“One, right?” he asks. “I’m guessing you’ve always thought you were a one-and-done kind of girl.”
I nod, my cheeks burning.
“You’re not alone,” Ryan says breezily. “You don’t even know what you’re missing so you don’t know to shoot for more. And most guys feel like rock stars if they get their girl to comeonce,so it’s a vicious cycle.Fucking pathetic.”
I drain my drink and try not to look like I’m lapping up every word.
Ryan takes a long sip of his drink. “To be honest, I’m kind of obsessed with the female orgasm. I get off on it so fucking hard.” He smiles. “The more I learn you, the more I figure out what your body likes best, the more I figure out your body’s cues and sounds, the harder and more easily you’re gonna come for me—and that’s gonna make me a very happy boy.” He licks his lips again. “I can’t wait to see how far I can take you, baby.”
I shift my weight, trying to relieve the unbelievable pulsing in my panties.
“You know what I’m dying to do to you right now?” he says, his eyes slowly migrating from my face to my breasts. “I wanna kiss and lick and suck those incredible breasts of yours, so hard you’re gonna come from that alone.”
“Ryan!” Kat’s voice says, and my throbbing crotch freezes like a thief caught red-handed in the night. “Look who’s finally here!Henny!”
35
Tessa
Kat’s accompanied not only by Henn and his girlfriend, a cute brunette with glasses Kat introduces as “Hannah Banana Montana Milliken,” but also by Josh, Jonas, and Sarah. The group hugs Ryan and me and Josh asks if I’ve been keeping my promise to “let loose.” When I assure my darling boss that, yes, I’ve been drinking rum punch all night long, Mr. Faraday seems unimpressed and demands we all throw back a shot of tequila, which we do. And, fifteen minutes later, as everyone’s telling funny stories and laughing around me, I suddenly realize I’ve forgotten to feel self-conscious that I’m partying with my rich and powerful boss and his glamorous circle. In fact, dare I say it, I kind of feel like I’m hanging out with my own good friends.And it feels awesome.
I’m especially enjoying watching Ryan interact with the group. He’s funny as hell and charming beyond words. Actually, if I’m being honest, watching Ryan tonight is making me feel about him the exact same way I did at The Pine Box.Sigh.Wait. No. What the hell is wrong with me?Ryan’s a liar.A cheater. An asshole.I can’t let myself fall under his spell again, just because he’s physically perfect and utterly charming. Am I insane?
“Um, excuse me,” I blurt, smack in the middle of Sarah telling a story. I quickly bolt away, determined to head straight to my room, tuck myself into bed, and hide for the rest of the week (my promise to Josh and Kat be damned!).
“The Mighty T-Rod!” Keane bellows as I stride past him. “Come here for a sec.”
Crap. So much for my quick getaway. I stop and smile at Keane. He’s standing with his best friend, Zander, his brother, Dax, and Dax’s two friends, Fish and Colin (the other two-thirds of Dax’s band, 22 Goats).
I tell Dax and his bandmates I’ve watched a bunch of their videos on YouTube and loved them. It’s true. After Kat informed me she wanted to have her younger brother’s band play a concert for everyone, I watched some 22 Goats performances, just to see what kind of shit show we were in for, and I was shocked to discover the band is actually great. I ask the boys of 22 Goats how they got started, and they tell me they were best friends in high school. And, finally, I ask the boys why in the heck they’re named “22 Goats.”
“It’s a really stupid story,” Dax replies, but when I assure him I’m genuinely interested, he proceeds to tell me the whole, hilarious story, complete with showing me a Buzzfeed article about smiling goats he calls up on his phone.
As Dax talks, I laugh and laugh and feel more and more charmed by him. What a cutie. “I’m excited to hear you guys play tomorrow night,” I say. “Kat had very few ‘must-haves’ for this week’s itinerary, but a concert by 22 Goats was at the top of her list.”
Dax chuckles. “Something tells me my big sister had an ulterior motive for requesting a 22 Goats concert this week.”
“Oh, you mean Reed Rivers?” I ask.
Dax nods. “Josh sent him our demo a few months back, but he’s never seen us play live.”
“Has Reed listened to the demo?”
“Yeah. He said he loved it, but that he wanted to check out a performance before making a decision—but then I guess he got busy or distracted or whatever, and he still hasn’t made it up to Seattle.”
“So your clever sister brought the show to him,” I say.
“That’s the Jizz-i-nator for ya,” Keane pipes in. “There’s no stopping that girl when she sets her mind to something.”
“The ‘Jizz-i-nator’?” I ask.
Dax laughs. “It’s a riff on Jizz, her lifelong nickname.”
“You call KatJizz?”
“We call our sister any variation of splooge we can think of,” Keane says. “Jizz, Kum Shot, Baby Gravy, Cream of Sum Yung Guy.”
I make a face. “Sounds highly traumatizing.”
