Chapter Three
Raelynn
OMFG…
I can’t believe I slept with a total stranger. Then snuck out under the cover of darkness as he slept—wearing the T-shirt he’d tugged off and dropped to the floor, nonetheless.
Taking his shirt might have been wrong—and uh, really, had nothing to do with me wanting a souvenir— but I couldn’t very well wear my blouse, not after he tore all the buttons. A fine shiver moves through me as I remember his heated gaze when he ripped into my shirt. Jesus, that was hot.
As I sit in my bed, morning light flooding my room and reminding me it’s Monday morning and I need to get to work, my gaze goes to the blue shirt draped over my makeup table chair. It sits there like a guilty secret, one I can’t bring myself to wash—can’t stop touching and sniffing every time I pass by. It still holds Nate’s scent, even after three days.
Stop thinking about him, already.
I make two fists and press them to my forehead, as if that will somehow erase him from my mind. Even if I could expel him from my thoughts, every time I move my aching body it reminds me of all the glorious ways he pleasured me with his hands, tongue…cock. God, that man touched me in places I didn’t even know existed. When he said he was going to fuck me so good, I’d still feel him next week, he wasn’t kidding.
My, how I love a man with confidence.
Now, when he goes back to wherever he came from, he can tell his friends he slept with the infamous Saralynn.
A knot settles in my stomach at that last thought. Shit, it shouldn’t bug me so much that he thought I was my sister. After all, I was the one who led him on, told him I was Saralynn, for God’s sake. But there is a small, silly part of me that wishes he knew it was me, Raelynn Walker, he was really with. That it was my body that fit so well with his.
God, what am I even thinking? It was a one-night thing, and I’m never going to set eyes on him again, and I need to stop acting like a schoolgirl with a crush. Even if I did have a crush on him—which I don’t—he’s just passing through town. Besides, guys like him go for girls like Saralynn. I just blend into the woodwork and always get overlooked. The men who’ve shown interest in the past were only doing it to get close to my flamboyant sister. The real reason I gave up looking for love.
I kick off the covers, my mood souring as I jump in the shower. I need to get moving, and get my mind off Nate—whatever his last name is—once and for all. After a good thorough washing, scrubbing away the last traces of Nate from my skin—if only it was that easy to scrub him from my brain—I dress, grab a muffin and a big hat, and make my way outside.
The office where I’m working is a good half-hour walk, and the weather is nice, so I decide to go on foot and get some fresh air. I just pray the big hat obscures my identity and I don’t get accosted again. Hopefully the commotion will all die down when Saralynn leaves Baltimore, and the media reports sightings of her in some other town.
I keep my head lowered, let my hair fall forward to mask my face as I walk down the street. Thirty minutes later, I pull open the door to the big corporation where I’m teaching work/life balance. I became interested in mental health during my freshman year at Yale, and one of the girls on my floor committed suicide. After taking a psycology course, I decided to major in it, and went on to become a counselor so I could help others. Now, not only do I run my own business, I’m in high demand in corporate American, where I meet with individuals and teach them strategies to balance their lives.
If only I took my own advice…
I can’t even remember the last time I had a date, or worked on improving my personal life. Well, technically Friday was a date, right? And I have to say, if I could have more of that, I’d go from being a workaholic to a sexaholic.
Yeah, it was that good.
I greet Cynthia at the front desk, then take the elevator to the tenth floor. I walk down the hall and make my way to my office. This morning is full with individual meetings, then I’ll be giving a yoga class at lunch. I step into my office, and instantly have the strangest feeling that I’m being watched.
Good God, don’t tell me someone here thinks I’m Saralynn. The staff all know who I am by now, right? I’ve been working with them for months.
I turn, but the only person I see is Wendy, who’s coming my way for her nine o’clock appointment.
I shake my head to clear it and greet Wendy when she comes in. The rest of the morning passes quickly and by the time lunch rolls around, I’m ready for some yoga stretches.
