Bet Me Something (Something Series Book 3) (21 page)

For our second
date, we drove a short distance to a winery, where we dined amid beautiful
views of the grounds, sipping on wine aplenty.

Then, in epic
fashion, he took me to Disneyland. It was hard to believe, but in four years of
living in Southern California, I’d never been. I’d only mentioned it to him
once, years ago, and now here we were: donning Mickey ears, eating junk food,
and riding roller coasters well into the evening hours.

After the very
best day I could ever remember having, we pulled up to his house. I’d dozed in
the car, feeling like a kid who’d exhausted herself completely from the
festivities. Aside from some stolen kisses throughout the day, we hadn’t done
much more. So the thought of concluding date number four suddenly had me wide
awake and thinking of the night to come.

He must’ve felt
the same as his fingers stroked up my wrist slowly. Once the driver dropped us
off in front of the house, Colby unlocked the door, practically growling once
we were inside.

Taking my hand,
he led me straight into the bedroom. Before I could say anything, his lips were
on mine and he was attacking my clothes. The man was more adept at taking off
my bra than I was. Although I was anxious to get naked, I was also aware of the
fact that I’d been outside in the sun sweating the entire day. “I like where
this is going, but I need a shower.”

He pulled back,
frowning at the disruption, and then his face lit up with an idea. “We both do.
Come on.”

Nothing in all
my years of fantasizing could’ve prepared me for seeing Colby, minutes later,
completely undressed and nonchalantly joining me in the shower. My eyes took
their time indulging in a slow perusal of his splendidly naked form: starting
with his hard chest and then down to his washboard abs. I had to force myself
to look beyond his hard cock, jutting out proudly from his body, to his strong
legs.

“Do I pass
inspection?”

My cheeks
flamed; then I gave him a sheepish smile. “For the first naked guy I’ve ever
showered with, you’ll do.”

He chuckled and
then sucked in his breath when I reached out to touch his chest.

My fingers
trailed over his pecs, drawing circles around his nipples, and then slid down
his taut stomach while I watched his eyes on me. When I gripped his erection in
both hands, he groaned but then stepped back.

“Date two is
what?”

“You’re asking
me what the second date entails while standing here naked in front of me?”

He nodded,
amusement shining in his eyes. “Clearly we do things a little differently. So
what do you want to do?”

“Make out with
me.”

He grinned.
“Your wish is my command.”

Weaving his
hands in my hair, his mouth crashed down. I could feel his erection pressing
against my stomach as he backed me into the corner of the shower. The rhythm of
his tongue entwining with mine became an erotic promise of what was to come.

“Let’s get you
off your foot. It must be sore from walking so much on it today.” I was lifted
onto the marble shelf. “Now where were we? Date number three consists of what?”

I smiled at his
thoughtfulness regarding my ankle. “Boobs.”

He laughed.
“Boobs?”

“Yeah, like
second base while making out. It means anything above the waist is fair game.”

His expression
took on a playful glint as he grabbed my soap from the other side of the shower,
squirting some of the pink liquid onto his palms. He lathered them up and
started with my arms, rubbing down each one, gliding them onto my chest while
watching my face intently. He filled each of his hands with my breasts, rubbing
his thumbs over the nipples, and then met my mouth in a searing kiss while he
washed me with languid strokes. After rinsing me, he latched his mouth onto one
peak while his fingers rolled the other one. Damn, and here I’d thought my
breasts, being on the small side, weren’t very sensitive. He was making the
argument that I’d been happily wrong.

“And the fourth
date?” he asked hoarsely, looking up at me.

“What it means
or what I’ve done?”

His soapy
fingers moved down to my wet center. “Has anyone touched this pussy before me?”

I shivered in
response. “Only over my pants, then the whole premature ejaculation part, and
him getting annoyed with me.” Shit. Total TMI. “Um, I thought we weren’t asking
questions about our pasts.”

His hand cupped
my mound, his thumb pressing on my clit. “We weren’t, and you can tell me to
shut up. But I can’t help myself as I’m afflicted with this crazy, possessive
feeling since finding out I was the first man to give you an orgasm, to taste
you, be inside of you, and touch you here.”

“Really? I kind
of thought it freaked you out more than anything.”

He set me down
and then washed me intimately. “It did at first.” He exhaled, his expression
apologetic. “But now it’s this weird, primal thing which doesn’t make any
sense, given I’ve never been the possessive, caveman type.”

I giggled,
thinking this side of him most unexpected. “It kind of turns me on to think of
you all alpha male over me.”

