Never Say Never (The Ladies Who Brunch 1)

Chapter10

Charlotte

Ican hardly contain my smile as I walk back to the diner to join the girls. I shouldn’t be happy that Damien showed up and crashed our brunch, but his actions spoke volumes. Our run-in at the club rattled me, causing me to run away from him the second I had the chance. I was pissed at myself for letting things get that far and giving in to him. But when Damien pinned my hands above my head and made me realize that he wanted me as much as I wanted him, that control I’ve been fighting to maintain snapped.

And then he controlled me—with his mouth, with his tongue between my legs—and being bossed around by Damien Shaw lit my entire body on fire.

He gave me one of the best orgasms I’ve ever had in my life, hands down. And now apparently he wants to give me more.

I know that slipping into this new phase of our fake relationship comes with risks, but it was Damien’s words that had me believing this won’t be as disastrous as I might think.

“Because for some reason, having you back in my life has been the brightest part of my day, Char. And I don’t want that brightness to dull just yet.”

What was I supposed to say to that? Especially when every time we’re near each other, I’m beginning to feel the same way. The annoyance that I’ve always felt towards him morphed into lust and then yearning really fast—almost too fast—which I know is something I should be wary of. But then again, getting to spend more time with him before Hawaii can’t make things any worse, right? Especially if there are orgasms involved. Lord knows a woman can never have too many of those.

I finally get my smile under control as I walk through the entrance of the diner and back toward our table, the girls’ eyes on me the second they see me coming. Nonchalantly, I take my seat again and reach for my mimosa, taking a sip and then smacking my lips together before placing my glass back on the table. I then return to my meal, feeling their eyes on me the entire time as they wait for me to say something.

But why say anything when I know they’ll start firing off with questions in just a few seconds?

Three, two, one…

“Um, Charlotte?” Noelle asks timidly.

“What’s up?”

“Is there something you want to tell us?”

I look up from my plate at her. “Is there something you want to know?”

Noelle looks over at Amelia and Penelope with a wide-eyed gaze, prompting them to say something. And Penelope takes the bait.

“What do you want me to ask, Noelle? Obviously, they weren’t out there fucking because she came back way too quickly. And if they were, and that’s as long as Damien can last, then that’s just sad for our friend.”

Noelle sighs, shaking her head. “Not what I was wondering.”

“Then just ask, Noelle,” I reply, slightly annoyed but knowing that my friends truly do mean well.

“What happened, Char? We’re dying to know.”

Leaning back in my chair, I grab my glass of champagne again. “Damien wants to take me on a date.”

Noelle squeals while Amelia’s smile grows brighter. But Penelope? Penelope just smirks. “Is that so?”

“Yes. And he wants to give me more orgasms as well,” I quip, waiting for their reactions. The truth is, I had every intention of telling my friends about our storage closet encounter during brunch because I definitely needed to process it out loud, but they were being impatient and then Damien ambushed me.

“What!” Noelle shouts. “When did he give you the first one?”

“At the club,” I reply.

“Oh, this just got so much more interesting,” Penelope says as she takes a drink of her mimosa. “Please, go on.”

So I do—I recount what happened after we kissed, and Damien led me off the dance floor. When I went back to the girls that night, I told them I went to the bathroom, but now they know that was a lie.

Noelle starts to fan herself with a menu, Amelia looks very happy for me, and Penelope just grins from ear to ear.

“Jesus, that sounds hot,” Noelle says while smiling and shaking her head.

“It was. But of course, I ran away before we could talk, which is why he showed up here.”

“So now he wants to take you out and make you come again,” Penelope summarizes. “Sounds like the perfect man. He basically wants to give you what every woman wants.”

Noelle holds up a finger. “No. What women truly want is to be able to eat and drink without getting fat.”

“I’ll second that notion,” Amelia adds.

“Do you think I made a mistake by agreeing to this?” I ask, feeling a little more anxious after that conversation with Damien, but in a good way.

Amelia responds first. “I mean, I don’t want to derail this development, but you’re the one that seemed to be undecided about how you feel about him, Charlotte, at least up until he showed up here.”

“Yeah, that’s the thing though, Amelia. He did show up and was adamant about wanting this,” Noelle interrupts. “They say if a man truly wants you, he’ll let you know. I’d say crashing your brunch with your girlfriends to get you to talk to him sends a pretty strong message about how he feels.”

“The man definitely had balls doing that,” Penelope agrees.

“That’s true. So you think I should go for it?” I ask, biting my lip, looking into the eyes of the people I trust more than anything.

Amelia and Noelle shrug, but Penelope nods confidently. “We’re talking orgasms and free food, girl. You’d be a fool to say no.”

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