No Attachments (9 page)

"
So help me god, if you hit me with that remote again, you'll find it shoved somewhere you don't want it."

"
Oh, you flirt. Now, stop coming on to me and spill it," Tressa demanded, muting the TV as if my news required absolute silence to be revealed.

"
It's really no biggie. I think Nathan and I have tentatively agreed to date with a possibility of it turning into an affair with no attachments," I squawked out. Our deal suddenly seemed utterly ridiculous when steam and heat weren't clouding my judgment.

"
Holy shit, you slut," she joked as I glared at her. "Kidding."

"
I must be insane, right?" I moaned, covering my face with my hands.

"
If that's insanity, break me off a piece. I'll take a no-strings kind of arrangement with him any day. So, where's he taking you?"

"
I'm not sure," I admitted, rising from the sofa so I could calm my nerves with a mind-numbing amount of ice cream. "He said he'd take care of it when I pointed out Woodfalls isn't really known for their restaurant choices," I added, grabbing two bowls from the cabinet.

"
Hey, that's not true. Now that they finally finished the McDonald's by the high school, we're completely chic," she mocked.

"
Right you are. There's absolutely nothing wrong with gazing into each other's eyes over a cheeseburger and fries."

"
Honey, I'm sure he won't be gazing in your eyes," she teased, looking at my chest.

"
Stop being a perv. Besides, my boobs are nowhere near as big as yours," I answered, taking a big bite of ice cream so I wouldn't have to say anything else. A moment later, I yelped in pain as the ice cream hit my head in the worst case of brain freeze ever.

"
Sheesh, dip, didn't anyone ever teach you to take smaller bites?" Tressa asked, handing over her glass of water. "I feel like I'm babysitting Mackenzie and Matthew," she teased, referring to her twin two-year-old niece and nephew.

I would have glared at her
, but my head wasn't quite over the stabbing sensation I was currently suffering from. After several moments, I was finally able to resume eating my ice cream in smaller increments that Tressa took it upon herself to remind me to take. We spent the rest of the afternoon laughing our way through the comedies she had brought over. I pushed thoughts of Nathan to the far recesses of my brain, but every once in a while they would pop in just to frazzle me throughout the afternoon. By the time Tressa gathered her stuff to leave, I gave up all pretenses of normalcy.

"
You'll be fine," she said, giving me a hard hug in typical Tressa fashion.

"
I'm not worried," I blatantly lied through a fake smile.

"
Right. Your face is always a delicate shade of green," she said, laughing. "You'll be fine," she repeated. "Just enjoy the ride," she added, wagging her eyebrows at me suggestively. "And I mean that in every sense of the word."

"Y
ou're not helping," I griped, shooing her out the front door.

"
I expect tons of text messages and a call first thing in the morning," she yelled through my front door as I sagged against it. I was a mess. I seriously needed to get my shit together before Nathan saw through my adolescent hang-ups.

The next hour passed in a frenzied whirlwind of activity as I exhibite
d behaviors of someone who didn't have their shit together at all. I had decided to keep my attire casual and wear the cable-knit sweater and jeans I already had on. Halfway through brushing my hair, I had a sudden panic attack that my legs weren't freshly shaved. Dropping my jeans to my ankles, I rubbed my hand down my legs, grimacing at the short stubble that covered them. I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. Six forty-five, shit, maybe I had enough time to quickly run a razor over them.

With my jeans
still around my ankles, I hobbled toward the bathroom, which wasn't the best idea with my brain so frazzled. I took a face-first header into the wooden floors of my room that knocked the breath right out of me. Gasping, I took stock of any possible injuries while I ignored the dust bunnies under my bed that I now had a bird's-eye view of. Of course, it would be at that moment that Nathan decided to knock on my front door.

I jumped to my feet
, forgetting once again that my jeans were still around my ankles.

"
Mother all fuck," I grumbled as I found myself flat on my stomach for the second time with a loud crash. My lungs had just forgiven me for my last fall, and now seized up again, making me gasp for breath like a drowning victim. Halfway between berating myself for my complete dipshitedness and wishing my floor was at least carpeted in a situation like this, I heard my front door open.

"
Ashton, are you okay?" Nathan's worried voice called out.

I was in hell. For the briefest of moments, I actually contemplated trying to slide under my bed to hide.

"I'm fine," I answered, using the little bit of breath I had managed to recoup. I frantically tried to shimmy my jeans up over my legs although my prone position wasn't helping much.

"
I thought someone was attacking you," the last voice I wanted to hear at the moment said from my bedroom doorway.

I was wrong before. T
his was hell. "That someone would be my jeans." My answer came out muddled thanks to my predicament as heat filled my cheeks.

"
Are you okay?" he asked, obviously concerned to see my panty-covered ass face up while I tried in vain to hide my face in the wood flooring.

"
By okay, if you mean 'would I like to die at the moment?' That would be a resounding yes," my voice came out muffled due to the wood flooring against my face.

"
Would you like my help?" he asked. Now that he knew I hadn't suffered some stroke or cracked my head wide open, he was completely amused.

"No, I think I can handle this,"
I said sarcastically, flipping over onto my back so I could hike up my jeans. It was only after I was in the middle of flipping over that I realized my sweater had hiked up to my neck, exposing my bra-covered chest.

"
I kind of thought we would work up to this, but hey, I'm all in," he joked, leaning against the doorjamb.

"
Seriously, God must hate me," I mumbled, abandoning my jeans so I could pull down my sweater. "I'll be out in a minute," I said, trying to salvage the smallest bit of dignity I had left.

