Monroe
“So, what is the consensus on the sex talk? Do I tell him I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing?”
I was sitting in the family room of the condo surrounded by my three best girls. Fifteen minutes after I arrived home, Nikki walked through the door. Ten minutes after that, Charley and Emme showed up. I told them everything that happened today. Of course, they all already knew what happened last Friday and Emme got a bit of an update on the flower deliveries yesterday when Vaughn and I were over snowmobiling with her and Zane, but I brought them up to speed on the text from last night, the flowers from this morning, and the talk I had with Stone at the studio.
“I think you should tell him,” Emme suggested.
“What?!” Nikki shrieked, outraged.
“He should know. If he doesn’t know and things start to get out of control, he could hurt her,” Emme retorted.
“I agree,” Charley chimed in. “We want this to be good for her. If it’s painful, it’s not going to be enjoyable.”
I was getting nervous.
“How much pain are we talking here?” I asked anxiously.
“That all depends,” Nikki answered. “Factors to consider in the pain department are how tight you are, how large he is, are you wet enough--”
“Okay, stop,” Emme cut Nikki off. “We don’t want to freak her out.”
“I know I don’t have anything to compare to and I haven’t actually seen anything, but I felt him today…and last Saturday,” I started. “I’m thinking there’s enough there to make it painful.”
“So, tell him,” Charley offered. “Don’t make a big deal of it and start talking about it in the middle of dinner, but if things start to get heated you should tell him.”
Nikki started again. “Normally, I’d not agree with this, but the more I think on it the more I’m leaning toward it being better for you to tell him. With everything that has happened up to this point between you two, I don’t think it’ll be good for him to learn he’s hurt you yet again.”
“Right, okay. So, when the moment is right I’ll tell him. What about…” I started, trailing off.
“What about what?”
“I don’t know what I’m doing. What if he thinks I’m awful? Oh my God, what if he thinks I’m bad in bed? I mean, I can’t exactly be good, or even half decent, considering I’ve never done it before. What if it’s not good for him? I really, really want it to be good for him.”
Charley spoke to try and settle me down. “It will be good for him. You don’t have to plan it out, honey. Just do what feels right to you…whatever comes naturally. Stone will let you know if he likes something you’re doing.”
“Yep,” Nikki chimed in. “If you do something to him and you hear moaning and groaning, that’s indication you should keep doing whatever it is. Use your hands and mouth to explore him; he’s not going to not enjoy that. You’re a dancer, you know how to use your body…use that to your advantage.”
“Aside from that, let him take the lead. I believe he’s a good guy, Monroe. If he knows your inexperience going into this he’ll guide you and make it good for the both of you,” Emme added.
“You think?” I worried.
“We don’t think, mama, we know. Just relax and enjoy tonight for what it is. If it’s just dinner and making out in his truck, enjoy it completely. If it’s more than that, and it’s what you want, go for it and relish the experience. I don’t think you’re going to be disappointed either way.”
“I hope you’re right.”
She winked at me and asserted, “I am, trust me.”
“Thanks, girls. I’d be lost without the three of you,” I admitted.
“Don’t sweat it, honey. Besides, you’ve been there for each of us at one time or another, which reminds me that I need to ask you all a huge favor,” Charley said.
“What’s up?” Nikki asked.
“Wes and I set a date for the wedding. We wanted to wait until the season was over and it’s going to be at the end of June.”
“There’s not much time left.”
“I know,” Charley responded. “That’s why I was hoping we could all go wedding dress shopping in two weeks.”
“I’m in,” I answered. “I’m so happy for you, babe. You’re going to be married in a few short weeks; that’s crazy!”
Nikki and Emme agreed to wedding dress shopping next weekend after which the four of us had a late lunch. I didn’t eat a lot since I was going to be leaving soon for my dinner date with Stone.
After we ate, talked for longer than we should have, and cleaned up, I realized I didn’t have a whole lot of time left before Stone would be there to pick me up. I told the girls I was going to take a shower and needed them to pick something out for me to wear. They got to it while I hauled my ass into the shower and did my business. It took longer than I had wanted, but I figured it was crucial that I shaved everywhere considering the possibilities that were ahead of me this evening.
When I got out, I put my lotion on, wrapped my satin robe around me, walked back into my bedroom, and saw that the girls had everything ready. They didn’t give me much time to analyze their selections because Nikki immediately went about the business of hair and makeup while Emme took to giving my nails a fresh coat of polish.
“He liked my hair on Friday,” I told Nikki.
“Of course he did. You always look smoking hot, but when you actually fix your hair you’re a knockout. I’ll get you sorted, babe. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure his dick’s hard the moment he sees you. Now shush and let us work.”
Nikki. The girl had no filter. I laughed inwardly at my outspoken friend. It’s one of the things I loved most about her. She was who she was and made no apologies for it.
Roughly an hour later, I had my nails painted, my makeup done, and my hair fixed. Nikki gave me an ultra-sexy look with the makeup, but it wasn’t overdone. She put the curls in my hair, which gave it a bit of volume. Charley had sorted my outfit and picked out my heather gray, boat neckline, off-the-shoulder, dolman-sleeved, body-con mini dress. It ended just above mid-thigh and she paired it with my over-the-knee black stiletto boots.