He grinned and
then turned towards rinsing me thoroughly. “Now, then, the fourth date—since
only one has attempted to go there and it didn’t go well—I believe should be
defined here and now.”

My eyes went
wide when he dropped to his knees in front of me, his head in line with my
center. “I’m completely on board with this plan.”

He tilted
forward, parting my legs further. “Lean against the wall and put your bad ankle
over my shoulder.”

I complied, gasping
when he buried his entire face between my legs. He wasted no time, with the new
angle allowing intimate access to me. His teeth pulled my clit between them, the
gentle nip sending shock waves through me as his urgent fingers penetrated my
depths finding me wet and swollen with need. I tightened around him, my body
aching for release. Fast and furious, he worked me with his mouth and magical
fingers, bringing me to a powerful climax. But instead of easing back, he
intensified the sweet torture, rocking me into his mouth as he curled his
finger to the spot inside of me, making my eyes roll back in my head for
another one.

“OhmyGod,
ohmyGod, ohmyGod,” I chanted over and over, finally focusing my gaze on his
smug face in front of me.

He let my foot
down gently as he stood up. “You okay?”

I nodded dumbly,
feeling completely sated. Watching as he squirted more soap in his hands and
washed his body, I moved forward. I reveled in the way he closed his eyes in
pleasure when I gripped his cock with both hands. Moving one hand down to his
balls, I cupped him gently and then rubbed the sudsy lather down the length of
his shaft with my other hand. “How does that feel?”

He hissed out a
breath. “Incredible. I never thought I’d enjoy foreplay this much.”

I turned him
towards the water, rinsing his body thoroughly, and then sinking to my knees,
looking up with a smile on my lips.

He reached down,
putting his hand alongside my face and sucked in a breath when I opened my
mouth, taking him in all the way with the first touch. “Holy shit.”

There was
nothing slow about the way I desired him. I wanted to take him off guard as he’d
done with me. I knew I’d achieved the goal when, after a couple of minutes, he
was trembling with the aftermath of his orgasm deep in my throat.

He helped me to
my feet, placing a kiss on the tip of my nose playfully. “Water is turning
cold. Let’s get dry and get in bed.”

Before we
climbed in, he donned his boxers and held out panties for me. “No naked
cuddling. At least not until tomorrow night.”

“Afraid you
might slip inside of me in the middle of the night?”

He growled at
the thought and then turned out the light, pulling me close. “You should get
your rest now because that’s exactly what’s going to happen with staggering
frequency after tomorrow. Any chance we could put off this hospital thing and
have our date tomorrow morning instead of having to wait until the evening?”

“Oh, there’s no
way we can miss it.”

He laughed. “Why
do I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me?”

 “You’re not giving
me a hint about what we’re planning to do at the Children’s Hospital?” Colby
was clearly nervous about what I had in mind when it came to his repayment of
our bet.

“Nope, but I’m
sure I’ll enjoy every minute of it.” We were on our way there in his car early
on Saturday morning.

“What’s with the
hair?” He flipped my French braid from my shoulder.

I had to bite my
lip to keep from telling him. “Oh, you’ll see.”

Once we arrived,
he appeared surprisingly upbeat about the prospect of volunteering up until the
point where the costumes came out.

“Wait. You want
me to what?”

“I’m playing
Elsa, from the Disney movie
Frozen
. The girl you met a few minutes ago,
Sheila, is Ana, her sister. There are two choices: you can go as Kristoff, or
you can don the snowman costume and be Olaf.”

“What about that
guy over there—what’s he going to be?” He pointed toward another man I’d met
last week, a big mountain of a guy who’d played football.

“He’s Sven the
reindeer, and he called dibs.”

“He actually
called dibs on the reindeer? Jesus. What do I have to do?”

He looked
completely out of his element, which was very amusing. “If you’re Olaf, you have
to
give warm hugs
. If you’re Kristoff, you only need to stand to the
side looking handsome.”

“Kristoff it
is.” He grabbed the costume, being a good sport about it. “Any chance Kristoff
gets to grope Elsa during any of this?”

I giggled. “He’s
Ana’s boyfriend, so no.”

He made a show
out of assessing me and then the woman across the room playing Ana. “And what
if I’m into both sisters? Is that in the Disney version?”

I swatted him.
“Ha. You wish. Now behave. There are little ears around.”

He grabbed me
playfully around the waist. “Have I mentioned what a relief it is to be able to
make jokes about a threesome with fictional sisters and not have you get pissed
off at me for that sort of inappropriate remark?”

I chuckled,
stepping back to go get changed. “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t. Now get
changed into your costume.”

