Chapter 5

 

Jax

 

Light from the rising sun filters through the glass wall, onto my face, and wakes me up. I open my eyes, and it takes only a few seconds before the smell of pool water and sex reminds me of the night before. I stretch out in the bed and roll over to the side.

The sound of the shower emerges from my bathroom, and I rub some life into my eyes while I think of how to handle this. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s the morning after. I’ve seen it all. From the ‘so when are you gonna call me’s to the ‘I have a friend I’d like you to meet’s. Phone numbers written in lipstick on the bathroom mirror, full breakfasts being cooked in the kitchen, and even one girl who disappeared leaving nothing but a thousand dollars on the bedside table.

I pull on a pair of sweatpants and start preparing for what Lizzie’s gonna throw at me; realizing that I still don’t have a good handle on her. I’m expecting anything— from her acting like we’re now an item¸ to a slap in the face.

What I’m not expecting is for her to come out of the shower, dressed and ready to leave, and casually say, “Thanks for the good time,” without a hint of bitterness or regret – but that’s exactly what she does.

I follow her to the door.

“It was my pleasure,” I say, opening the door for her.

She steps outside, then turns to me, like she forgot something.

Here it comes. The old bait-and-switch.

“You know, I had fun. I feel like… like I learned a lot.”

“Oh yeah?” I reply, and damn if she doesn’t sound and look sexy to me all over again. I must have slept ten hours, but right now I’m about ready to go another round, even though I know it’s a bad idea.

“I… uh…” She’s biting her lip again. I smile, watching her pretty face go through all kinds of thoughts before she gets up the courage to say what she’s about to. “I have a proposition for you.”

“A proposition?” I ask.

Lizzie looks mischievous. “Yeah.”

“Ok,” I say, running a finger along my stubbled jawline. “What’s your ‘proposition’?”

She laughs a little to herself.

Crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes, she looks me up and down, nodding as she assesses the goods. “I want you to teach me how to fuck.”

That does it. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I haven’t had a coffee, the weird tension of these morning-afters, or the strangeness of those words coming from such an amazingly cute face. But I am, for once in my life, utterly speechless.

“You… want…”

“I want to know everything that a man could want in bed, yes. I want to know how to drive him wild. I want to know how to do everything in the bedroom. Wild, crazy, sexy, everything. I—”

“Doesn’t have to be a bedroom,” I interrupt.

“See! That! I wanna know, that!” she says, pointing at me. “I would never think of that. I need to be able to think like that. So I know how to make it amazing. Like last night.”

I shuffle on my feet again, trying to hide the start of a raging hard-on she’s giving me. It’s gotta be pretty obvious in these loose sweatpants. This girl definitely doesn’t need lessons in being unbelievably hot. I try to think of cold things, like snow and polar bears and freezing showers. But it’s no use.

“And you want me to teach you?”

“Yes,” she says eagerly, giving me a look like she’s in the middle of an interview.

I look out over the front of the house, the Ferrari still sitting in the driveway, the day just starting to get bright. A cab starts rolling up my driveway.

“Well, I gotta say, that’s pretty… crazy. You’re a gorgeous girl. You don’t—”

“Perfect,” she interrupts, putting a hand on my bare chest, “I wanna be able to do it all. Perfect. So that when I meet the right guy, I’ll be able to give him everything he needs and get what I want in return.”

I nod. I don’t know why, but I’m nodding. I understand her.

“What’s the worst that can happen? I can see it in your eyes now, you want me. Well… isn’t this what you like? No-strings sex, whenever you want.” She leans close, licking her lips, talking in a low breathy whisper, “You can do whatever you want to me.” She puts her lips close to my ear, and even more breathily says, “Make me the perfect lover.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never done anything like this before. I’m not sure—”

She pulls back, fire in her eyes. “You gonna turn that down? Didn’t you tell me that you never back down from a challenge? Well, here it is. I know you’re the right guy for this. You don’t give a shit and you’re not gonna get attached.”

I rub my face. If I wasn’t so horny I’d be sure I’m still sleeping. “You’re right, I’m not. But you will. I mean, do you really think you can do that? No feelings. No connection. No emotional attachments whatsoever.”

She rolls her eyes. “Of course I can do that. I just did.”

I sense her preparing more arguments, so I stop her with one word. “No.”

But instead of getting upset, Lizzie crosses her arms again. “Give me a week, then.” She fixes me with a steely gaze. “Seven days. Every position. No strings attached.”

My mouth goes dry as a million filthy images flash through my mind. I rub my jaw and look out over the LA skyline. A city full of girls, but probably none of them as surprising as this one.

Lizzie huffs out a breath, gesturing at the cab idling in the driveway behind her. “Look, my ride’s waiting. So? Will you?”

“Honestly, I would love to. Really. But the thing is, you can’t teach that kinda thing. You’re either born with it, or you’re not. And you? You’re not born with it. Sorry.”

Her face drops into a puppy dog expression that makes me want to tuck her under the chin.

“Really?” she says, in a voice so full of hurt that I almost feel bad.

I laugh. “No. Not really. That’s your first lesson. Don’t doubt. Never doubt. The second you doubt yourself, is the second you hold back. There’s no room for doubt, in sex, just like life.”

She breaks into a smile that I can’t seem to escape, however much I want to.

“Here’s my number,” she says, pulling out card and handing it to me. “I look forward to working with you.” She almost winks.

Then she skips down the steps and gets into the cab. I watch it drive away, go back inside, and look down at the crisp card she handed me. As I walk through the entrance, my eyes roll back and forth over the name: Elizabeth Tipton.

My hand hovers over the wastebasket. Nothing but trouble. That girl’s nothing but trouble. It’s so obvious it should be written in big letters over the bottom of the card itself.

But damn, if I don’t like the idea.