Man Candy (19 page)

“That was Disney World and Universal Studios rolled into one.”

Before I could respond the smoke detector started going off. That was when I realized the burner under the griddle was still on and the kitchen was filling with smoke.

“Fuck,” I bit out. Disconnecting us, I tossed the condom in the garbage on my way to the smoking stove and turned off the gas. I opened the window to help air the room out.

“Whoops,” she said sitting up on the table.

We both laughed at the state of the kitchen as we looked around. There was batter covering the floor, countertops, and table. The griddle was burned and needed to be tossed. The air was cloudy and there was a stench lingering.

In the end, we ate cheerios before cleaning up the evidence of our food fight.

After a much needed shower where we removed dried batter from each other’s bodies, Rissa explored my kitchen, checking out what gadgets I had and looking for something to make for lunch.

I watched her move around, so graceful and at ease in my home. If it was something I got to watch for years to come, I wouldn’t find cause for complaint. How could I when I had found someone who suited me and made me unbelievably happy.

“Find anything good?” I asked her distractedly when I thought I heard a car pull in the front driveway.

“Well I can make tuna fish.” She made a face at that before continuing. “Or I can make us boxed macaroni and cheese.” She repeated the face making me laugh with amusement at her cute antics.

“I think there’s cheese in the fridge too. I’ll take a tuna melt with mac and cheese.” I winked at her, causing her to roll her eyes. “And then we’ll go grocery shopping after we go to your house and get clothes for you.”

Rissa was wearing an old threadbare t-shirt of mine from senior year of high school. It didn’t fit me anymore so it was a lucky find when I was looking for something she wouldn’t completely swim in. I also scored when I discovered my mom had left a few articles of clothing behind when she housesat for me. The yoga pants Rissa decided on were a little big and hung off her hips. It might have annoyed her but I personally enjoyed seeing the smooth expanse of exposed skin on her lower abdomen when she moved just right.

“I appreciate you dressing me but I cannot wait to get in my own clothes. Although I
am
stealing this shirt.” She smirked unapologetically and started on lunch.

Standing up from the table, I headed into the living room to look out the front window to see who was there. Five feet from the front door, it opened and Tanner walked in.

I really needed to consider taking back his keys if Rissa was going to spend time here. Him potentially walking in on us having sex was not an option.

A good look at Tanner’s set jaw and blazing eyes told me that he was in a mood. He looked ready to blow at any second.

“What’s up?” I stopped walking and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Lucy is a fucking whore,” he spat out.

“Well she is a stripper at Pussy Willow,” I reminded him. Who knew what went on behind closed doors where she worked. I had only been in there a time or two with some buddies, but it was evident that “private dances” were a big money maker for them. I had even heard that sleeping with the owner was a condition of employment. Although, I wasn’t sure if that were true or not though.

Pointing his finger at me, he barked, “Now is not the time to be all wise on me.”

“What time is it then?”

“It’s time for a damn shot of bourbon.” He skirted around me like I wasn’t even there and went into the kitchen where he knew my stash of liquor was.

“Tanner—” I tried to warn him that Rissa was over, but I was too late.

“Well look at what we have here,” he drawled. “Did my baby brother finally get him some?”

“Oh look, it’s Tanner. The day can finally start,” Rissa deadpanned.

“Hey, baby, you can just give me a call next time you’re missing me,” he replied.

There was no doubt that Tanner was a womanizer and playboy. How the hell Rissa could have ever thought I was anything like him was beyond me. Seeing us together should have dispelled that notion for her if my behavior hadn’t already.

“Why don’t you just get to the reason why you’re here and stop annoying my girl?” I suggested earning me raised eyebrows from both Tanner and Rissa. “What?” I asked them.

“Finally staking that claim, bro. About time.” He patted me on the back and opened up the cupboard, pulling out the bourbon.

