Pieces of Rhys (6 page)

By the time we reached Costco, our third stop, she had enough of my "attitude problem."

"What is wrong with you anyway?" She demanded.

"I haven't been laid in over a year!" I yelled at her. "Excuse me if I'm a little bitchy about it."

"Well, why is it a problem all of a sudden?" She snapped back. "You're the one that wants to wait until you've dragged some poor loser to the alter before you let him touch you."

"What? I've never said that!"

"You all but implied it when I tried to hook you up when your divorce was final."

"I was
traumatized
, you moron!"

"Well, yeah," she shrugged, feeling a little bad. "So, are you not traumatized now?"

"No, not really," I sighed, throwing an enormous bag of tortilla chips into the cart. "I'm frustrated. I need a penis - a real one."

"Is there someone you have in mind?" She gasped before I could respond and then slapped herself in the forehead. "There is, right? Oh wow, of course there is! Who is it?"

"No one," I said and looked away to hide the redness in my cheeks.

"You've been keeping secrets, Lindsey! Who is he? Some guy has you frustrated, who is it?"

She wasn't going to let up, and she knew me too well to believe me if I lied. I sighed deeply and looked around to make sure no one was looking. I told her everything that had happened, even our conversation from the night before.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She said, gaping at me.

"No," I said, pulling the cart towards the checkout lanes.

"I don't know what to say."

"Me either," I said.

"I think you should try to get him in bed."

I gave her a look that said "you're stupid" as I loaded up the conveyer belt.

"I'm serious," she insisted. "He's the one you really want, having sex with someone else isn't going to be fulfilling at all."

"So, I'm just supposed to throw myself at him like a fool?"

"Like stalking him from your car didn't make you look like a fool?" She snorted.

"Point taken, but he made it clear how he feels."

"Yeah, he doesn't want to hurt you, but he does want to bed you. What if you did it with him and then went on your way? I mean, he does it all of the time, he's not going to mind. His main concern is that you're okay with it. Could you be?"

I shrugged and let the question hang in the air unanswered while I paid for the food and we packed up Kit's SUV. I suggested we make a drop at my house before continuing on to the last store.

"Well?" She asked when we were on the road again. "Are you okay with casual sex?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Then you should casually sex him up. At least you'll release some very obvious tension."

"Maybe you're right. I mean my attraction to him has mostly been sexual in nature anyway," I said, although I was sure it was more than that.

We went to pick up alcohol and then I let Kit drag me to the mall to find a new outfit for the night. I felt pressed for time as we sped back to my house a couple of hours later. I still had a lot to set up before the food arrived, and guests would start popping up soon after that.

When we got back to my house, we idled in front of it for a moment, jaws on our chests. Rhys's car was parked in my driveway. I was first to shut my mouth.

"I should really stop being surprised," I said, opening my door. "He's so random."

"I've never known the man to be random," Kit said, shaking her head.

Rhys met us outside and helped carry everything in. Kit was remarkably silent as he explained that he wanted to help with the set up and finish up some of the yard work I had neglected to do. He was dirty and browning from the sun and I couldn't tear my eyes away from him.

"We don't have all day," Kit announced, forcing me to look away from Rhys's perfect body. "Let's get this shit done."

By the time we finished and Kit and Rhys left, I had a very small window to shower and get ready. I didn't have time to blow dry my hair, so I put some products in it to keep it from frizzing out into an afro and ran into my room to put on the dress Kit picked out for me. It was a black and white polka dot halter dress that stopped just above my knees and plunged low enough to leave a little less to the imagination. I slid into a pair of red sandals with a scandalously high heel and took a look in the mirror. I looked like a pinup girl. Great.

I didn't have time to really think about it. My doorbell rang and organized chaos ensued.

Chapter Eleven

The party was well under way when Rhys finally made his appearance. The women who knew him called out to him, and the women who didn't know him gawked at him. I didn't blame them. I knew him and I was gawking at him.

When our eyes met from across the yard, I gave a small wave. His eyes quickly surveyed me from the neck down before meeting my eyes again. I winked at him before turning my attention back to the group I was chatting with.

"You look edible," Rhys whispered in my ear a few minutes later.

I looked over at him and smiled. "I sure hope so," I whispered back. "I would love to be eaten."

He grinned and shook his head as if to clear it.

"But I don't know," I said. "Maybe I'm not your flavor."

I sauntered away from him without looking back.

The party was awesome. There was good food, good drinks and good music. I didn't have to hop around making sure everyone had what they needed or stand behind a bar making drinks. One of my friends served drinks from behind the tiki bar and all of the food was out and accessible.

Rhys hung around me most of the night and I flirted with him shamelessly. Nicole was there, too, vying for his attention. Sometimes he gave it to her, smiling at her and flirting a little. It didn't bother me. My confidence was on an unnatural high. Maybe it was the dress, maybe it was the drinks and atmosphere. Who cares what was behind it? I had it, and I was going to have him.

