Anna woke up with the sun, not many hours after collapsing into exhausted sleep in Grant's bed. The warmth of his body soaking into her back and his arm draped comfortably around her waist nearly lured her right back into sleep with a smile on her face until memories from the night before started flickering through her mind like a demented movie projector.
'Do you want me to play with your clit like I'm playing with your nipples?'
Her eyes flew open and her cheeks burned with...something, was it embarrassment? Shame? She didn't know, but suddenly sleep was unattainable and she was overtaken with the need to get away. To think. To assimilate. She carefully crept out from under his arm and slid to the edge of the bed. One glance back at his sleeping face and she was blushing again. How could she possibly ever look him in the eye after last night?
'You're doing so good, baby. I'm gonna make you come so hard.'
Lord help her, just thinking about it had her burning up inside. The memory of that frighteningly intense orgasm had her up off the bed, snatching her dress off the floor and going in search of someplace to hide.
She found the bathroom downstairs and carefully avoided looking at her reflection in the mirror as she pulled her dress on. After pulling her tangled hair back into a knot and quickly rinsing her face off she sat down on the closed toilet for a moment to think. The pounding of her heart was so loud in her ears she had the irrational fear that Grant might hear it from all the way upstairs.
What on earth was wrong with her? As intense as it was she'd enjoyed every second of last night. Grant had shown her a whole new level to sex that she'd only suspected the existence of before. It was like he had some kind of sixth sense, he knew exactly how to get what he wanted from her and she'd responded to it on every level, physically, mentally, emotionally. Like he had absolute control over her.
She couldn't breathe. She had to go. She could call him later and explain over the phone, once she figured it out herself, but right now the thought of seeing him and looking in his eyes had her stomach all tied in knots. The creaking of the bathroom door made her cringe, but the place was silent as she padded softly to the front hall where she found her purse and, to her renewed embarrassment, her discarded panties. She paused at the front door to stuff them in her purse.
"You're taking off, huh?"
Anna jumped and whirled at the sound of Grant's voice from above. She looked up to see him leaning against the wooden railing of the loft, looking down at her with an expression so cold it gave her chills.
"Oh! I thought you were asleep."
"I could say the same for you."
"I just, um, I have...work today."
"Yeah, you told me you had to be at work at one," he said with a sardonic glance at the decorative clock on the far wall. It was six thirty.
"I'm sorry Grant, I was going to call-"
"Save it. I've used that line before." He stood up straight and ran his hand through his sleep-mussed hair. "You don't have to explain, believe me I get it. You wanted a good fuck, that's what you got."
"No, that's not-" She started toward the stairs, meaning to talk to him, try to explain as best she could why she had been sneaking out.
"I have to give you credit though, you really put in some time. You've been trying to get me to stick my cock in you for what, almost a whole week. That's dedication. Most girls give up after I blow them off the first few times."
Anna froze. Her jaw dropped and tears pricked her eyes. Part of her couldn't believe he really thought that about her, but another part felt the shame of knowing that on some level he was right. She had wanted him since they met and he knew it. How could he not the way she'd thrown herself at him? But she thought he'd been drawn to her, too. The idea that he'd been trying to blow her off was humiliating to say the least.
"At any rate, you don't have to sneak out with your panties in your purse like a used-up whore. Give me a minute to get dressed and I'll drive you home." With that he disappeared from view.
Anna's tears evaporated with anger and shock. A used-up whore? Potential comebacks swirled around in her head, none of which made sense, so she turned without saying a word and stomped out of the door, slamming it behind her. She made it almost to the sidewalk before she realized she was barefoot.
Going back in there wasn't an option. Neither was walking all the way home with no shoes on. Claudia would come get her if she called. It would be galling, but Claudia wouldn't give her too hard of a time. She pulled her phone out of her purse and almost cried when she realized it was dead. Looking up and down the street she noticed a gas station at one end of a long row of warehouses and headed for that, hoping the last pay phone on earth might exist in its parking lot.
...
Fuck her, then. Let her walk home. He'd watched her creep through his house trying get out without waking him up and he'd felt like more of a fool with every passing second. What had he been thinking? She was no different from all the others, just a better actress. Which was ironic because he'd screwed several actresses.
But he was the idiot who let himself believe she was different. He was the dumbass who let himself fall for her and now he was going to pay the price. And what a price, it felt like someone had torn a hole in his chest.
Insulting her had given him little relief; it just made him feel guilty on top of being angry and hurt. When he'd made that crack about blowing her off she'd looked like he'd slapped her and even though he knew it was probably all just an act it still made his chest ache to think that he'd put that look on her face. Especially since it wasn't true.
All along he'd been the one pursuing her, pestering her for more, and she'd been holding back. Holding out. In hindsight it was obvious she'd only been after one thing and realizing it made him feel like a fool.
'Are you asking if I want more than sex? Because I might have to wait until we actually have sex to answer that.'
"Son of a bitch!" He kicked at something on the floor at his feet, sending it sailing across the room to slam into the wall. It was a shoe. Anna's sandal. Surely she'd noticed she didn't have them by now, if she was going to come back for them she would have done it already.
As stubborn as she was she'd probably walk all the way home barefoot before she'd come back in here after the way he'd talked to her. The anger drained from him and he slumped against the wall. He couldn't let her walk home without her shoes.
...
She was halfway to the gas station when he pulled slowly alongside her, driving on the wrong side of the road.
"Get in the car, Anna."
She clenched her jaw and walked faster, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of a response.
"I'm not going to let you walk home."
That was too much to ignore completely so she settled for flipping him off without looking.
