“Is that a challenge?” He glances at me, his blue eyes glittering with amusement.
I shrug. “Maybe.”
“Careful, Hattie. There’s nothing I like more than a challenge. You should know I always play to win.”
26
HATTIE
By the end of the following week, I’m strung tighter than a bow. It’s not a feeling I’m used to. Not at all. I’ve never craved physical intimacy with anyone before, but with every day that passes, the feeling gets worse. Memories of Bastion’s fingers and the way they worked expertly run like a loop through my head. I can almost understand why Rich’s attitude changed so much after the first time we had sex. I’ve been completely preoccupied, and I haven’t even had sex with Bastion.
It doesn’t help that I can feel his gaze on me throughout the day while I work. Sometimes I push my thighs together in an attempt to ease the ache. The looks he gives me are enough to make me want to flick the lock on his office door and beg him to give me another orgasm.
I could put an end to my suffering by just telling Bastion that I want to explore some more with him, but I need to be sure. I can’t compromise my parents’ future for sexual satisfaction. It wouldn’t be worth it in the long run.
We haven’t talked in depth about it, but Bastion isn’t offering me a long-term relationship full of love and romance, that much is clear. There will be an expiration date, of that I have no doubt. The question is, can I handle sex with no strings? That’s something I’m still trying to figure out.
I shut down my computer and stand from my desk, smoothing the front of my dress, aware that Bastion is watching me with a heated stare.
“I’m done for the day. I’ll see you back at the condo?” I pull the strap of my purse over my head to lay crosswise over my chest.
“I’ll see you there.”
True to his word, Bastion hasn’t pressured me at all. It’s clear that if I want more to happen, I have to be the one who initiates it. Though he makes it obvious enough what he wants with the way he looks at me. Something that is secretly thrilling me.
I leave the office without another word and make my way down the hall. Renee walks out of the changing room with Paige, who I’ve only talked to once before, but she seemed nice.
“Hattie, are you done for the day?” Renee asks, and I stop walking.
“Yup, what about you guys?”
“Nah, we’re just going to grab something to eat before it gets really busy out there. Do you want to join us?” Renee’s expression is open as she waits for me to respond.
When I look between her and Paige to see what she thinks of this, Paige is smiling too. “Come with us. We’re just going to a poke bowl place down the street.”
I can just imagine what Taylor would say if she knew I was going to go out for dinner with a pair of strippers. But I don’t have any friends in Seattle, and these women have been nothing but kind to me.
“Okay, sure. I’d love to.”
I’m mostly quiet on the walk over to the poke bowl place, my sudden bravery failing me when I realize I’m going to have to sit through an entire meal and hold a conversation. I’m always so nervous that I won’t know what to say or that I’ll say something stupid that I tend to just sit there and say nothing. But I can’t do that this time, so I tell myself I must make an effort no matter how uncomfortable it makes me.
I figured it would be a takeout place, but it’s actually an all-you-can-eat restaurant. You just tell the waitress what you want in your bowl.
When the waitress asks what we’d like to drink, Renee and Paige order a lime cooler. I was going to ask for a fruit drink, but now I feel like I’ll look like a child. I’ve never had alcohol except for half a glass of wine during holiday dinners. But I don’t want to stick out. It’s already apparent how different I am from everyone else at The Black Orchid. I don’t need something else to make it even more obvious.
“I’ll have the same as them,” I tell the waitress and let her know what I’d like in my bowl.
“How are you liking Seattle?” Renee asks once the waitress leaves to grab our drinks.
“I really like it so far. At first it was a little overwhelming because I’m not used to being in a city this big, but I went exploring over the weekend, and I’m liking it more and more.”
“Did you come from a small town?” Paige asks.
Nodding, I say, “I moved here from Wisconsin.”
Luckily, neither of them asks why I moved here. I’m not sure what I would’ve said. Hopefully they just assume I’m another small-town girl looking for adventure in the big city.
“Are you both from Seattle?”