I chanced a glance at Rissa and saw her giving me a quizzical look. I had a feeling she wouldn’t let it go, and I was going to have to explain that particular conversation later. I bet she was going to love Tanner’s caveman advice.

“You’re testing my patience.” I sat at the table across from where he pulled out a chair and sprawled out in it.

“Do you really think I care?”

“You will when I kick your ass out. Now get back on track. You were saying something about Lucy being a whore?” I prompted him to get on with his story.

“Yeah. She asked me to come over last night, but I was otherwise...
engaged
, so I told her I’d stop by today. When I went over there, that bitch was ready to sleep with me even though she still had some other guy’s spunk in her.”

“Ewww.” Rissa scrunched her nose up and made a gagging noise.

“Dude,” I warned him.

“Well she did. I stuck my finger in there and was like what the fuck is this shit. She started to panic and grabbed my dick thinking she could lead me around by it. I’ve never put my pants back on so fast before. Coming off sure, going back on. Nope.

“That bitch even had the nerve to chase after me when I stormed out of the house. She was going on about how the fucker meant nothing and she would have showered after he left if I hadn’t shown up. Stupid, dirty cunt.” He shook his head in disgust and downed another shot before slamming the glass on the table.

“Watch your language,” I snapped at him.

“It’s okay, Ben. She does sound like a world class cunt. Tanner, are you hungry?” I was astonished when Rissa concurred with his assessment of Lucy. I didn’t know many women who readily used that word to describe another woman. Not to mention she was siding with Tanner on something.

“I could eat.” He shrugged and accepted the plate of food she put in front of him.

When she brought our plates over, I grabbed her and pulled her onto my lap.

“How are you going to eat with me on your lap?” she asked me with annoyance.

“I’ll be able to manage, sweetheart.”

She tried to get up, but I held her down and whispered in her ear, “Stop squirming if you don’t want me to drag you upstairs and fuck you again.”

She shivered, making me chuckle. I picked my fork up and started eating, glad that Tanner hadn’t picked up on our conversation. Rissa, however, sat stock still for several minutes before she finally relaxed and took a bite of her sandwich.

“You can’t really be mad at her for sleeping with someone else when you’ve been seeing Meredith. I’m assuming that’s who you were engaged with last night,” I mumbled as I chewed my macaroni and cheese.

“Are you shitting me? This is nothing like that. She fucked him like a half hour before she tried to fuck me. That is the sleaziest thing I’ve ever seen,” he ground out between clenched teeth.

“Good point,” I replied and left the conversation there. At that point I knew his pride was hurt and he wouldn’t want me talking about it anymore. Which was why I didn’t say I told you so considering I had tried to warn him back when he first started drooling over Lucy that he needed to avoid her at all costs. She had trouble written all over her.

“So you two finally did the horizontal mambo?” Tanner unceremoniously asked around the time we were finished up eating.

“That’s none of your business,” Rissa hissed at him. She had been dealing with his lame comments all throughout lunch. Much longer than most women would have lasted. The teasing gleam in his eye told me he was enjoying harassing her.

Thank God my mother never had a daughter because Tanner probably would have driven her absolutely crazy when we grew up.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He gave her a shit eating grin and lifted his eyes to me. When he opened his mouth to speak, I cut him off. Enough was enough.

“Tanner, I will kick the shit out of you if you don’t shut the fuck up. Right. Now.”

“Geez, bro. I thought once you got laid you would loosen up. Guess I was wrong. Rissa, honey, if you need pointers on what to do, I’d only be happy to—”

I pushed Rissa off my lap and stood so fast, my chair scraped along the hardwood before crashing to the floor. Within seconds, I had my hand fisted in his shirt and shoved him towards the door. He was lucky I didn’t knock some fucking sense into him while I was at it.

“What the fuck,” he yelled when I threw him out the door. “I was just kidding.”

“Get the fuck out and don’t come back until you learn some manners.”

