Maybe stuffing my face while he talked was a poor decision, especially considering his words made me choke. Yep, red face hacking was underway. Holy hell, was this guy for real?
“Okay then.” It was the only comment I had.
“So, Cammy, tell me about the woman behind the rapper.” He smirked, then took a bite of bacon. Lucky bacon.
“I own and run Prism Salon on St. Armand’s Circle. I’m thirty, agree on the beach walking. Not fun at all. And yes, I am one hundred percent pro-manscaping. No skills in the mouth department, I’m actually a poor lay.” His eyebrow raised, obviously not believing me. Not sure why I was lying about my sex life so much to him. I couldn’t truly lie to save my life, maybe that’s why no one took me seriously. I giggle at the thought.
“Yeah, that’s a lie. I’m a fucking pro.” At least I was being honest. I could suck a dick with the best of them. A chuckle slipped from his perfect lips before he continued eating. We ate in silence after that, which I was absolutely okay with. After we were both stuffed, Jake was the one to break the quiet.
“I want to get to know you more, and I feel the only way to do that is to win a bet.” It was my turn to raise the eyebrow at him. What was he talking about?
“I bet I can paint your toes to perfection. If I lose, you don’t ever have to see me again.” He looked at me with a serious expression. I leaned in closer.
“And if you win?” I was a very curious kitten.
“If I win, you stay here for a week and help out on the rescue.” I scoffed.
“Deal. There’s no way you can do that good of a job. I’m a hard critic, so I’ll call your bluff.” Yeah, I was ready for this disaster. The man was practically a bear himself, a handsome bear. But really?
“Let’s get this train wreck over with. I need to get home and into some sweatpants.” I totally unbuttoned my pants like the lady I was—a bloated one. Jake noticed my movements then stormed up the stairs.
I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, he was back and standing in front of me with a large T-shirt and sweatpants.
“Uh, thanks.” I wasn’t going to turn them down. I wanted to get out of last night’s clothes badly.
“There’s a bathroom just down the hall, no need to go upstairs.” He pointed just behind the stairs. Cool. I made haste and changed into the large clothing. I had to tie the sweatpants string really tight and the shirt I tucked the front into the pants, but all in all I looked pretty awesome. As always. Before going back out to see Jake, I needed to have a girly moment with his clothing. They smelled of man. Clean and woodsy. Yeah, woodsy. Wearing his clothes felt really intimate, like he was holding me without touching me. I should have just left. Stupid breakfast. I was starting to like him.
Needing to get out of my head, I left the bathroom and found him in the living room. That jungle cat, Binksie, was lounging on one of the dog beds. It was unreal to see a cat like that, just as domesticated as a normal house cat.
“Have a seat.” Jake gestured to the couch in front of him. I strutted over and plopped down on the couch. He hadn’t moved, so I looked up at his face. His eyes were moving all over my body. I felt a blush fan my cheeks.
“I like you in my clothes,” he commented as he went down to his knees in front of me. Oh, the thoughts that ran through my head. He grabbed a small bottle of red fingernail polish, as well as polish remover. Interesting that he had that.
“Leftovers from a girlfriend?” I asked. He smirked.
“Sisters. They visit every once in a while, leave their shit everywhere.” He gently lifted my perfectly pedicured foot and started on his bet. I closed my eyes, wanting to see the finished product with a fresh perspective. The longer he worked, the more the anticipation was building inside me. Realistically, I was perfectly able to stay here and help on the rescue if he won. I was unsure about helping with the animals, and this was way different than the busy downtown Sarasota area, but it might be nice. Keeping my panties on would be hard, though. My thoughts then drifted to having a family and being a juice box mom. I really needed to find a husband and get to baby making. Jake popped into my head, but I squashed the thought. Maybe I should just screw him and get it over with.
His life was not the life for me. I wasn’t sure why I was wasting my time dallying with this bet.
“All done. Open your eyes, sweetheart.” I opened my eyes, and well, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. If a man was so sure of himself that he was willing to make a bet, it’s probably because he knows he can win. My toes looked really good. Was he as good as me? No. But I would have been satisfied. I sighed.
“I have to go home and pack a bag,” I told him. I looked at him just as a bright smile grew on his face. I shook my head. This was going to be a long week.
“I’ll take you to your car.” I nodded in agreement.
“Wait, what about the animals? Can you leave?” I had no clue about anything that went into an exotic animal rescue.
“I’m the boss. I have thirty employees, ten interns, and about ten volunteers. I think I can get away for a bit.” He stood and held his hand out for mine.
“I’m Jake Wild, owner of Wild Rescue.” I took his hand and he hauled me up. My body collided with his. Yep this was going to be a hard week.
“All right, big boy, get me to my car, and I’ll be back later.” I needed some space like yesterday. This man was making my insides go haywire. I wanted him, but I didn’t. I did, but I didn’t. I was getting whiplash over here. I pulled back and waited for him. He nodded his head towards the door.
“Let’s go, sweetheart.” I followed, and stared at his ass as we walked towards a dark blue truck with the logo for the rescue on it. It had mud around the tires and a dent or two. Looked like it was used as a truck. I see lots of people drive trucks around downtown, but they probably had spider webs in the back from it not being used for its intended purpose. Jake opened the passenger door for me and held out his hand in case I needed help. I climbed up in the beast all on my own. I was independent like that. I liked the gentleman type but I was too impatient for them. I didn’t want to wait in the car while they got out and walked around to open it for me, or wait for them to open the door so I could walk through. I had shit to do; ain’t nobody got time for that.
The ride was surprisingly quiet. I welcomed it. Maybe Jake caught on that I needed some space. I agreed to stay at his rescue for a week. It was a big move, especially when it was with someone I really didn’t know. I just hoped a tiger didn’t eat me. When we pulled up to Bambi, Jake stopped the truck.
“I’ll see you later, sweetheart. Dinner’s at six.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek. Sweet points go to Jake on that one. He wasn’t being weird or clingy. I got out and once I was finally safe inside Bambi, Jake drove off. Before I started the car, I sent a text to Rayne.
I’m coming over. Tell hubs he doesn’t have to get dressed on my account.
I started my girl up and drove over to their apartment. I needed my Rayne.
