Ethan

I scanned the restaurant but I couldn’t see her. Maybe my intel was wrong.

I’d felt cheated when I got back to the hotel. I was hoping to put my hard-on to good use and clear my head. But she’d cleared out. No number. No goodbye. You’d think she would have hung around to see if I was coming back. We’d had fucking phenomenal sex. I’d made her come five or six times.

I didn’t like it when things didn’t go my way, so I’d made a few discrete enquiries with the lobby staff, who I had hoped might have put her in a cab, but better than that, the concierge had booked lunch for her for later today. Anna was meant to be in this restaurant this lunchtime.

“So what’s the big news?” Andrew asked.

“What?”

“Why have you dragged me out to lunch?”

“Dragged you? You’re my bud.”

“I saw you last night, dude. I’m sick of you.”

“Fuck you.”

“Did you get laid?”

I raised my eyebrows.

“Dude. Come on. Did you?”

I grinned at him.

“Fuck you,” he said.

“That’s what I thought.”

I heard her laugh and looked up from my menu. Yes, it was her at the door. She was with her friend from the night before, the one that was seeing Armitage. She didn’t see me as she made her way behind the waitress to a table across the room from us. She looked different from last night. Somehow better than I remembered. Even though it had just been a few hours since I last saw her, the sight of her warmed something in me. I quickly looked back at my menu before I could see where she was seated. What the fuck was I doing? I was fucking stalking this girl. Suddenly I realized what a pathetic prick I was. “Let’s order,” I huffed and immediately caught the eye of a waitress who scurried over.

“So, you still haven’t told me what we’re doing here,” Andrew said.

“Shut up and order,” I barked. “I’ll have the rib eye, rare, with spinach. And a beer.” The waitress gave me the look. The look that said she’d go down on me right there if I asked her to. It calmed me. I grinned at her and she blushed. Not my type.

I slung my arm on the back of the booth and relaxed. On a quick scan of the restaurant I couldn’t see her. Maybe we could have lunch and I could get out without running into her. What was I thinking coming here?

“I spoke to Mandy about setting you up. I guess this is why we’re here.”

“Was she ok about it?” I liked Mandy; we’d been friends a long time. I didn’t want to piss her off, but I really didn’t want to be fucking her friends again.

“She told me your penis would shrivel up and fall off, but you’re off the hook. No more set-ups. For now, anyway. But you’re coming to dinner on Friday right? Come over in the afternoon and we can play tennis.”

Andrew and Mandy’s place in East Hampton had a tennis court. I was using my sister’s place. She had moved to London with her husband last summer and didn’t make it back very often since they had their daughter Izzy, so I took full advantage. It had a good-sized pool and some great running routes nearby. I was looking forward to emptying my mind of the day to day this weekend. Work was a bitch at the moment and I needed to clear my head.

“Dude, is that that girl from last night?” Andrew indicated behind me.

I really hadn’t thought this through. Was I going to go over and speak to her? Ask her out? Fuck.

I shrugged but didn’t look.

“Seriously, I think it is. Take a look,” he pushed.

I glanced over my shoulder and my eyes locked with hers. I couldn’t help but grin. She looked shocked and blushed but didn’t look away. I knew how far that blush dipped beneath her shirt.

“Excuse me a minute,” I said.

“Careful. You might have to marry her if you speak to her after you’ve fucked her.”

There was something in her eyes that hadn’t been there the night before. She looked … relaxed.

“Nice to see you again, girls,” I said as I arrived at the table. Except I was looking only at Anna, who was smiling at me. That was a good sign.

“Wow, this is a small town,” Leah said. “Some things are just meant to happen, I guess.”

I pulled my eyes away from Anna and looked at Leah, who was looking very happy. That was another good sign. Anna couldn’t be pissed that I hadn’t been there when she woke up, given Leah’s welcome.

“Nice to see you again. Are you two enjoying your day?” My eyes went back to Anna. She looked great. None of the makeup from last night, and it suited her.