“Are you for real right now?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yes. You’ve been disrespecting Rissa for the last half hour. I’m done.”

“I can’t believe you’re already pussy whipped. You know what? You two fucking deserve each other. You’re both uptight pricks most of the time.” He made a dismissive gesture with his hand and walked down the driveway to his truck.

He was such a piece of work. I watched with no small amount of irritation as he reversed out of the driveway and squealed his tires as he took off down the street.

His joking went too far sometimes and it always resulted in us arguing. Eventually he would apologize and things would go back to normal. As long as he started treating Rissa right we would anyway.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and looked down at the ground in an effort to calm my lingering frustration. I took several deep breaths before going back inside to find Rissa in the kitchen where she was putting the dishes into the dishwasher a little harder than was necessary.

“Hey,” I whispered pulling her into my arms.

She turned towards me, and with her arms wrapped around my waist her head rested on my chest.

“Your brother is an ass,” she murmured in an annoyed tone.

“I know.”

“Does he ever know when to quit?”

“Not really,” I chuckled lightly.

“Ugh. I was afraid you were going to say that.”

I dipped my head and leaned back so I could see her face. “You okay?”

She raised her shoulder in a half shrug before answering. “I am if you are.”

“Oh, I’m good. Great even.”

“Oh yeah?” She cocked her head to the side and gave me a seductive little smile.

“Yeah. How about we go get your clothes and stop at the store? When we’re done we can come back here and I can show you just how good I am.”

“Or you can show me now and we can worry about that other stuff later,” she suggested with a waggle of her eyebrows.

“Tempting,” I murmured and began peppering kisses along her jaw and neck.

“Good. We still need to christen your living room.” Her hands ran down my back and into my jeans where she gripped my ass.

It would be so easy to let her seduce me. If I did we’d never make it out of the house and that would hinder my brilliant plan to keep her with me as long as I could.

“I have an even better idea. You could stay the night and then we can do whatever you want for as long you want.”

“I have to work tomorrow,” she protested.

“Me too. I’ll make sure you get up. You can bring your stuff here and get ready after I leave for work.” My lips grazed her ear, and my tongue snaked out to taste the skin behind it.

After a few more minutes of my slow and deliberate attention to her neck, she finally spoke. “Okay. Let’s go.”

I smiled against her skin. It seemed as though I found a great way to get Clarissa to come around to my way of thinking when I needed to.

*****

“I’m so hungry,” Rissa whined as we started the twenty minute drive back to my house from the grocery store.

“When we get home, I’ll fire up the grill to make burgers,” I reassured her.

“But I’m hungry now and you didn’t buy any good snack food at the store.” She stuck her lower lip out in a little pout.

Damn even when she was pouting she was cute.

“Check the glove compartment. I think there might be something in there. No promises though.”

She wasted no time pulling out napkins and papers in search of something to eat. It was fairly comical watching her dig through everything like she was starving. It had only been a few hours since lunch. There was no way she could be that hungry.

“Really, Ben?” She held up a large string of condoms between two fingers.

“What? It’s always good to be prepared,” I said innocently.

“This is a little more than prepared. There are like over a dozen in here. How many women did you plan on seducing?” Her tone was a tad disenchanted and a whole lot of repulsed.

“I wasn’t a choir boy before I met you, Riss. Besides I didn’t hear you complaining about my experience when I gave you those world class orgasms.” I tried for a light and easy tone when really I was aggravated that we were even having this conversation. She let her ex move in the day after we went at it in a bathroom. From where I sat she didn’t really have any room to judge past behaviors.

She made a sound that sounded like “Pfft.” “There you go with your world class description again. I didn’t use that adjective to describe them.”

“I believe the word you used was glorious and I’m fairly certain they are synonymous with one another.”

“You’re full of it,” she grumbled and went back to looking for something to eat. Guess she was over the condom rant.

“Oh my God! You have conversation hearts. I love these,” she exclaimed.