Chapter 5

BLAKE

I couldn’t get Carrie out of my head all weekend. Longer than that even. It’s Tuesday morning now and still she haunts my mind.

It has nothing to do with her beauty, even though she has that. And it has nothing to do with the scintillating conversation the two of us had, even though we had that, too.

It was the effortless way in which she turned me down. That kind of thing never happens to me. Women don’t turn me down, ever. Usually, once I have a woman alone, it’s only too easy to get them to come back to my place. But not Carrie. And that was what had me so intrigued three days after meeting her.

Sitting at my desk, I can’t stop staring at my phone.

As a film producer, I often work from home. I’m my own boss, and that allows for me to dictate the rules. It’s a convenient arrangement and is usually a good thing. But today, it has its drawbacks.

I stare at the phone, and I can’t think of a reason not to call. Sure, I can do some more work. But there’s nothing urgent on my schedule until a meeting this afternoon. And sure, I can go for a run, or to the gym, but again, none of it is that pressing.

Finally, after visualizing her perfect ass, I make a snap decision to call Carrie. I pick up the phone, dial the number, take a deep breath and wait for her to answer.

“Hello,” she says on the other end of the line. Her voice is like honey. Music to my ears. I have forgotten how sweet she sounds.

“Carrie, it’s Blake,” I say casually. I want to sound like I called her as an afterthought.

“Oh, hi,” she responds in an upbeat manner. “How are you?”

“Good. Better now that I’ve spoken to you. Wait, is that too cheesy?” Women usually eat that stuff up.

“Definitely too cheesy,” she says, chuckling.

“Damn, I hope you won’t hold that against me. Especially since I called to arrange a time to take you out.”

I am smooth and relaxed as I talk.

“Hmm, I think it might,” she jokes.

At least I hope it’s a joke.

“How about this? I’ll just have to make it up to you. Add it to the list for me having taken you to that crack den the other night.”

“I don’t know. First that crack den. Then that line. I won’t be surprised if you propose to me next.”

I can tell that she is joking, but I wish that I could see her rather than just having to hear her. I operate a lot better face to face. It makes it easier to play off their reactions.

“You’re going to make me beg, aren’t you? I don’t know if I have it in me.”

I lean back in my chair. I can’t believe the chemistry that we share. I have never felt this enthusiastic about a woman, and so quickly. It’s bizarre to say the least.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to hear it. Just a little begging.” She chuckles again.

I get the sense that she is having a lot of fun toying with me. She is going to say yes. I know she is. It’s just a matter of getting her there.

“Okay, how about this? Carrie, it would do me a great honor if you would let me take you out to dinner tonight. In fact, nothing would please me more. There? How was that?”

“I could do without the sarcasm.”

“Oh, come on.”

“Kidding,” she cuts in quickly. I can hear her laughing to herself on the other end of the line. She is definitely enjoying herself. “I have some bad news anyway. I can’t tonight. I have other plans.”

“Well, cancel them,” I say quickly and with force.

“Wow, is that how it’s going to be?” She asked.

I don’t know how, but I can tell that she’s smiling on the other end of the line.

“For now.”

“Either way, I have very firm plans for tomorrow night, too. So if I do come out tonight, it’s going to have to be a short dinner. If you were hoping for something to happen afterward, you might just have to realign your goals.”

I love the way that she toys with me. It’s such a turn on. I’m glad that I’m sitting at my desk and alone, for I could feel my pants tightening with thoughts of what I wanted to do to her.

“Is that so?” I ask, the tone of my voice telling her that I didn’t believe her for a second.

“It is so. Very much.”

“Okay,” I say. “How about this? Come and have dinner with me tonight. If you want to call it a night at the end, I won’t try to stop you. But I can almost guarantee that won’t be the case. In fact, I’m willing to put money on it.”

“Really?” I could hear her openly laughing on the other end of the line. I have her.

“You’re very confident.”

“It helps in my line of work.”

“Fine, I give up,” she relents. She was always going to. She just needed some convincing. “Where are we going?”

“I’ll text you the details. And don’t be late. I hate tardiness.”

Hanging up the phone, I have a smile on my face, and as I am alone, I don’t bother hiding it or trying to wipe it off. Instead, I wear it proudly like a badge of honor. Carrie talks a big game and acts like she is certain she is going home afterwards. But based off our conversation and how much we were flirting, I know that it would be otherwise. In fact, I am all but certain that I will be taking Carrie home with me.