"Trust me. Playing hard to get is the right strategy here."
"And why should I trust you?"
"I'm the nice one, remember?"
"Okay. So what should I do tonight?"
"I'm guessing you don't want to hook up with a stranger?"
"Not at all."
"Okay, so here's the game plan. See that guy at the bar over there? The one with the baseball cap right next to where Rory's standing?"
"Yeah."
"Go over to him. Talk for a few seconds and pull him onto the dance floor. When you're sure that Rory isn't looking, sneak out that back. I'll tell Rory you left with someone."
"Thank you, Connor. You're the best." I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.
"Okay, game time." He lightly slapped me on the ass.
What the hell? I finally thought I was understanding Connor. These three guys were the most confusing people I had ever met. I pushed my way through the dance floor and walked right up to the guy with the baseball cap.
"Hey!" I said and touched his arm. "The Eagles?" I said and pointed to his hat. "I love them!"
He smiled at me. "You better love the Eagles if you live in Philly."
I could feel Rory's eyes on me. "You know what else I love? Dancing with handsome Eagles fans."
The baseball cap guy laughed. "Then it's my lucky night I guess."
I grabbed his hand and took him to the dance floor. We danced together for several minutes as Rory glared at me off and on. Connor knew his friend pretty well, because Rory definitely seemed jealous. When I finally got a chance, I excused myself, pushed through the people on the dance floor, and went out the back door.
Chapter 23
Rory had come home late last night. But he had been alone. There was no late night moaning and bed squeaking. I was beginning to think I had him right where I wanted him.
The sun was barely up, but I was completely awake. I hadn't felt so calm and happy ever since Rory had moved in. Everything was working out so well. I almost felt like whistling as I walked down the sidewalk.
I wasn't sure why Connor was purposely pushing Rory's buttons to help get us closer. It seemed like he was just a genuinely nice guy. Same with Jackson. But for some reason I had a thing for Rory instead of his nice friends. I always seemed to fall for the wrong guys.
I stopped at the closest newsstand and grabbed a copy of The Post. After paying the man at the cash register, I flipped to the editorial section that my article was appearing in. I stood frozen in the middle of the sidewalk. Holy shit. There was a picture of me next to my article. A huge picture. There was never a picture of me next to anything I ever wrote. What the hell?
My phone started vibrating in my purse. I quickly pulled it out and saw that it was Emily.
"Hey," I said. The optimism I had felt earlier had completely evaporated.
"You're making it in the big leagues, huh? You look hot in that picture."
"Can you tell it's me?"
"Um...of course you can. And even if someone couldn't, your name is right there for everyone to see. Keira, this is so awesome. Congratulations!"
"Did you just see it because you read everything I write?" I asked hopefully.
There was an awkward pause on the phone.
"I love you Keira, but no, I don't read everything you write. I was just flipping through the paper and saw your picture."
"Shit."
"Are you okay?"
"Do you think he's going to see it?"
There was another awkward pause.
"Emily! I'm so screwed. Rory's going to see it and freak out. He's going to hate me! And I already promised Judy that I'd follow through with the articles. What am I going to do?"
"Calm down. No one reads the paper anymore."
"But even if he doesn't, Jackson or Connor might. He's going to find out." I grabbed the rest of the copies of The Post from the newsstand and put them down on the counter. I put my hand over the receiver and said, "Can I buy the rest of these?" to the man at the counter.
"Are you buying all the papers right now?" Emily started laughing.
"You're not helping." I hung up the phone, handed the man some cash, and picked up the rest of the papers. As soon as I got to a trash can I dumped all the papers into it and started running back to my apartment.
I bolted up the steps and stopped outside my door. Please don't be up. I unlocked the door and sighed. I had thought of an awful, terrible plan in my head on the run back to my apartment. There was no way it would actually work, but I was out of ideas. There was no going back on what had already been released in the paper. Rory would find out and hate me. But I at least needed to keep my job. So I just needed to get the rest of my information for my article as quickly as possible. No matter what. I had told myself that I could use this idea in case of an emergency. This qualified.
There was movement in Rory's bedroom. I grabbed a banana and sat down at the kitchen counter. A second later Rory came out. He looked surprised to see me. Or does he look relieved?
"Hey," he said and smiled at me. He was only wearing boxers.
"Good morning," I said and slowly peeled the banana. I can't believe I'm about to do this.
Rory ran his hand through his hair and walked over to me. "Did you have fun last night?" he asked.
"Eh." I shrugged my shoulders. "I actually couldn't stop thinking about my date from earlier. But now I'm incredibly nervous because we have another date tonight. And I'm worried we're going to get to second base. I want him to think I'm good at giving head."
Rory lowered his eyebrows slightly.
"Did you think I was good at giving head?" I asked as I finished peeling the banana and put my mouth around the top of it. Oh God, I'm such a slut.
His Adam's apple rose and then fell. "You were good," he said and sat down next to me.
"Really? Well, what did you like best? Is it better for me to go slowly..." I took my time sliding the banana all the way into my mouth. Why the hell am I deep-throating a banana right now? But it seemed to be working. His eyes were locked on me.
I pulled the banana out of my mouth. "Or maybe, licking the side?" I let my tongue slide up the banana as I looked down at Rory's growing erection.
He moved his hand over his boxers. "Both." His voice sounded tight.
"Oh my God, this banana is so good," I said slowly and batted my eyelashes at him. "Now I really want the real thing." I put my lips around the banana again and took a bite off. "Swallowing is the best part."
Rory's eyebrows lowered even more.
"Actually," I said and touched his knee. "It would really help me out if you'd let me practice on you." I dropped to my knees and let my fingers slide down his happy trail.
He stood up and the stool made a terrible squeaking noise on the floor. His eyes stayed locked on me. He wanted my lips around his cock again. And there was nothing I wanted more. I hooked my fingers in the waistband of his boxers and pulled down until his erection sprung free.
I hadn't stopped thinking about our night together. I'd never stop thinking about that night. I wrapped my fingers around the base of his thick cock and brought my lips to his tip. My eyes didn't leave his as I slowly took him into my mouth. I pressed my lips together as hard as I could as I slid down his length.