You've Got Fail(21)

She drummed her black nails on her bare thigh. “Do you know where this thing is? I didn’t look at Linda’s manifesto about it.”

I took a deep breath and straightened my glasses. “At the David H. Koch Theatre. I think it’s a Cosmo benefit for the ballet.”

She turned back to me, and my heart seemed to beat a little easier when we shared the link of eye contact. “Do you think there will be movie stars?”

“Maybe.” I shrugged. “This is my first event, so I really don’t know. You’re the one with all the hobnobbing experience.”

“I dabble.” A hint of a smile tugged at her red lips. How soft were they? What would she taste like?

The right word finally bubbled its way to the surface. “Exquisite.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Hmm?”

“That’s what I meant to say earlier. You look exquisite.”

Her smile broke wide and genuine, and a faint blush crept up the sides of her neck. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Finally, I’d managed to pull my head out of my ass.

“I knew you could do it, Sparky,” she teased.

We pulled up in a line of cars dropping people off at the front of the venue. It had been quite some time—perhaps not since college—that I’d gone to an event with so many people. Sitting in my pajamas and blogging didn’t require interaction with actual humans. What if they tried to talk to me? I swallowed hard.

“You all right?” She peered at me as we rolled forward, growing ever closer to the drop-off area that was crowded with photographers and onlookers.

“I’m good.” The sweat mustache may have given me away.

She grabbed my hand. “It’ll be easy. We just talk and schmooze. Good food, free booze, and on top of that—celebrities. You can blog about them, right?”

“I’ll do a blog entry about the event, yeah.”

“See? This is like a research trip for you.” She squeezed my hand.

I squeezed back. “You keep surprising me.”

“Don’t get too excited.” She leaned closer. “You may have to keep a close eye on me lest I lift a few wallets.”

I shook my head. “You better not.”

“Why? You going to spank me if I misbehave?”

My cock had been minding its own business for the most part. Until that. And then he wanted in on the action.

“I might.” I moved closer, invading her space.

She didn’t lean back, just kept giving me the look that I’d quickly learned meant mischief. “Would I be on all fours, or would you put me over your knee?”

I groaned and reached for her.

The door opened, letting in the noise of the crowd.

Scarlet took the attendant’s proffered hand and stood, leaving me with a hard-on right when I had to walk through a gauntlet of photographers.

Linda’s word eddied around in my mind. “Fucking swimmingly,” I said under my breath as I stepped from the limo.

Scarlet’s eyes danced as she took my elbow. “Don’t be mad.”

“Mad?” I tightened my elbow against my body, pulling her closer. “That’s not quite the word I’d use to describe my current predicament.”

She snorted as we moved forward in the arrival line. “Really?”

“You can’t bring up spanking and think nothing will come of it.”

“You are positively punny this evening.” She smiled as we arrived at the red carpet leading to the theatre’s entrance.

“Real cute.” I walked her up the slight slope as the cameras clicked on either side of us. At the top, I gave our names to the usher, who then showed us inside.

The wide interior hinted at a spacious theater glimpsed through the wide double doors to our left. Ahead of us, a glittery mix of people in cocktail attire drank and chatted around several tables set for dining.

“Fancy.” Scarlet walked ahead of me, the fabric of her dress stretching across her mouth-watering ass. What sort of panties was she wearing under there? I didn’t see a line. Maybe a thong? Or maybe—I swallowed hard—no panties?

“Scarlet.”

She and I both turned as a man cut through the crowd toward us. No, not just a man. It was the guy I’d seen her talking to at the gallery.

“Todd, hi.” She accepted his embrace, and I balled my hands into fists to keep from pulling her away from him.

Then he turned to me for a handshake. “You again? Your boyfriend sure seems to loan you out a lot.”

I shook and did the idiotic “I-can-squeeze-harder-because-me-MAN” thing like a twatwaffle.

He winced and pulled his hand away before returning his attention to Scarlet. “You look breathtaking this evening.”

“Thanks.” She dropped her gaze to the floor, but I was pleased to see that she didn’t blush under his compliment the way she’d done for mine.

“Can I get you something to drink?” He rested his hand on her elbow and winked at me. “Don’t worry. I’ll have her back in a moment.”

I plastered a fake smile on my face. “Sure. Just let me tell her a little something.” Leaning down to her, I whispered in her ear, “You’re allowed to steal this jackass’s wallet.” When I pulled back, she rose up on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek, a sweet smile on her devious lips. “Thank you, Sparky. I certainly will.”