I'm not crazy.
...at least, I don't think I am. But I dunno. Here I am, lying down in a dark room, waiting. Hoping. Praying that those words meant what I thought they meant.
Nicki Roemer. The name sends a shiver through my toes. She hates me. Has to. All these years, anytime we're at a party togetherโwhich is a lot, since her little sister is dating my roommateโNicki talks with everyone but me. I try to say hi, but somehow something always catches her attention, just at that second, and I'm left hanging.
Across rooms, whenever my eyes catch a glimpse of those fleshy haunches, and I look too long, I know she sees me. But she never makes eye contact, not for longer than a split second, and only when I'm in the path of someone she actually wants to talk to.
I get it. She's got her choices, and I'm not one of them. Though little sis Karla is supposedly the beauty queen, to me Nicki is far more captivating, with those wicked, knowing eyes. When I met her three years ago, she was thinner, but never thin. Her hips jutted proudly against any fabric she put on them, swelling irrepressibly, a tantalizing bounty just out of reach. Now, as that delicious meat has steadily accumulated on those bones, she is like a ripe peach, ready to burst at the slightest touch. It drives me completely insane.
Which she knows. Dear god, let this not be a joke.
It was Mark, always Mark who wound up in her crosshairs. Too damned smooth, with his aloof smile and complete lack of effort to impress her. I wished I could do that, just stop trying to sneak a peek at her amazing body and let her chase my mystery.
But I have no mystery. Just a quiet, lonely 23-year-old guy with champagne tastes and ramen budget. Maybe a bit too eager to please. An easy target for the needy girls who get way too close to sinking their hooks in before I come to my senses. Nicki isn't needy, just extremely picky. And yes, I would do absolutely anything to please her.
Like this, for instance. I knew it was her the minute I got the text. Her number's on my roommate's phone, and like a creep, I filched it. For what, I don't know. To call? Yeah, right. 'Hi, I'm that guy you never talk to. Wanna talk?'
And yet...
It's weird, because...well, it's weird for a lot of reasons, but partially because Mark's out of town. They're not official, never have been, but she always ends up going home with him, and tonight she can't. It's still weird, though, because there are lots of guys she does talk to, all right there, within easy reach. She could have any one of them in a heartbeat. How the hell could any straight male resist the attention of Nicki Roemer?
My heart beats faster, thinking about it. I don't know what it's like to be touched that way by her, much less looked at. Picturing those eyes boring into mine has my pants rigid. I'm sweating. Trying hard not to, pulling all my nerves together in a vain attempt to be absolutely cool when she comes in. If she comes in. Part of me is afraid she'll actually show up. What the hell would I say? Since when has she ever wanted to hear me say anything?
I want to read the text again, but I've re-read the words about a hundred times since getting the notice an hour ago. If it's not what it sounds like, then it's a set-up, and I'm tomorrow's punchline.
But if it's not...that's a risk I'm willing to take.
Who knows how long it's been since anyone was in this room. Paul's old family home is cavernous, with way more spare bedrooms than even our gang can use. Sometimes I stay over, but usually in one of the more frequented beds. This one hasn't been occupied in quite some time, I can tell, although it's been cleaned recently. Paul and I aren't really friends, we just know the same people. Being that rich is way outside of my conception of real life, but it's nice to get a look at the suite life now and then. If he weren't fabulously gay, Nicki would probably have nailed him down already.
I swallow hard. Nicki, nailing someone down. How many times have I dreamed it? Being the one her body needs. Giving myself to her. I wipe my glistening palms on the blanket, and let the cool night air chill my upturned face. I will be that for you, I pledge to this woman, wherever in the house her fantastically curvaceous legs are taking her at this moment. Maybe to me. Maybe to laugh with her friends about the joke she just pulled on that gullible guy. It doesn't matter. I've made my choice.
My hand resists the urge to take the phone out again. To goggle at the words. Those unbelievable words:
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