hear you talk about yourself like that.”

“I was just kidding,” I replied but felt my face grow hot again. Was I just kidding? I didn’t know really. My entire life had been spent either looking up at my glamorous mother and hearing people tsk about the chin I got from my father, or not thinking about my looks at all.

Auntie G had never said anything either way, when I was with her I just was. When I was with Jenny or out in the world, I couldn’t help but feel inadequate somehow. The way people turned their heads to watch her walk by, the men full of lust and the women full of envy.

I never really thought about it, but I supposed I should think about it now. Was my pairing with the hottest man in the world an equal relationship? I knew it wasn’t, I mean deep, deep down I knew I wasn’t up to his usual standards, but it didn’t feel real to me. I still felt like I was playing at it all, but what if the connection we seemed to have was truly as deep as it felt? What would happen then?

“I don’t think you were,” he said and gave my foot a squeeze. “You are beautiful Sarai, don’t forget it.”

“I don’t know…”

“That’s part of it,” he said, “because you don’t know. When you fell, you looked so mortified and so utterly helpless I wanted to drop down beside you and pick you up. But when I got closer and saw your stunning eyes, your perfect skin, your luscious…well…body, I was smitten.”

“It doesn’t happen like that, though. Not outside of the books I read.”

“It does,” he insisted, “because it just did.”

And here’s the thing, the absolutely crazy assed thing about what he said.

I believed him.

“Will this do, sir?” the waiter asked, breaking into our conversation at the worst possible moment.

Gavin barely glanced at the bottle and said, “Yes, yes, fine.”

“Shall I pour?”

“Yes, please do,” Gavin replied without breaking eye contact with me.

The waiter poured, Gavin stroked my foot under the table, and he stayed hard and pressed against me.

And I fell a little deeper into the crazy abyss that was becoming overwhelming in its perfection and allure.

For a few crazy days I was allowed to believe that it does happen in real life. That things I read about in the pages of my beloved romance novels could happen to me.

But life taught me long ago that things aren’t always what they seem, and nothing ever seems to go my way.