Once I was dressed,
I put on some blush and let the volunteer coordinator apply heavy mascara with
liner to do up my eyes dramatically. When I came out of the makeshift dressing
room, I had to laugh at Colby, now dressed as Kristoff. He even had the shaggy
blond wig.

“You look very
handsome.”

He focused on me
with his jaw dropping. “That’s what Elsa wears?”

The dress was
fitted, to say the least, but I hoped it wasn’t too much to wear in front of
the children. “Does it look bad?”

He smirked. “Uh,
no, it looks fantastic. Damn, I’ve hit a new low: I’m lusting after a Disney
character.”

“No, the low is
you’re dressed as one while doing so.”

He chuckled
before I took his hand and introduced him to some of the other people
participating. The hospital had done a great job of recruiting an entire cast
for the movie
Frozen
plus some other Disney princesses and superheroes
for the kids.

“Is there a
show?” Colby asked.

“Yes, they’re
bringing all the kids who can come out of their rooms in here to watch it. Then
afterwards we’ll go room to room to visit with the kids who asked to see the
Frozen
cast.”

I moved over to
talk to the woman who was set up to play the piano not wanting to dwell on my
having to sing. While sober. This was for the kids and I hadn’t thought about
Colby being here to witness me performing when I’d bet him.

The children who
were healthy enough to attend all filed in, most with family members in tow. It
broke my heart to realize some of them were fighting for their lives, but I was
here to give joy, and that’s what I was going to do. Thankfully, Ana was up
first with her song. After she finished, it was my turn. I didn’t dare meet
Colby’s eyes when I started on the song, “Let it Go.”

After I’d
finished, the room broke into applause, which must have meant I’d done the
rendition proud. Following the show, we spent an hour going room to room,
giving little trinkets such as wands and coloring books. One little boy I
noticed took a liking to Colby and requested help with his video game. It was
cute to see how patient Colby was in showing the boy how to navigate Lego
Batman on his console.

In all, it was a
great morning of smiles. I felt like I was finally giving back to this world,
humbled that these children and their families could be going through a
struggle for life yet were grateful for me, a simple girl in an Elsa costume.

We got changed
and returned to the car around lunchtime. “You hungry?” I asked, noticing Colby
was uncharacteristically quiet.

“I could eat. Do
you know what the little boy with the video game is being treated for?”

“I don’t, but I
could ask.”

He shook his
head. “No, that’s okay. I’ll ask maybe the next time I go with you. That is if
you’ll have me?”

“Are you
kidding, you were an amazing Kristoff. I’d love for you to come with me another
time.”

“It’s so
incredibly fulfilling, yet sad at the same time.”

“I agree. It’s
overwhelming, isn’t it?”

He let out a
long breath, looking straight ahead toward traffic. “Yeah. My mom does all of
these charity things, but aside from showing up at overpriced fund-raising
dinners and auctions, I’ve never done anything.”

“It’s never too
late to start which is what you’re doing now.”

He turned and
looked at me, setting a hand on my thigh. “You were terrific with your singing.
The song choice was, uh—”

“Ironic, right?
Now if only I could live my life with a
Let it go
mentality.”

“Any nerves?”

“Some, but
compared to how those kids are brave on a daily basis—I guess it puts it all
into perspective.”

He squeezed my
leg and then pulled into an In-N-Out Burger. We ate in the car, mostly in
silence, both processing the morning.

“So, if you
don’t mind, I was thinking we’d go back to my house, after which I’d drop you
off at your apartment, so you can get ready by six o’clock. That way I can
knock on your door properly and pick you up.”

I smiled at the
charming way he was approaching these dates. “That sounds good, especially
since most of my nice clothes are at my place. What am I wearing?”

“How about a
dress and special panties.”

***

After I packed a
bag of my essentials, Colby dropped me off at my apartment where I spent the
next couple of hours getting ready for my date. I was shaved, lotioned, and my
hair was straightened. I don’t think I’d ever spent so much effort in trying to
look good for a date.

Glancing at my
watch, I saw I still had an hour before he picked me up. Nervous energy had me
bouncing off the walls, so when the knock came at the door, I hoped maybe he’d
been equally as anxious. Unfortunately it was my mother’s unhappy face which
greeted me instead.

“Are you going
to make me stand in the hallway, McKenzie, or invite me in?”

“Uh, right, come
in. What are you doing here?”

She held up a
folded piece of paper in her hand. “Since I had to learn my daughter had
surgery from the insurance bills, I thought I’d come out here and see for
myself what happened.”

I sucked in my
breath. Shit. “I’m sorry you had to find out that way.”

