“Do you want to try some? Your eyes are so pretty. I could accentuate your brows and—”
“Fuck, no. It’s not for me, but I like it on you. A lot. You’re the kind of guy I’ve always secretly admired.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you. You get to be yourself all the time. You’re lucky.”
“I don’t always feel that way, but right this second…I do.”
“Me too.” I kissed his nose, then smacked his ass and hopped out of bed. “Come on. I’ll let you blow me in the shower before I take you home.”
When Phoenix stood, I picked him up and threw him over my shoulder in a fireman’s hold. His laughter rang off the tiles in the bathroom and bounced around my heart like a rubber ball. I should have been wary of how right it felt to have him in my space. He wasn’t like anyone else I knew. He was light and breezy, and his smile did something to me. And when he got on his knees in the shower and stared up at me like I was a freaking god while he sucked my cock, I pushed his wet hair from his eyes and reminded myself not to fall for him. He was trouble.
* * *
Here’s the thing…I liked trouble. I was drawn to it. And I couldn’t get Phoenix out of my mind. I replayed Friday night in my head over and over with a dopey grin on my face. I couldn’t believe we’d made a booty call alliance. It wasn’t like me to agree with anything so…lascivious. I might not seem the type, but I was a romantic. I’d had two serious boyfriends and had sex with two other guys when Sky talked me into a threesome. No regrets. It was fun, but it wasn’t something I craved. One man was more than enough for me. And I wanted Phoenix.
Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t want to be boyfriends. I had a feeling he might be too high-maintenance for me anyway. But there was no denying our chemistry. I wanted to pin him down and write a contract detailing when and where I’d see him again. He suggested meeting the following Monday but had to cancel at the last minute. I wondered if he had a change of heart, but he seemed fine when we talked later that night. On the phone, no less. Phoenix was a stream-of-consciousness communicator who could talk about anything. Literally anything.
We had an in-depth chat about Mexico and Spanish conquistadors after I told him my mom made chiles rellenos for our weekly family dinner. The conversation evolved naturally over the hour or so that we talked. Yes, that’s right. A whole hour. I never talked to anyone for that long in person if I could help it, let alone on my cell. I liked the sound of his voice, though. It was soothing and sweet. Like Phoenix. Every night that our plans fell through because of a late practice or an evening class, I was happy just to talk to him. By the middle of the week, I’d gone from wondering whether he’d had second thoughts to just wanting to hear his voice.
I uncapped a water bottle and flopped onto one of the bar stools at the kitchen peninsula before scrolling through my messages, hoping there was one from Phoenix. No such luck. Just a missed call from an unknown number. Whoever it was left a voice message too.
“Hi, Max, it’s me…Sky. I changed my number and um…I wanted you to have it. In case you needed something. Take care.”
No fucking way. I flipped my cell over and took a deep breath and then another. What the hell was Sky up to? He disappeared for months and suddenly wanted to talk? No, he said he wanted me to have his number…in case I needed something. I was more likely to win the lottery than to ever need anything from him again. I sat there for a minute or two before finally snapping out of it. I scrolled for Phoenix’s contact info and immediately pressed Call.
“Hi Max,” he answered on the first ring.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“I’m stranded at World of Beauty testing shades of red. As one does,” Phoenix replied.
“Stranded?”
“Yeah. Sunny left me in the Smashbox section in a panic when she realized she had twenty minutes to turn her paper in online. What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” I furrowed my brow as I reached for an apple from the bowl on the counter. “Do you need a ride or something?”
“I’ll call for one after I decide between Power Red and Red Dahlia. Although…I’m kind of loving the Magnetic Mahogany,” he hummed thoughtfully. “Which would you choose?”
“Um…the first one maybe?”
“Power Red. It is lovely. Let me call you back on Facetime so you can see it,” he suggested. When I didn’t respond right away, he let out a wry half laugh. “Too much? It’s okay. I’ll see if I can find sample sizes and—”