The Hookup Handbook(24)

“What’s been going on? I’ve barely heard from you all week.” Allison bites into her turkey sandwich and speaks around a mouthful. We’ve long since left table manners behind in this friendship. “Has work just been crazy?”

“Crazy doesn’t even begin to describe it. But it’s not just my schedule. It’s my boss.”

I fly through the details of the last few days, everything from accidentally overhearing the conversation about Case’s problem to finding out that I’m his one solution. Allison gasps and laughs at all the right times, a sign of a true best friend. By the time I get to the end of my recap, I feel like I just ran a half marathon, and my stomach is too tight to eat.

“Okay, so let me get this straight. Your male escort boss has a dick that only works for you? You can’t be serious.”

“Dead serious.” I sigh, catching my breath. “You can’t make this kind of stuff up, and I know he’s not lying.”

“So, what are you going to do? Did you guys talk about last night?”

I shake my head, nervously picking at the crust of my sandwich. “I was kind of hoping he would bring it up, but he’s hardly mentioned it.” Other than to apologize, which actually made me feel worse.

“He’s probably trying to give you an out. Y’know, in case you weren’t interested, and it was just a one-time thing.” She pauses, holding her sandwich in midair. “Do you want it to be more than just a one-time thing?”

I swallow the nervous lump in my throat. “I don’t know. Maybe? I think you may have been right about the summer-fling thing. That kiss was practically fireworks, Allison. It’s crazy, I know, but part of me wants to explore that. I’m just not sure how.”

Allison stifles a giggle. “Sienna, I know you know how to do it. Do I need to give you a refresher course on the sex talk?”

“I know how to do it, Allison,” I say with an eye roll. “I mean I don’t know how to even make it happen. What am I supposed to say? Oh, hey, Case. I know you’re my boss, but I want to bang you?”

Allison snickers. “Yeah. Except maybe don’t use the word bang.”

“Then what do I say? I’ve never even asked a guy out on a date before. How am I supposed to know how to do this?”

“Sienna. Chill out. You’re gonna hurt yourself.” She smirks, biting into her sandwich with a wink.

I release my shoulders, which at some point I must have pressed against my ears in stress. Once I’ve taken a few deep breaths, Allison puts on her best pep-talk voice.

“Listen, his dick has already spoken. He wants you. That’s the most difficult part, and the work is already done for you. All you have to do is give him the go-ahead and then enjoy the best sex of your life. What’s the worst that could happen?”

I waste the rest of the hour inundating Allison with worst-case scenarios, most of which involve me losing both my jobs and somehow accidentally burning his house down. Allison swiftly shoots down every single one, and by the time lunch is over, I’m all out of potential disasters.

When I walk up to the counter to snag a salad for Case, I feel physically lighter. Maybe Allison is right. If I’m going to have a summer fling, why shouldn’t it be with the man who has literally written the book on mind-blowing sex?

I almost feel giddy at the thought of throwing caution to the wind like this.

In the parking lot, Allison offers me a ride back to the office, but I politely decline. I can use the time walking back to hone my strategy.

Is it really just as simple as flat out telling him I’m game?

That shouldn’t be too difficult. Case already made the first move, and his dick made the second one. All I have to do is walk in there and tell him what I’m sure he already knows.

I want him.

? ? ?

I strut through the door of his office, where Case remains working at his desk, worrying his fingers through his hair as he edits. God, the way he works his long, thick fingers through his hair like that. I want those fingers tangled up in my blond waves.

Shit. The thought knocks me off my game.

“Hey.” He barely looks up as I set the container of salad on the edge of his desk. “Thanks for that.”

I nod and take a deep breath, still standing beside him. I practiced a few potential lines on my walk over here, but one look at him and they’ve all evaporated. I rein in my nerves.

It’s now or never, Sienna. Just say the first thing that comes to mind.

“I want a ride.”

Case glances up at me momentarily, his eyebrows knitted together, then shifts his focus back to his screen before he responds. “Where to, home? Didn’t you drive here?”

I gulp. Am I really going to have to spell it out? I roll my shoulders back and take a quick cleansing breath. I’ve come this far. No turning back now.

Trying again, I use a lower, more sultry tone. “No, Case. You know what I mean. I want to take a ride.”

I ready myself for him to leap up from behind his desk, take me in his arms, and start demonstrating everything he’s going to write about in the next chapter of his book. Instead, all I get out of him is a muffled snicker.

“That kind of ride will cost you about five grand, babe.”

He hardly gives me half a smirk before turning back to his computer.