She scanned me
from head to toe, focusing mostly on my ankle in the boot. For a moment I
thought I caught a glimpse of genuine concern, but then she turned to survey the
room.

“I’m assuming
your brother knew because when I called him, he told me to talk with you.”

I wondered why
he hadn’t warned me. As if on cue, my phone buzzed with an incoming call. “Uh,
let me get that.”

“I’m sure it’s
your brother calling to warn you as I just hung up with him. He didn’t know I
was already here in LA.”

I silenced the
ringing but typed a quick text to Colby.

“My mom showed
up. Will call you after. Sorry.”

Turning back
towards her, I noticed she remained focused on my right ankle. “I’m better now.
Had the cast removed from my wrist a couple days ago, and this boot is only for
two more weeks before I transition to a brace.”

“You get hit by
a car and rushed via ambulance, but you don’t call your mother? Why?”

Oh, no, she
sounded really hurt by it. I bit my lip, needing to be honest and not go with
my habit of deflecting. “Because all I could think about was you’d insist on me
moving home, and I wasn’t ready.”

“And will you be
ready by the end of August?”

It was a small
eternity before I shook my head no. Only a few weeks ago, I’d been convinced
moving home would be my only option, with my internship over and me being in
the hospital, but now I couldn’t fathom it. Maybe it was the whole being hit by
a car business, reminding me I’d only get one shot at this life, which made me
voice my opinion for once. Maybe not out loud, but shaking my head no was a
small step in the right direction, at least.

“You promised.”

I cringed at her
accusatory tone. “I did not. And considering you chose a school for me without
my input, I don’t think you can blame me for rethinking it once I had some time
away.”

“You have
exactly six weeks to reverse your short-sighted decision. In fact, the baptism
for Haylee and Josh’s little girl is set for the weekend before classes start
at Georgetown. That would be the best time for you to move home. Go ahead and
buy your ticket now; then we can ship your things out separately with a moving
company. Did you give notice to your apartment management company yet?”

She bulldozed
right over my feelings completely. I stayed quiet, trying to get up the nerve
to tell her that absolutely, under no circumstances, was I moving home.

“Fine, I’ll do
it since it’s my name on the lease anyhow,” she continued.

“Mom, I’ve been
thinking, and I definitely want to stay out here.” There, I’d found my voice.

“You do realize
we won’t fund it. Not one penny.”

“I understand,
but if we could talk—”

“Is this because
of a boy?”

I flushed red,
the timing of my relationship with Colby weighing on my conscience. He had
nothing to do with my decision, did he? Reverting back to an old habit, I changed
the subject. “No. I think I may want to do something with music. I’ve improved with
being able to sing in front of people. Just this morning I sang at the
Children’s Hospital—”

“You can’t be
serious. First of all, even if you were good enough, what is a career in music
going to do for you? I’ll save you from having to come up with a reply.
Nothing. Now I can see you’re dressed up, and it’s a Saturday night, so I’m
asking one last time if you’re staying out here because of a boy.”

“No, I’m not.”
At least I didn’t think so. “I love LA, and I don’t see myself going on to
business school. It’s not what I want to do with my life.”

“You’re too young
to know what you want. Besides, you’re not paying attention to what I’m saying
when I tell you we’re not funding you. That means no apartment, no car, no cell
phone, and no medical insurance, which clearly you’ve needed during the last
few weeks. And if you think you’re touching your trust fund, you have another
thing coming because you can’t until you’re twenty-five. And perhaps we need to
revisit that stipulation.”

I gasped that
she’d go there when it was something my grandparents had setup for me. “Why are
you so adamant about this? Over the last four years, you’ve never mentioned me
moving home once. Why now?”

She looked on
the verge of tears. “Because I’ve let you do what you’ve wanted, and now it’s
time for you to be appreciative of all that’s been given to you. I need you
home. End of story.”

She walked to my
front door, turning back for her parting words. “Six weeks, McKenzie, that’s
it.” Opening my door, she walked out of my apartment without a backward glance.

***

I went through a
gauntlet of emotions. How the hell could she think I’d never been appreciative?
She was making it sound like I’d been an entitled brat who needed to do the
right thing by coming home. I’d earned a full scholarship for my tuition, so I
hadn’t asked them to pay for my college; I drove a used Honda Accord and lived
within a college student’s means.

Mostly, I was
disappointed in myself and the fact that, once again, I hadn’t been adamant
about what it was I wanted. Instead, I’d let her leave with the last word in
the form of a threat, which now hung over me like a heavy blanket.

Colby had texted
me to call him when I could. It took twenty minutes to be able to calm down
enough to dial.