Down and Out(27)

Caught off-guard, I blink and look down. “Not so much anymore. I’m kind of taking a break from sex.”
“Why?”
Declan’s looking at me like I’ve gone completely insane, and I can’t help but guffaw at his ludicrous expression. “Uh, did you not just hear me say that I didn’t even get their names most of the time? I think that’s a pretty good reason.”
His massive shoulders shrug as he says, “I don’t get a name half the time and that doesn’t stop me.”
My eyes automatically roll. “Yeah, but you’re a guy. There’s a double standard for women.”
He clears his throat. “So how long have you been, um, abstinent?”
“About two months.”
“Don’t you miss it?” he asks wistfully, shaking his head. “I don’t think I could go two months.”
A decidedly unladylike snort escapes me. “I doubt you could go two days.”
“For your information, it’s been—” His mouth snaps shut. “Never mind.”
The grin on my face is so wide I’m surprised it hasn’t split my cheeks. Is he blushing? I scoot over to him as he hangs his head. “No, no. Tell me how long it’s been since you’ve had sex. A few hours? A day? What?”
He lifts his head and licks his lips. Yep, his cheeks are definitely tinged pink. “Three days, all right? Night before I met you.”
Something deep within my chest twists painfully, making my smile falter, but I’m quick to recover. Why does that bother me so much? I mean, Jesus, I’m the one who asked him. “Tell me about it,” I say, trying to play it off. “What’s her name? Was it any good?”
His brows arch. “Uh. . .”
“What? We can’t talk about your sex life, just mine?”
His lips purse as he nods. “All right. Jamie dragged me to some party and she was being particularly . . . I don’t know—Jamie—and I couldn’t take her anymore. So I got shitfaced, ditched her, and hooked up with someone else.”
My eyes widen and I blink. “Wow. You’re quite the gentleman, sir.”
His face scrunches up into a grimace. “I know, right?”
“Well, was she any good?”
He laughs. “Shit, I don’t think I was any good. I was so f*cked up, I honestly don’t remember much of it. I don’t even remember her name or what she looked like.”
“So I take it you’re not gonna see her again.”
“Wouldn’t recognize her even if I did.” There’s a moment of silence before he says, “What about your last time? I hope it was good enough to carry you through your dry spell.”
“It was okay. I was pretty drunk too, but I remember some things. He was cute and nice. A little older.”
His brows lift. “How much older?”
“He was . . . thirty-ish?”
There’s a mischievous glint in Declan’s eyes. “So you got a thing for older guys, huh?”
My gaze narrows on him. “Why? How old are you?”
“Twenty-four.”
(Insert millionth eye-roll for the evening here.) “You’re only four years older than me.”
“Older is older, Kitten.” He winks at me. “So this nice, older guy—he, uh, send you off into celibacy with a proper goodbye?”
A flush blooms across my skin as his insinuation registers. “Are you asking me if I came? Oh, God.” I bury my face in my hands.
“I’m just saying, if you need to relieve some tension, I’m a whole lot better than a pair of double A batteries.” I can hear the smug grin in his voice, but I still peek at him through my fingers. Yep, there it is.
Letting my hands fall away, I glare at him. Well, try to. “Oh, I bet you are.”
“So what do you say?”
His eyebrows wiggle and I almost choke on a laugh. “Uh-uh. I’m so not sleeping with you.”
He holds out his hands in a defensive gesture, his brows rising. “Hey, I never said anything about sex. There are lots of other ways I can relieve your stress.”
“Right,” I scoff. “And what do you get out of it?”
“Nothing. This can just be about you.”
I smile wryly. “How selfless of you. Going around and giving out orgasms out of the goodness of your heart.”
He’s still smiling, but his joking nature is gone. “There’d be no ‘around.’ This offer’s only good for you.”
“Oh, so the other girls would have to give you something in return? A blowjob, perhaps?”
“Other girls?” A crooked smile lifts his lips as he reaches up to brush my hair aside. “Kitten, the only one I see is you.”
Those seemingly inconsequential words make my stomach squeeze and my heart flip, breaking my affectation. And then the Ramones blast from his phone again, sending my already racing heart into an epileptic fit.
I jump and place my hand over the rapid beating as he practically growls and picks up his phone. Swiping his thumb along the bottom of the screen, he holds it up to his ear and says, “Stop calling me, Jamie. It’s over.” He hangs up and sets it back on the table as an errant thought runs through my head.
“Do you give everyone their own ringtone?”
Leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, he’s scratching the back of his head as he looks at me. His eyes narrow dubiously. “Yeah, why?”
“What’s mine?”
Something flickers across his face before he looks away. “I haven’t had time to pick one out for you.”