Sebastian

Delaney’s answer genuinely surprised me. I’d heard her say she wasn’t ready to date after the end of her relationship with Justin. It was hard to get back out there after a breakup, so I figured she’d shoot me down. It was refreshing to have her just ask me my intentions rather than wondering. She was blunt, and I suspected she wouldn’t be the type to play childish games. So far, I really liked what I’d seen of Delaney and hoped to see a lot more of her.

“That wasn’t the answer I expected,” I admitted. “When I mentioned wanting to talk you out of your panties, I was worried, I’d gone too far.”

“I surprised myself with my answer,” she told me before taking another bite of her cake.

“Are you just saying this so I’ll buy you more cake?” I teased.

“There is very little I wouldn’t do for more of this cake,” she replied.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I murmured. “It’s crazy, but with any other woman, I’d think you were intentionally trying to tease me, but you don’t seem to realize you’re doing it.”

“I suppose you could call it an occupational hazard,” she mused.

“What exactly is your occupation?” I asked, intrigued by her response.

“I’m a writer,” she replied.

“Really?” I asked. That sounded like an interesting job. “What do you write?”

“Erotica,” she replied, a pretty blush staining her cheeks. “My more recent stuff has been more along the lines of erotic romance.”

“What’s the difference between the two?” I asked.

“My erotica all has some romance, but the story could exist without it,” she explained. “It’s more about the sex. With erotic romance, the story can’t exist without the sex, but the romance is the main focus of the story.”

“Why the recent change?” I asked.

“My closest friends found the loves of their lives,” she began. “It seems to have inspired me to write more about love. Mostly, I’ve written erotica.”

“That is an interesting career choice,” I remarked. “How did you end up writing erotica?”

She flashed me a naughty grin. “I like thinking about sex and naked guys.”

There was no containing my laughter. She’d definitely shocked me with that response. “You are something else, Delaney. You don’t hold anything back.”

“Most would say my internal filter is broken,” she explained. “Since I’m used to writing about sex, I sometimes forget the world doesn’t want to know my thoughts on sex all the time. You wouldn’t believe the stuff I’ve asked my friends to share about their boyfriends.”

“I heard a little of it at the sex shop,” I confessed.

“You were listening to my conversation?” she asked. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed together in a disapproving line.

“Sorry,” I said with a sheepish grin.

She laughed at my apology, which was when I realized she was fucking with me. “Are you seriously apologizing for sex shop etiquette? We were talking loudly in a public place. I’m sure you aren’t the only pervert who heard what we said.”

“Hey!” I protested. “What makes you think I’m a pervert?”

“The fact that you were in a sex shop alone, listening in on conversations,” she replied. “You were standing there, fondling your penis cake pan while you listened to me and my friends talk about sex. How do I know this bachelorette party isn’t just a ruse for your secret obsession with penis straws?”

“You caught me,” I said with a loud sigh. “I go to that store every week to spy on women while caressing the cock cake pan.”

She laughed at my confession. Her whole face was alive and utterly captivating.

“You are so incredibly beautiful,” I murmured. “I left that shop because I was worried I’d do something stupid like ask you out. When I got over here, I kept thinking about going back over and asking you out, even knowing I’d look like a pervert.”

Her laughter died, and her green eyes widened. “I’m not sure how I would have reacted to you asking me out at the sex shop. It’s probably best you waited to approach me here. Does this mean you’re asking me out?”

“Would you like to go out with me, Delaney?” I asked.

“Will there be cake involved?” she inquired sweetly.

“Now that I’ve discovered cake is the way to your heart, there will definitely be cake involved,” I assured her.

“Yes,” she replied.

I grinned, deciding I’d do my nerdy victory dance later. This wasn’t the time to let Delaney know how geeky I truly was.

“How much of my conversation with my friends did you hear?” she asked.

“I know about your recent breakup,” I stated. “With that being said, I’d like to know up front if you’re just looking for a rebound guy.”

“Rebound guy?” she asked, looking genuinely confused.

“Are you only going out with me to help you deal with your breakup with Justin,” I clarified.

“Are you saying you’ll only go out with me if I’m not using you to get over Justin?” she asked. The humor dancing in her eyes made me realize I was missing something.

“I didn’t say that,” I began. “The reason I’m asking is so I know how hard I have to work to make you forget this guy.”

“I think you may have missed some of the essential information about Justin,” Delaney told me.

“I’m sure I did, but my concern is still valid,” I argued. “It sounded like you were with Justin for quite some time. Were you living together?”

Delaney covered her face with her hands and groaned. She hadn’t seemed this embarrassed by any of the other topics of conversation, so I wondered why her ex was causing this reaction. “I can’t believe you heard us talking about Justin. We’re not quiet, but I never thought I’d have to worry about sitting in a café where anyone can overhear us.”

“We don’t have to talk about this,” I assured her, deciding to not add to her embarrassment. I didn’t know what had happened between her and Justin, but it was clearly a touchy subject.

“That’s good,” she said with obvious relief. “This is not the kind of thing I want to talk about when I first meet someone. You’re definitely not a rebound guy, and I promise to tell you all about Justin another time.”

“No problem. I’m not going to push you to talk about anything,” I assured her. “Can I have your number?”

She hesitated before nodding. “Give me your phone and I’ll send myself a text. I’m deleting the text from your phone, so you won’t have mine. If you don’t do anything completely weird and creepy, I’ll text you back so you have my number.”

“You really are overly cautious, aren’t you?” I asked, wondering if she’d had some bad experiences with guys in the past. There were far too many guys who couldn’t take no for an answer.

“I don’t want to have to change my number if you end up being a pervert,” she remarked before adding, “Being an over-the-top pervert isn’t okay, but being a little perverted isn’t a bad thing.”

“I just need to limit my perversions,” I deduced.

“Exactly!” she agreed. “You seem nice, but you’re essentially a stranger. A woman can’t be too careful these days.”

“Fine,” I began, “I promise to act perverted, but not too perverted so you’ll give me your number.”