So, I let Nicole steal all of the time Rhys was willing to give her. I often turned my attention to Adrian, one of Phil's friends that he brought along. Adrian was tall, dark, and sexy. He had a body that should never be covered up, his pecks were threatening to explode out of his shirt, and his biceps looked yummo. He looked yummo, like a milk chocolate candy bar on steroids. And his voice was deep, yet soft and seductive. Oh my.

"Your yard looks amazing," he said, smiling at me with perfectly straight, pearly white teeth and kissable lips that he occasionally licked. "Who is your landscaper?"

"Me," I touched my chest and smiled. "I did it."

"Get out."

"No, it's true. I did it all."

"You're really talented."

"You don't know the half of it," I flirted.

"Maybe you can come over sometime, help me with my landscaping."

"Sure, but you should know..." I leaned in conspiringly and he did, too. "It’s a dirty job. You'll get sweaty and dirty. You may have to take your shirt off."

He laughed and then whispered back "I will if you will."

We both laughed, even though it wasn't really all that funny. He didn't make me feel quite the same way Rhys did, but I was definitely feeling some heat between us.

"So what color are you wearing under that dress?" Suddenly Rhys's lips were extremely close to my ear.

"You'll have to find out for yourself," I whispered back and then took a long drag on my straw, sipping up too much alcohol at once. "But if you go that far, you'll have to go all the way."

When the guests started to disperse a few hours later, and after exchanging numbers with Adrian, I trapped Rhys in a corner of the yard.

"You're not leaving, are you?" I asked.

"I told Nicole and Muriel I'd take them home."

I took a step closer to him, rested my hand on his chest.

"Take them home and come right back," I said, my voice husky.

He looked at me carefully for a moment, before covering my hand with his. "Are you sure you want to go there? I'm still that guy. Nothing's changed."

"I know," I said and moved away to go say goodbye to a few people. "See you in a little bit," I called over my shoulder.

Kit and a few others helped me put away the food that didn't walk out the door with other guests and clean up some of the trash.

"Where's the stud?" Kit asked me when we were alone in the kitchen.

"Which one?" I teased.

"Yeah, I saw you talking to that hottie that came with Phil. You're becoming a little hussie."

"Rhys will be back," I said, rolling my eyes at Kit. "He had to drop off Fred and Ethel."

Kit shrieked in laughter. "Nice. Well, let me collect my man and get out of here so you can get laid."

"You make it sound so dirty."

"I hope it's super dirty and super nasty," she said and slapped me on the ass.

When everyone was gone, I didn't know what to do with myself. Should I lounge on the couch with come hither eyes, or should I go upstairs and get naked?  Maybe I could lay myself out on the kitchen table with an apple in my mouth. Would it be sexy for him to find me in a bubble bath? What if the bubbles were dirty from my sweaty, dirty body? Oh no. I was sweaty and dirty.

I had one foot on the stairs when the front door swung open.

"Where are you going?" Rhys asked, locking the door behind him.

"To take a shower," I answered, frozen in place. "I feel a little dirty and sweaty."

"Come here."

I didn't move an inch. I don't know why I seized up, but I couldn't make my body move.

"Did you change your mind?"

"No," I said immediately, firmly.

"I think you did," he smiled. "That's alright, I understand. We're still friends."

"I did not change my mind."

"No, I get it. You stay there on your step and I'll go."

I found that my feet were carrying me across the room where Rhys had his hand on the doorknob. I hooked a finger in his shorts and put my other hand on his chest.

"I said I didn't change my mind."

He took my hand and spun me around. I felt his lips on my neck and his hands cupped my breasts.

"Are you sure you haven't changed your mind?" He murmured into my neck.

"Positive," I breathed.

One hand stayed on a hardened nipple and the other hand slid down my thigh and under my dress. I gasped when I felt his hand caress me. My orgasm was almost instantaneous
.

"Upstairs,"
Rhys
commanded after nearly bringing me to my knees. "Now."

He nudged me toward the landing and I obediently marched up the steps. In my bedroom, he pulled off his shirt and unbuckled his belt
, but kept his eyes on mine
. He stood me in front of the bed and left a trail of kisses down my neck and onto my shoulder.

"I really like this dress," he said, slipping the strap off. More kisses down my other side and that strap
was released.

He pulled me against him and planted his mouth on mine. His fingers slowly unzipped my dress and a moment later it fell to the floor in a polka-dot puddle at my feet. I wasn't wearing a bra, only the red transparent thong. His hands wandered up my naked back and he moaned lightly in my mouth before pulling away.

This was going too slowly for me. I was enjoying myself, and I like foreplay, but it had been over a year. Something animalistic reared its horny head from deep inside of me. I dropped to my knees and started
tugging at Rhys
's shorts.

"Whoa," he said, surprised by my tenacity. In seconds, I had freed his gorgeous erection and inhaled it into my mouth.
Rhys
gasped and put his hands on my head.