But nothing’s working. I can’t stop thinking about last night. Even the taste of coffee reminds me of my conversation with Pierce Lane at the cafe.
Against my will, my mind travels back once again to the shape of his muscles, bulging under his suit. The way he folded those big, strong hands at the table. His spicy, smoky musk. The distinguished look of his silver threaded black hair.
Again, I imagine smoothing my hands over his hard chest. What would it be like? My palms tingle in anticipation. I picture his big, rough hands all over me. I imagine his stoic, masculine face twisted into pleasure as I ride him like a stallion, his massive cock buried in my sweetest spot.
I feel my face flush, and a tell-tale tingle begins below. Oh god, is this really happening? At work, no less? Aroused, I stand up and head back to my office. This is ridiculous. He’s an ass, and I have to remind myself of that.
When I walk in, Nicole is sitting in my chair. She spins it around when she hears me enter. I narrow my eyes and she shoots me a cheeky grin.
“Um, hi,” I say. “What’s up?”
“Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you in here for like, a half an hour.”
“I just had a coffee.” I gesture helplessly to the kitchen. I’m a terrible liar and she pounces on it instantly.
“What, did you have to harvest and roast the beans first?” She laughs at her own joke and winks at me. “I wanted to talk to you about covering that special gin tasting next month.”
“Ooooh. Yum. Okay. I’m on it.” I don’t always get to do food and wine, but when a prime opportunity comes along, there’s no reason to hesitate.
“Great, glad you can take it. We've covered that then, so onto the important stuff. What is with you today? Why are you blushing?”
“I’m not,” is my half-hearted protest.
“You are. Are you okay? Maybe you’re sick. You know Renata’s out today with a nasty flu. Have you felt dizzy at all? You’re actually really pink. C’mere.”
She leans forward to touch my forehead. Embarrassed, I shrug while batting her hands away.
“I’m not sick, Nicole! I promise!”
“Hmm, you’re right, you’re not hot at all.” My buddy throws me a look. “I know you, Casey. Is it a guy?”
I bite my lip and stare at her. I can see her excitement increase instantly. Her eyes widen and she puts a hand over her mouth.
“Oh my god, it’s a guy isn’t it!” she practically squeals. “Yippee!”
What’s the point of disseminating?
“Yes,” I sigh. “I kind of met somebody.”
“Oooh, kind of? How very intriguing. Tell me everything. Oh wow, today just got so much better.”
With a new sense of glee and purpose, Nicole jumps out of my chair before gesturing for me to sit down.
“It’s hot seat time, baby!”
I roll my eyes. Ever since we started working together, we’ve dished every detail of our dating lives to each other. Nicole, who views dating as a hobby, is a more frequent inhabitant of the hot seat, but I’ve spent my fair share of time in there too. Usually, we’re both bursting with excitement to tell all, but today doesn’t feel that way at all. I don’t know, there’s just something different about Pierce Lane. It’s weird, but I feel like somehow, my time with him was precious ? It’s hard to explain.
“Sorry, Nic. I just don’t know what to say really. I mean….”
“No?”
She looks at me, a mixture of confusion and excitement.
“Then you must really like him,” she says, flipping a long blonde lock away from her shoulder.
“It’s not that, I just don’t know what to call this. We’re not dating or anything even resembling that. Let’s just say, we had an unexpected encounter.”
Nicole’s glee skyrockets.
“An ‘unexpected encounter?’ Oh, the mystery!” she cries, grabbing my hands. “Tell me more!” I roll my eyes at the melodrama, but fortunately, a secretary pops into my office then and reminds me about a meeting. Saved by the bell.
But Nicole’s relentless. Around noon, she comes to grab me for lunch. We’ve been going to a Japanese place a block away that does a lunch special, and Nic claims it’s the best in town. She orders a few sushi rolls, and I opt for ramen. We share a plate of gyoza first, the dumplings hot and chewy.
“Shall we be cheeky and get some sake too?”
“Nah,” I say. “I already feel so weird today.”
“Are you going to tell me about this guy or what?”
I shake my head.
“Can I ask yes or no questions? How about Twenty Questions?” she pleads, big blue eyes begging.
I sigh. “Sure, Nicole. Go for it.”
Grinning, she cracks her knuckles like a prizefighter getting ready for the ring.
“Okay, let's see. Does he work at Two One Two?”
I cringe, thinking of the men in our office. There’s nothing to inspire fantasy because all our co-workers are pasty as hell with string-bean physiques.