"
Are you sure? I have no problem assisting you," he said, winking at me.

"
Out," I demanded, trying to ignore the heat that flowed through me from his wink. It was unfair that even in mortification his wink had the power to seduce me.

H
e chuckled, pulling my bedroom door closed behind him and leaving me alone in my misery.

Nathan

I pulled into Ashton
's driveway ten minutes early and debated waiting in the car for a few minutes. As a rule, I never showed up early for a date. Women appreciated punctuality but loathed being surprised with an early arrival. As with everything concerning Ashton, all my rules were a wash. I wanted to see her, and I didn't want to wait.

I
tried to at least discipline myself to walk to the front door like I had some kind of control. I knocked, expecting her to answer, but was surprised when I heard a dull thump from within the cottage like something had fallen or had been knocked down. Going by instinct, I reached out and tried the doorknob. Finding it unlocked, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Adrenaline raced through me as I heard struggling coming from the other room. Calling out to Ashton was only a formality since there was no way in hell I was waiting around to see if someone was attacking her or something to that effect. Her muffled response only fueled my fire as I prepared to kick someone's ass. Little did I know what I would find instead.

Perhaps the finest panty-
covered ass I had ever seen greeted me. Seeing that Ashton wasn't being attacked, I allowed myself to enjoy the show. Offering my assistance made her creamy skin take on an enticing shade of pink that begged to be touched with my hands and lips.

By the time she had regained her composure long enough to kick me out
, I was fully aroused and fighting the temptation to scoop her up in my arms and tumble down on the bed that was practically calling my name.

Fifteen minutes later, Ashton emerged from her room with all her clothes in their rightful place
s. "Not one word," she threatened as I appraised her appearance.

I couldn
't help throwing my head back and laughing at her feisty tone. I was used to dating women that were dull in their refined ways. Very rarely did they ever lose their cool, and they never said anything without weighing their words carefully first. Somewhere along the way, I had convinced myself that's what I wanted. Being with Ashton's quick tongue gave me a glimpse of what I had been missing. In the last forty-eight hours, she had made me laugh more than I had with all the women I had been with combined.

"
I wouldn't dream of saying anything," I answered, rising from the couch.

I smiled as she took a visibly relieved breath.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"
Yes," she answered, obviously ready to leave behind the scene of the crime.

Chuckling at the evident relief in her voice, I
innocently placed my hand on the small of her back. The warmth of her skin beneath her sweater made me feel nothing close to gentlemanly as I guided her toward the door. Looking her up and down from behind, I wondered if her smooth skin would feel as soft against my lips as it had looked a few minutes prior.

No longer able to resist, I turned her body with my hand until she was facing me.

She looked up at me with hooded eyes, and I could tell my touch was affecting her much in the same manner it was me. Without pause, I crushed my lips to hers. Unlike the kiss earlier that day, there was nothing playful about this one. I needed her to know just how badly I wanted her. I dragged her into my arms until her body was flush against mine, devouring her sigh of surprise as she felt my arousal. Our tongues merged together in a tantalizing dance. Each stroke made the fire inside me burn hotter, consuming me. In a more rational part of my brain, I worried I was hurting her as I crushed her even tighter in my arms, but when I tried to pull back, her hands reached up to my head, pulling me closer. This time it was me who groaned in surprise as she took control of the kiss. She rubbed her body seductively against mine, grinding her hips against the bulge that wanted to burst out of my jeans. I placed my hands firmly around her waist and backed her up against the door so she could feel exactly what she was doing to me. She moaned with pleasure and hiked up a leg around me, keeping me pinned against her. With one hand, I held her leg up and rolled my hips, smiling with satisfaction as she panted against my lips with need. She was close to no return and I could sense by her erratic movements the sensation was new to her. The need to bury myself in her was overpowering, but I ignored my own needs as I rocked against her again. She whimpered against my lips. Breaking the kiss, I trailed my lips over her cheek and past her neck until they were on her ear. Gripping her ass in my free hand, I pulled her as close to me as our clothed state would allow.

"
Let it come," I murmured in her ear, rocking against her one last time. The shudders radiated throughout her body as her release took over.

"
Oh, god," she sighed once the quaking in her body was under control. "I'm pretty sure I should be mortified at what just happened, but oh, god," she repeated, dropping her head to my chest as her soft body sagged against mine.

"
That may be the single most erotic moment of my life," I said, dropping a kiss on the back of her exposed neck.

"
How is that possible? You didn't...uh," she stammered as embarrassment finally reared its head. "We could-d-d go to my r-o-0-m," she offered, stumbling over her words.

"
It was erotic because you make the most amazing noises when you enjoy something. As enticing as your bedroom sounds, I think I'll allow the intensity of the main course to build since the appetizer was so delectable," I breathed into her ear before dropping a hard kiss on her lips. "Now, let's go eat before I take you up on your offer."

Ashton

My legs were still shaking as Nathan helped me into his Range Rover. I was embarrassed at my wanton behavior
, but I couldn't help thinking how good his body had felt against mine. His lips heated me from the inside out while his movements had done things my body had never felt before. I'd seen plenty of movies and heard girls talking about it over the years, but I'd been pretty convinced they over-glorified what an orgasm felt like. I mean, really, how could it be so fantastic when girls often used the same word to describe a delicious bite of food or chocolate? Now I knew. What I had just experienced went beyond food or chocolate. Nothing compared to it.