“You have five minutes before he gets here. You’ve got to get dressed,” Emme informed me.
“Shit. I only have five minutes left?” I asked, starting to panic.
“Relax, honey,” Charley began. “You don’t want to be in a state when he arrives.”
We heard a knock at the door.
“Make that zero minutes before he arrives,” Nikki laughed. “No worries. Get dressed. We’ll entertain him until you are ready.”
“I feel sorry for him already,” I mumbled.
The girls walked out of my bedroom while I rummaged through my panty drawer. I wanted to wear a pretty set in case Stone was going to see them. I may not have ever had a reason to wear pretty or sexy undergarments, but that didn’t mean I didn’t own them. Nobody was seeing them, but I knew what I had on and they made me feel good, so I always bought them for myself. I still had a bit of a tan from when I lived in California, so I went with my white satin and lace-trimmed bra and panty set. After, I put on my dress, got on my boots, and put a pair of diamond studs in my ears. They were my favorite earrings; my parents gave them to me on my twenty-first birthday. I went and stood in front of the mirror to give myself one last look before I took off down the hall.
As I approached I heard Stone saying, “You have my word.”
When I stepped into the family room I took in the scene. Nikki was standing in front of Stone, her back to me, Charley and Emme were standing off to the side. They were able to see both Nikki and Stone, as well as me. Stone’s eyes left Nikki’s and came to mine. They traveled the length of my body.
“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath.
Nikki turned and winked at me. “She looks hot, doesn’t she?”
Stone’s eyes never left mine when he whispered, “Fire.”
I felt my face flush at his admission that I looked good. And, it seemed he had no issues with admitting it in front of my friends.
“Ready, angel?” he asked, his voice sweet.
I nodded, grabbed my coat, which one of the girls must have pulled out for me, and walked toward him. He put an arm around me and guided me toward the door. Just as we reached the door, Nikki called out, “Have fun, kids.”
Stone chuckled, opened the door, and let me walk through ahead of him. We made our way to his truck, where he opened the door and helped me in before rounding the front and getting in on the opposite side.
The second he closed his door and turned on the truck, he shifted in his seat to look at me.
“You look beautiful, Monroe,” he complimented, as his hand reached out to grab a lock of my hair.
I smiled at him. “Thank you. I had a little help.”
He laughed, put the truck in gear, and pulled out of the parking lot. Stone drove us to an upscale seafood and steakhouse restaurant, a place like nothing I’d ever been taken to before. We were seated immediately, as Stone had made reservations, and quickly gave our order to the waiter.
“So how bad was it?” I asked.
“What?” he countered.
“I’m guessing Nikki, Charley, and Emme gave you the third degree.”
He smirked and shook his head. “Crazy women. Charley opened the door and greeted me. Told me I was early, but that you were just about ready. Emme walked up to me and said that she was happy that we got things sorted. She told me she hopes everything works out well for us. Nikki is something else, though. She walked right up to me and said that she was going to tell me the same thing she told Wes when he first started seeing Charley.”
“Which was?”
“Nikki basically told me that if I break your heart she is going to kick my ass.”
“I wouldn’t shrug that off. She’s completely serious,” I warned him.
“I have no plans to break your heart, Monroe, so that’s why I’m shrugging it off.”
“Oh, well, there’s that option, too.”
“She asked me to treat you with the respect you deserve and I gave her my word that I would.”
I couldn’t help but smile. I loved Nikki. She was a fierce little fighter and she was so protective over those she loved.
“She’s good to have around,” I admitted. “Though, you should consider yourself lucky. You only had the girls to deal with. Nikki might have been a tough one, but if my brothers were here I’m not sure this date would have happened.”
“They are protective of you,” he acknowledged.
I nodded.
Shortly thereafter, our waiter arrived with our food. Stone and I had an effortless conversation. We took some time getting to know one another. He asked me questions about my life growing up and seemed genuinely interested in learning about me.
“So, dancing?” he asked as though it were a question.
“Yep, the love of my life. I’ve been doing it since I was three years old. Fell in love, never stopped.”
He shook his head.
“What?” I asked.
“Dancing is like a foreign language to me. I have no problem watching, but I’m certain I’ll look ridiculous if I do it. Besides, I’m not sure I understand what you get out of it.”
“Dance is storytelling in the physical form. You find the right song to convey the message you want to deliver and you combine that with movement…it can be nothing short of amazing.”
His face grew pensive, but he said nothing.
“If you want to learn, I’d be happy to show you some moves,” I joked.
“I’ve seen your moves; I’m not sure I’d do them justice. And, I’m definitely sure that nobody would want to see my moves.”
“I would,” I answered, referring to something completely different, but certain Stone didn’t pick up on it.
“Were you storytelling last Sunday?” he asked.
I gave him a confused look as I thought back to Sunday. I realized he was referring to that morning when he stood outside the room while I danced.
