Sebastian

I felt like an idiot for texting Delaney four times. Patience has never been my strong suit, and texting always made me antsy. I really wanted to know if me being Luke’s friend would make things awkward for her. It seemed unlikely since Delaney didn’t strike me as the type who worried too much about what others thought, but I’d only known her a few hours.

When my phone finally buzzed, it was almost midnight.

DELANEY: Are you still awake?

ME: Sure am. I was worried you weren’t going to message me back.

DELANEY: Sorry. I was writing and didn’t hear my phone.

ME: Did you get a lot of writing done?

DELANEY: I did. How was your visit with Luke?

ME: Good. It’s been years since we’ve hung out, but we still get along great.

DELANEY: Why haven’t you seen him in so long? He’s been back in this area for months.

ME: I was living up in Portland until recently. Since I got back, I’ve been really busy with work. Are we just going to continue to text back and forth with this small talk?

DELANEY: It’s been unseasonably warm for March, don’t you think?

I chuckled at her smartass comment on the weather and decided to just give in to the temptation to call her.

“Hello,” Delaney’s slightly raspy voice with the soft drawl was hot as fuck in person, but it was ten times hotter over the phone. That voice had me imagining her soft moans as she begged me to let her come. I wouldn’t. I’d keep Delaney at the edge until she gave me everything I wanted.

Biting back a groan, I tried to have a conversation that didn’t make me sound like a complete pervert. “Hey there,” I greeted her. “Has anyone ever told you how good you sound over the phone?”

“Is this where you try to get me to talk dirty to you?” she asked.

“That is definitely something I’d like to experience,” I assured her. “For now, I just want to make sure you’re okay with my connection to Luke.”

“It did come as a surprise,” she remarked. “What are the odds of something like this happening?”

“Pretty slim,” I admitted. “Did you know they wanted to set us up on a blind date?”

“Chelsea mentioned the idea while we were out today,” she replied.

“I guess she’s pretty good at this matchmaking thing,” I added.

Delaney snorted. “Try not to get too excited about Chelsea’s matchmaking skills. She wants me to date so badly, she’d fix me up with any single guy. Crap. That came out sounding really bad. I like you, and I’m glad we met. I just meant Chelsea didn’t even know you, so she had no way of knowing we’d be a good match.”

“Good point,” I agreed. “I gotta ask you something important.”

“What’s that?” she asked hesitantly.

“Do you consider tomorrow our second date?”

“Why would I consider it our second date?” she asked. “And why does it matter which date it is? You aren’t one of those guys with a three date rule?”

“Three date rule?” I asked. “That’s a ridiculous concept. Why would I think the third date means I’m getting laid?”

“I’m glad you aren’t that type of guy,” she told me. “It’s really annoying when people think the third date is some marker for when sex is okay, as if three is the magical sex number. If that were the case, people would only have threesomes.”

I let out startled bark of laughter. Delaney’s thought process was definitely entertaining. “I’ve never thought of three as a magic number when it comes to sex. It’s all about two for me. I was asking if tomorrow is our second date because I think we should have sex on our second date.”

Delaney didn’t miss a beat. “I think this phone conversation is our second date, so please feel free to start any time you’re ready.”

“That’s very generous of you,” I stated, fighting to contain my laughter. “Does this mean you aren’t going to offer to help me out?”

“Are you asking me if I’ll pet your pocket python?” she asked.

“My pocket python? Did you just call my dick a pocket python?” I’d never heard that one before. It wasn’t a bad nickname.

“Did you have a special name for your below the belt boa?” she asked.

“All men have names for their dicks,” I told her.

“What’s yours?” she asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

“I’ll tell you another time,” I replied.

“Why can’t you tell me now?” she pushed.

“What do I get if I reveal my dick’s name?” I asked, my voice slightly rough in anticipation of her offering something sexual.

“You can have some of the cake I brought home,” she offered.

“We both know you already ate that cake,” I told her. “I’d be surprised if it lasted five minutes after you got home.”

“Fine, I ate it,” she confessed.

“Lying is a very bad thing,” I scolded in a firm tone. “What do you think I should do with you?”

Delaney sucked in a sharp breath. “What exactly do you mean?”

“You know what I mean,” I continued, hoping I wouldn’t scare her off with the suggestion of this kind of play. I wasn’t into the BDSM scene, but I definitely liked being in charge in bed and considered myself dominant. This was the type of play I enjoyed, and this seemed like a safe way to test the waters and see how Delaney felt about it. “Don’t you think a little funishment is in order the next time I see you?”

“What is a funishment?” Delaney asked, sounding intrigued.

“It’s like role-playing,” I explained. “I pretend to punish you, but it’s enjoyable for both of us.”

Delaney was quiet for a minute.

“If you’re not okay with that, it’s fine,” I assured her.

“I like the sound of it,” she admitted softly. “This is just a very strange conversation to be having the day I met you.”

“You’re right,” I agreed. “I feel really comfortable around you, and that’s why I’m saying things like this so soon. If you want me to slow down, let me know. I don’t want to make you feel uneasy around me. You just need to tell me your limits.”

“Am I going to need a safeword?” she asked with a nervous laugh.

“Not yet,” I replied honestly.