Bar Crawl(18)

I squinted suspiciously.

“Seriously!” His eyes widened. “I’m not searching for anything. I don’t have a love-lost childhood, my parents are great, I’ve got lots of friends and am quite f*cking fulfilled, thank you very much.” His tone was barely playful, but not accusing or defensive. “I just really like sex and I’m not ready for a relationship. Tell me you’ve never had sex for fun.” He arched an eyebrow.

My neck heated as I thought back to college. “That’s different.”

“Ha!” CJ’s forceful laugh made me jump. “How? How is it different?”

I clicked my tongue, pulling my head away from the couch and holding out my hands. “Because. I was a silly, hormone-filled college girl. No responsibilities other than to get through my classes in one piece—or the Dean’s List for good measure. That’s what you do in college, isn’t it?”

“I think you mean who you do,” CJ teased. “Why is it different now, though? Are you not still exploring? Or are you done figuring out who you are and what you want?”

“I’m an adult now. A real one. I have a career that I care about, and I probably shouldn’t be sleeping around. That would complicate my job prospects. Besides, I don’t even want to be sleeping around.”

CJ brought one hand up and lowered it slowly, mocking the volume I’d inadvertently taken on. “Calm down. I wasn’t attacking you. Why in God’s name don’t you want to sleep around? Do you have a boyfriend?”

His question startled me. My eyebrows drew in to closely, that I knew if I looked up, I’d see them glaring down at me. “Do I have a—what? Are you serious?”

CJ looked around, his lips parting slightly, as if I’d been the one to ask the ridiculous question. “Yeah…”

“We kissed. Twice. Today.” My words came out in short spurts. I finally put it all together in one fluid sentence. “We kissed twice today.”

“We did.” He grinned. “And both times were amazing.”

I narrowed my eyes, cocking my head to the side. “Do you make a habit out of kissing other guys’ girlfriends?”

CJ shrugged. “It’s none of my business who has a boyfriend.”

My jaw nearly hit my knees as I flew to standing, making sure to smack his shoulder on my way up. “You’re a pig!”

“What?” he yelped back, towering over me as he stood.

I placed one hand on my hip and used the index finger of my other hand to poke his chest. “You don’t care if someone you’re hooking up with has a boyfriend?”

“If they don’t care, why should I? Are you honestly suggesting that I ask any girl who I hit on—or who hits on me, for that matter—if they have a boyfriend? As far as I’m concerned, when they come back to my place, that’s them saying they’re available.”

I froze in place, dumbfounded that this loophole had sucked me in. And swallowed me. “You… Because…” I had nothing. Frustrated, I walked to the kitchen and pulled down a wine glass.

CJ followed quietly, leaning against the island as I poured a glass of Riesling and took a long sip.

“I don’t intentionally go after girls who I know have boyfriends…if that helps,” he offered while he watched me.

My back was turned, but I could feel his eyes on me. I could hear it in his voice when his eyes reached my hips. A low purr seemed to blanket his words for a split second.

“And,” he continued, “if you’ll recall, I told you that the first night I saw you I didn’t hit on you specifically because I thought you were with your boyfriend. I’m not a total dickhead, Frankie.”

“Sorry,” I said as I set my glass down and turned around. “I’m just trying to reconcile the CJ in the bar with the CJ in the coffee shop who told me he’s writing a book.”

He twisted his lips with a light look in his eyes and patted from his chest down to his waist. “One and the same. I gotta say, though, I’m starting to get a little offended about your opinion of me.” His face fell slightly, sending my stomach with it. I hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings.

“Look,” I replied as I walked toward him, aiming to turn the situation around with sarcasm, “you’re offensive sometimes.”

CJ let out a raucous laugh that vibrated the counter beneath my hand. “I’m serious, though. Do I really come off like that much of a dick?”

I waved my hand through the air. “Only to onlookers,” I chided.

CJ grabbed the dishtowel near him and lightly whipped my hip with it. “Smartass,” he teased. “Let’s start on those scallops. I’m starving.”

I looked at the clock on my stove and realized more than an hour had passed since we’d been back at my place. In that whole hour he had managed not to hit on me. And I was a little unsure how I felt about that.





CJ




There we were, joking in her kitchen together. I think the last girl I joked that much with was my cousin’s best friend, Ember. They’d played in a band together for a couple of years and she thought I was horrid. So naturally, I’d taken every chance I could to remind her of why she thought that. She’d tease me for being vile, and I’d get on her for being such an uptight princess. I’d even called her Rapunzel for a while, which earned me plenty of dirty looks.