“Join us,” Leah said. I caught Anna shoot her a warning look.

“I’m sure Ethan has better things to do than join us for lunch,” Anna clipped.

“I don’t, actually.” I gestured at Andrew to come over. “We’re joining this table,” I said to a passing waiter. I moved to Anna’s side of the booth and she scurried along the bench. I rested a hand on her thigh and she stopped moving away from me. She might not want me here. She might have wanted me to disappear after last night, but now I was here and I could change her mind.

Andrew came over, clearly a little confused. I hope he played along and didn’t say anything that made me want to punch him. Unlikely.

“So, do you two work together?” Leah asked.

Anna’s leg began bobbing up and down. She was nervous. Cute.

I moved my hand, stroking her and pushing her skirt slightly farther up her thighs. She tensed and I grinned as she gave me an imploring look.

Andrew was chatting away to Leah, telling her about his job.

“You’d left when I came back from my run,” I said so only she could hear. “I was hoping to give you a morning workout.”

She blushed again but didn’t reply.

“I’d like to see you again.” The words came out before I realized what I was saying. Why else was I here? I wanted a bit more of her. Just another night and I’d quench this thirst I had for her.

“Ethan.”

“Dinner tonight?” I asked, ignoring the warning in her voice.

“That wasn’t the deal.”

“I don’t remember making a deal,” I said as my fingers dipped under the hem of her skirt.

“I have rules,” she whispered.

“Give me your phone.”

Her hand covered the phone on the table and my hand moved up her thigh.

“Ethan,” she whispered.

I grazed the seam of her underwear. “Give me your phone and I’ll stop.”

She looked me directly in the eye and dropped the phone into her purse.

Fuck. She wanted this. I slid my fingers under her underwear and found her beautifully wet for me. My heart raced as I dragged my fingers along her sex. She moved forward and put her elbows on the table, joining the conversation between Andrew and Leah. My fingers found her clit and I started circling. She agreed with Leah on something she was saying about their morning. I couldn’t hear. I wasn’t listening. She was a great actress. It was like she wasn’t fazed by the fact I had my fingers all over her. I found myself watching the three of them as if I weren’t there. All I could concentrate on was the sweet pussy coating my fingers, like honey dripping from her. I could feel myself hardening. Could I maneuver us to the restrooms? I wanted to be inside her.

The waiters appeared with our food. Without looking at me, Anna reached into her bag and handed me her phone. I wasn’t sure if I was pleased or disappointed. I withdrew my hand from her underwear and wiped my fingers on my napkin.

I typed my number into her phone and then pressed Call. I felt the familiar vibration against my chest. I saved my number on her phone and tried to think about something—anything—that would stand my dick down. Andrew was talking about proposing to Mandy. That would do it. Thanks, dude.

“So you’re living the fairytale?” Leah asked.

“No,” Anna said. “You’re living the fairytale. Daniel was the last handsome Prince out there. The rest of them…” she shook her head as she trailed off. Someone had clearly done a number on her. Idiot.

“So what are you up to this afternoon?” I asked. I didn’t like to see that sadness in her.

“Well, Anna needs to rest. She didn’t get much sleep last night.” Leah winked at me and Anna rolled her eyes. I laughed. She’d rolled her eyes at me last night. I didn’t often have that effect on women.

“We’re just going to go back to the apartment and lay like broccoli, be still like vegetables, and watch movies,” Anna said.

“Well, I have a lot of construction to do so we better make a move.”

“Construction?” Andrew asked.

“Come on. Let’s leave these ladies to their afternoon of Pretty Woman. Nice to see you again, Leah.” I turned to Anna. “And you.” I cupped her jaw. “I’ll call you about dinner.” And I kissed her square on the lips, for just a second longer than was appropriate.

“Dude,” Andrew said to me as we walked out the restaurant.

“Don’t say a fucking word,” I warned.