“Did you have a goal in mind?”
“No.” I shake my head. “No, I just liked all the things that I was learning. I thought maybe in the future I could teach something, but those jobs are few and far between for what I’d be qualified for.”
“It’s very impressive.” His voice is sincere, almost in awe.
I blush, not used to that kind of genuine admiration from people where my academics are concerned. Most people think I’m stupid or crazy for spending so much money on school. I can’t explain to them how everything fell apart. How my father who had everything decided to abandon me and leave us with nothing. How someone who used to be comfortable with money had a mountain of debt she didn’t know what to do with and degrees she didn’t have the support system to use. I think I’ve done well in the transition, but it’s not something you can just blurt out to people.
“What about you?” I ask. “Are you from New York?”
Our sushi has quickly disappeared, and the waiters replace our empty plates with plates of beef and steaming vegetables. The food makes me want to weep, it’s so delicious. There’s suddenly a low buzzing from the toy and I jump. Jet’s phone is on the table, and his fingers aren’t on it. That cheater has the actual remote in his pocket. I glare at him, and he just laughs. But the buzzing doesn’t disappear.
“I grew up in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma. Not much to do in that town. I decided I wanted to live in New York City when I was young and I saw it on TV, and from then on it was always the goal—get to New York. Everything I did was to make sure I could get out of that town and to the city. And it worked. I came here, went to Columbia, and I stayed. I’ve been living in the city for…twelve years now?”
“Long time,” I laugh. “I’ve only been here for five.”
The toy is still humming. It’s so low that I could almost ignore it, except for the fact that it’s sending little jolts of pleasure through me every time I move in my seat.
The waiters come back, but this time not for us. They seat an older couple at the table that’s nearly adjacent to us. We make eye contact, nod and smile as they settle in. I hope desperately they can’t hear the humming coming from my chair.
We back off to more innocent questions. He asks me my favorite color: green. I ask him his favorite kind of food: a tie between sushi and Italian. My middle name is Elizabeth. His is Henry. I probably won’t remember that though, because the vibrator ticks up a notch.
I glance over at the couple next to us. They seem nice, the woman with an elegant gray chignon and evening dress, the man in a dapper suit. They seem like the picture perfect grandparents you would want to have, and to not find out you were being sexually teased at dinner. “Jet.”
His face goes faux innocent. “Yes?”
“You’re not going to stop are you?”
“Do you want me to stop?” He leans closer to me, and I can tell the question is a genuine one.
Do I want him to stop? The way he’s looking at me now, like I’m the sexiest thing he’s ever seen, I love that feeling. The past three days he’s been in my head while I’ve masturbated, his smirk flashing in my mind and his voice urging me on as I come. Now I desperately want him watching me. I want to see his face as I have an orgasm, see what it does to him. Even if it is in the middle of this restaurant. “No. Don’t stop,” I say softly.
Our eyes are locked, and I feel like we’re fighting a silent battle of sorts. The vibrator ticks up again, and I fight to keep my face even, to keep my composure despite the fact that my muscles are starting to shake and my body has adjusted to the rhythm, sending waves of pleasure swirling outward at regular intervals. The waiters clear our table, replacing it with the ice cream we ordered. I keep glancing over at the couple next to us, but they don’t seem to know anything is out of the ordinary. Yet.
“I have a question,” I say.
“Okay.”
“Why me?”
“Why not you?”
I roll my eyes. “That’s not an answer.”
I reach for my ice cream, and he grabs my hand, taking it in his. “It’s the only one I have. I walked into the store that day and I couldn’t stop staring at you. It’s going to sound like the most enormous cliché, but I had to get to know you.”
“And buying me sex toys was the way to do that?” I grin at him.
Jet laughs. “That was partly business, and partly a way to come back and see you again.”
The toy increases in intensity and he squeezes my hand. He uses his free hand to scoop a bit of ice cream and serve it to me. God, I’ve never had white truffle before, and I’m not sure if it’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted, or just the fact that my entire body is drenched with pleasant sensation making me feel that way. Either way, it’s awesome, and the sound I make while eating it makes that obvious. “That’s really good.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Jet’s voice is low and rough, and his eyes are focused on my lips. I lick the leftover ice cream from my lips, and I watch his eyes go dark. I wonder if he’s hard right now, but the vibrations inside change to a sweeping wave, and I can’t find the words to ask.
He gives me more ice cream, and I’m overwhelmed by the sensation of sweetness and sex. I close my eyes, because it’s too much. Every wave of vibration is taking me higher, and I can feel the orgasm coming. The vibrations change again to a swift pulse, and I grip the edge of the table with my free hand. His hand is crushed in mine, and my breath is coming in short little gasps. The vibration changes one more time, one single note, more intense than anything that’s come before it, and I go over the edge. My orgasm whips through me, even more intense for the fact that I’m trying to contain it. Lightning zips from my clit through the rest of my nerves and echoes follow from the pressure on my G-spot. My back arches and I breathe through the pleasure, holding onto the table so I don’t scream from it.
The whole night’s teasing released at once, it feels like a tornado. And it doesn’t end, guided further by the vibrator.
The vibrations soften, and I let out a breath, finally able to open my eyes. Jet is staring at me with that same look he gave me at the shop—like he might jump across the table and take me now, damn all the other people in the room. My body is still shuddering as he lowers the toy’s level to zero. I can feel my panties are soaked through, and I hope there isn’t a spot on my dress when I stand up.
I look around, sure that everyone in the restaurant is looking at me, but no one is. Everyone is enjoying their dinner, and it doesn’t seem like anyone noticed—except for the woman next to me. She leans towards me, asking in a quiet voice, “Are you quite all right?”
I manage to smile at her, my voice rough. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.” She gives me a polite smile like she doesn’t quite believe me, but she turns back to her sushi. A sudden fierce pleasure runs through me, a heady high that I got away with something so scandalous in one of the most expensive restaurants in the city.
When I look at Jet, he looks unsettled, and almost out of breath. Like he’s as turned on as I am. “That was incredibly hot,” he says. “How do you feel?”
I still haven’t caught my breath, and I’m just staring at him. I feel a lot of things. I’m unsure what to say. I’m still ringing with my orgasm, my body coming down. “That might be—no, it was— one of the best orgasms I’ve ever had.” His fingers tighten on mine and I keep going, somehow the orgasm loosening my tongue. “I feel really good. Sexy. There’s a lot of adrenaline. The mixtures of different sensations is amazing. That’s what almost pushed me over in the beginning, but then when the intensity is high and strong, the way it bounces back and forth between the two, that’s what did it. Wow.”
I can see the muscles in Jet’s jaw jumping as his jaw clenches. His eyes are wide and dark and filled with the kind of lust I never thought I’d see directed at me. He waves the waiter over and asks for the check, then he looks at me. “You want to get out of here?”