Yoga gear in hand, I hurry to the bathroom to change, then step into one of the boardrooms that had been turned into a yoga studio during my time here. Staff begin to trickle in and I plug in my iPod to play soft, relaxing music.
When I stand up again and turn to face the class, the man who starred in my real-life fantasy three nights ago is standing before me.
Holy God! Air leaves my lungs in a whoosh, and my legs nearly go out from underneath me.
No. No. No. This can’t be happening. I briefly pinch my eyes close, and when I open them again, Nate is still standing there, showcasing that ridiculously sexy dimple as he smiles at me.
Oh, God, it is happening.
“Hi,” he says, as the needy juncture between my legs leaps to attention, eager for date three and all that comes with it.
Wait!
Jesus, he doesn’t know it was me he slept with, right? Then again, how would he know Saralynn has a twin? He probably thinks I’m her. But he has to be wondering why I’d be teaching yoga to the staff at Data Solutions. Could this be any more screwed up?
“Hi,” I say back, and hold my hand out, suddenly mortified with this whole situation. I never thought I’d set eyes on him again, yet here he is, in the flesh. “I’m Raelynn Walker. I don’t believe we’ve met.”
His blue eyes go steely as he looks at me. “I’m Nate Daniels,” he says, and stands there looking at me like he’s waiting for a light bulb to go off.
Nate Daniels.
I rack my brain. Why does that name sound so familiar?
Oh, because I went to high school with a really nice boy named Nathanial Daniels, and I have the feeling that I’m staring at him right now. “Did we…”
“Yeah, we did,” he says, and my heart crashes against my chest.
Oh, God, what exactly is he saying we did? Sleep together, or go to high school together.
“Fillmore High. We were in a few classes together, Rae, remember?”
I stand there dumfounded. Part of me is happy that he doesn’t think I’m the girl he slept with the other night—because how embarrassing, right?—but there is another part of me that’s totally freaking out that he doesn’t.
What kind of stupid mess have I gotten myself into? I have no idea, but one thing is for sure, no way can I sleep with him again. Not after he slept with my…sister.
Kill me. Fucking. Now.
“Yeah, I remember.” I stare at him, in much the same manner as every other woman in the room. He’s tall and broad and inked and handsome. “You just changed, a lot.”
“You haven’t,” he says, his sexy voice dropping an octave, reminding me of our night together, and the way he talked when he was inside me.
“And you went by Nathaniel.”
“You went by Rae.”
“I use my full name now.” I glance around the room. “What are you doing here?” God, what a stupid question. He obviously has business with Data Solutions.
“I just transferred back. I was out in California for a while.” He winks at me. “I’m still a tech geek. I love to code,” he says and wiggles his fingers.
A tech geek who’s so very good with those fingers. My brain takes that moment to relive our night and I flush. I’ve no doubt that my cheeks are scarlet. As he stands close, close enough that I can smell his enticing male scent, I rack my brain, searching for something intelligent to say.
“Well, welcome back,” I say, surprised I can even find my voice. “Are you joining us?”
Sexy dimple materializes when he says, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
He steps to the back of the class, where a few of the other men are standing, and lifts his arms above his head to stretch.
I try not to stare. I really do, but how the hell can I not? His T-shirt does little to hide a hard abdomen, and his khaki shorts hug him so nicely.
I’m never going to make it.
I work to pull myself together, then turn my attention to the others to begin. I go through the moves for the next half hour, every now and then stealing a glance at Nate, who is pretty damn limber.
But I already knew that.
When the class finally ends, I unplug my iPod and I’m about to hightail it out of there, when I turn and bump into an immovable brick wall.
Nate.
“Have you had lunch?” he asks.
“No, I’m about to grab it now.”
“Same.” I make a move to go, but he puts his hand on my arm, in much the same way he did at Pat’s when he asked me to have dinner with him. “Want to join me? I don’t know many people here.”
“Ah…no. Thanks, but I usually eat at my desk.”
“Too bad. I’m heading to Pat’s Pub. They serve up the best desserts.”