Heartless: Episode 1

“Wait, what? How do you know my name?” I stumbled through my question.

“You’re not the only one who did the homework.”

Cute. Damn it, he’s cute.

“As I was saying, I only sleep with women I’ve known for a long time.”

“I don’t remember asking,” I halted his declaration in a desperate attempt to make him stop talking so that I could force my gaze away from his mouth.

He laughed. “You wanted to know.”

I did.

“I really didn’t,” I played.

“Well, just for future reference, I never sleep with any random panty-droppers I meet out.”

“Like I said before, how charming. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” I pulled my arm out of his grasp and walked straight ahead, pretending that I wasn’t flustered and completely turned on by his touch.

“Don’t I get credit for having friends with benefits?” he shouted at my retreating back.

I stopped mid-stride. “You’re joking, right?”

“No. I mean, isn’t that better than screwing whatever walks?”

“It’s funny because I bet you think these women don’t have feelings for you. Do you have any idea how we function?” I found myself growing more and more flustered with each word he’d spoken.

He stepped toward me as his eyes roamed down the length of my body. I stopped myself from shivering, and I crossed my arms in front of my chest instead.

“I have a pretty good idea about how you function.”

“Then, you’re an even bigger idiot than you look. Bet you a hundred bucks that at least one of them is in love with you.” I smacked my lips closed and jutted my hip.

His head drew back slightly as he frowned. “No way. Feelings are not in the arrangement.”

“You seriously think not one of your”—I cleared my throat and lowered my voice—“fuck buddies isn’t hoping you’ll change your mind about her eventually?”

“No way,” he responded with confidence.

“Girls always want to be the chosen one, especially with the type of guy who never settles down. We love being the one who you change all your rules for. We live for that shit. And if we think there’s even a remote chance in hell of that happening, we’ll stick around and wait for you to realize it. It’s in our DNA.”

“Now, who’s the idiot?” he said with a laugh, clearly not believing a thing I said.

“Still you ’cause you know I’m right. If you don’t, then you’re even dumber than I originally thought.” I turned on my heel and hustled to the bathroom before closing the door behind me.

4.

DANIEL

Elizabeth disappeared behind the restroom door. She was feisty with a foul little mouth, and she was a fucking eyeful. She’d stunned me in that little black dress that looked like it had been made for her. Her tits swelled out the top, and the way her hips curved had made my dick wake up and take notice.

I waited in the hallway, frustrated that she hadn’t let me respond to her ludicrous assumptions. Granted, she was probably right about the majority of women, considering she was one. But what did she know about the two women I was fucking? Nothing.

The women in my life knew exactly what we had between us—a no-strings, no-drama, purely sex-based arrangement. It couldn’t be classified as a relationship, and I never romanced them for the exact reasons Elizabeth had mentioned. You shouldn’t get me wrong. I wasn’t a dick to them or anything. I just didn’t do things like buy gifts or send flowers or shit like that.

Neither of the girls ever attended events with me. I always went to functions alone, solo, single, party of uno because I never wanted to give them the wrong idea or lead them on. I had been upfront from day one, and absolutely nothing had changed in the years since we’d been hooking up off and on—safely¸ I might add.

I always used protection.