“Yeah. I was in a good mood that morning and needed to get out what I was feeling,” I said. “It was about you, you know?”
He nodded and asked, “What about after you asked me to leave? Was that song and dance about how you were feeling about me?”
My eyes drifted away from his and down to the table. I thought about it. I remembered dancing for hours that day to the same song and having multiple breakdowns. When I brought my eyes back to his I answered honestly and whispered, “Yeah.”
Then, it dawned on me that I didn’t dance until after he left. How did he know? I was about to ask him when he spoke, “I came back. I hated leaving you that day knowing I’d upset you. I walked in, but your music was so loud you never heard me which, by the way, is something we’ve got to discuss. I stood outside the room and watched you dance to that song three times before you fell to the floor in tears. I hated it, Monroe. I understand what you mean when you say you tell a story when you dance because I felt everything you said with your body and that song that day. I’m sorry for hurting you like that, but you’ve got to know, it was beautiful to watch you.”
I sat there, unmoving. I couldn’t believe he had come back in that day and watched me dance. My eyes searched his face looking for something, though, I wasn’t sure what.
“Just thought you should know. Which brings me to my next thing. You’ve got to do something about the fact that you can’t hear anyone coming into your place. You are there alone right now and it’s not safe for you to leave the door open and the music blaring. Anyone could come in and you’d never know it.”
“Do you think I have something to be worried about there?” I asked.
“Your studio isn’t in a bad area, but you still need to be careful. I’d feel better, and I’m sure your brothers would too, knowing that you weren’t alone in your place with people being able to just walk in without you knowing it. If you’re cool with it, I’d like to talk to Zane’s brother, Levi, to see if he can recommend something for your situation. He can probably have one of the guys come over and put in a system that will allow you to play your music as loud as you do and not miss any potential clients by having the doors locked, but also make sure that you’re safe at the same time.”
I knew Levi. I’d met him once at Charley and Wes’ house the day I learned about Emme’s rape. Of course, the reason he was there was because Emme was having round-the-clock coverage from Levi or one of the guys from his private investigations firm when Zane needed to be away from her to train for the US Open. Levi and his guys were also the reason Emme was found so quickly after her ex kidnapped her a few weeks back. I also saw Levi the day of Emme’s birthday celebration at Lou’s when I did karaoke.
“Sure, if you think it’s a good idea I’m cool with it.”
He smiled at me and nodded. “I’ll call him tomorrow morning.”
From there, Stone and I moved the conversation to him. He told me about his snowboarding career and how it all started when he, Luke, Zane, and Wes were younger. They were all very close and it reminded me of the relationship I had with Nikki, Emme, and Charley. I loved that he had that. As it turned out, Stone had a contest he was going to be competing in in four weeks. He asked me, if I didn’t already have plans, to go watch him. I agreed.
We finished dinner and dessert. Stone paid the bill and held my hand as we walked out to his truck. It was the perfect fairy-tale definition of a first date. He helped me into the truck and then rounded it and got in. He looked over to me and my belly started feeling funny. It was better than all the other belly feelings I had experienced lately. My eyes dropped to his lips. They looked deliciously juicy and I wanted them on me.
“Monroe?” he called, snapping me out of it.
My eyes shot to his and even though it was dark out I could see his were smiling at me.
“See something you like?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I replied, my voice raspy.
He reached a hand out, grabbed a lock of my hair, and said softly, “I think we’ve made it to the making out in my truck part of the date.”
“I’ve never done this before so I’m not sure how it works,” I admitted.
“A first-timer then? Just like me. I guess we’ll have to figure it out as we go.”
“Okay.”
“Come over here, angel,” Stone whispered as he moved his hand from my hair to my waist and pulled me over the center console into his lap.
No sooner was I in his lap when he was crushing his mouth to mine. One of my hands immediately went to his hair while the other went behind his neck. Stone brought one of his hands behind my back while the other went to my thigh. My special spot quivered at the touch of his incredible hands on the bare skin of my leg. The kiss grew more intense as our tongues explored and tasted each other. Stone’s hand at my thigh moved up and was now resting at a spot where my dress had previously covered. As we continued to kiss, Stone’s hand didn’t stop. It continued to move up and toward the back of my leg, now resting at the spot just beneath my ass. His fingertips were so close to my special spot that I whimpered.
He pulled his mouth from lips, but his face was within inches of mine. He didn’t say anything and I didn’t want him to stop kissing me so I moved forward just a bit to brush my lips against his before bringing my tongue out to tease him. He groaned.
“What do you want, Monroe?” he asked.
“I don’t want this date to end,” I whispered back, my statement sounding more like a plea.
“You want to go back to my place?”
I nodded.
He kissed me quick on the lips and ordered, “Get back in your seat and buckle up.”
“Okay.”
Stone helped me over the center console again before he started the truck up. I buckled my seat belt and we took off. Stone’s hand rested high up on my inner thigh, his fingers only inches away from a place where I’d never been touched by a man. He kept his hand there the whole way to his place while I struggled to remain calm about what was ahead.