Between Friends (Friends with Benefits) (2 page)

Justin’s fingers stroked my pussy through my panties and I moaned. Somehow we made our way to my bedroom. I unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans before lying back on the bed. I was on fire as my hands caressed their way down the front of my body as I watched him undress.

Justin rid himself of the remainder of his clothes and stood there looking at me. His eyes clouded over with lust as my own were drawn to his swollen cock. It was impressive and commanded my full attention. Justin pulled my panties off and threw them to the side. Before I knew what was happening, his mouth was on me. I writhed and bucked beneath him as his tongue played with my clit.

I closed my eyes, letting the sensations overwhelm me. I couldn’t help but cry out as I grabbed his hair and pulled his face closer to me. He slipped his finger inside me while continuing his tongue play. I was careening toward the ultimate release, and it could not come fast enough—pardon the pun.

The sight of him jacking off as he ate my pussy was more than I could bear. My thighs clenched as I prepared myself for the waves of pleasure that were about to overtake me. I squeezed my eyes shut as I cried out. My fingernails dug into his shoulders, no doubt leaving marks. My chest heaved as I struggled to suck air into my lungs.

“Oh, God,” I panted. Justin kissed his way up my body, stopping only to lavish my nipples with more attention. Okay, so round two. The new me could handle that. Happily. The oral attention ceased. I’m not exactly sure where the condom came from, but I opened my eyes to find him putting it on.

I spread my legs and immediately felt his thick shaft easing into me. Justin kneeled between my thighs as he began to move inside me. I covered his hands with mine as he kneaded my breasts and teased my nipples.

He groaned just as he increased the pace of his thrusts. “Fuck,” he said, his breath becoming more and more ragged.

“Mm,” I moaned. “You like it?”

“Oh yeah, baby,” he said. “You feel so good.” He reached a hand down to play with my clit.

I gasped and my breath hitched in my throat. My pussy clenched around his cock and I could have sworn I heard him growl low in his throat. He braced himself on his arms as his large frame loomed over me. He was ramming into me now, all traces of gentleness long gone. And though I didn’t think it possible, I felt another orgasm coming on strong.

I wrapped my legs around him. Justin gave me a slow, wet kiss as his hips continued to thrust. I was on the edge and the feel of his big, strong hand covering my breast was all it took to push me past my limit.

My fingers dug into his back as he licked at my earlobe.

“Shit,” he said roughly, his breath hot against my ear. I felt him tense and knew he was about to lose all control. There was no “about to” in my future. My control was lost. I writhed beneath him in ecstasy and cried out.

His cock thrust into me deeply a few times more, filling me completely. Justin squeezed his eyes shut as he came.

Our breathing labored, our bodies soaked with sweat, we lay there totally satiated. If this was what it meant to be sexually liberated, I was already a huge fan. Orgasms without the drama of a relationship?

Count me in.

If only I could bottle that postcoital feeling and keep it with me during the many stressful, nonsexual times in my life. As an account manager at Innovative Images, the largest full-service creative agency in the region, my plate stays pretty full. And even when I’m totally stuffed and have had more than enough, I still have to eat what I’m given. Unfortunately, it’s not always palatable.

It was time for another meeting with the creative team. Now, these didn’t always go swimmingly, but for the most part, they went. That was the important thing. After pitching the team’s ideas to a new client, I then had to take said client’s feedback to the team and make sure any requested changes were made. That was all fine and dandy. It was keeping the project on budget and on time that got sticky.

“I’m sorry,” I said, knowing this would not go well, “Mr. Stein isn’t happy with the concept.”

“Well, that’s ridiculous,” Julia said. “Is this guy running a gentleman’s club or a senior center?” She pointed at the first draft of the ad that lay on the conference room table. “This is pretty damn genius, if I do say so myself.” Julia was the art director for Innovative Images and not only had to oversee her own accounts, such as this one, but also had to make sure her employees stayed in line. I thanked God I didn’t have to answer to the woman. She was cool, but she wasn’t known to mince words.

“Of course
you
think it’s genius,” Cassie said, “you made it.”

I was always grateful when Cassie sat in on these impromptu meetings. She usually prevailed at getting Julia to keep a cool head. Well, a cool
er
head. In any case, as the creative director, she—along with the client, of course—had final say.

Julia flicked her auburn hair over her shoulder and shot Brad, the senior copywriter, one of her “can-you-believe-these-broads?” looks. Brad only shrugged. He’d never been much for confrontation. I loved Brad.

Julia rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. “And y’all wonder why I keep asking to have a wet bar installed in the break room.”

Cassie laughed. “Oh, stop. Just whip up a new ad. You could do it in a heartbeat.”

“That’s not the point. This,” Julia pointed to the ad, “is amazing. Anything else would be not as amazing.” She shared a look between me, Brad, and Cassie. “Get it?”

I took a deep breath before chiming in. “Mr. Stein says this concept makes the club feel a little too…” I grappled for a word that would hopefully offend Julia less than the terms the client had used, “… lowbrow.”

“Lowbrow?” Julia’s eyebrow shot up. “Lowbrow?” she repeated with more volume. She grabbed the ad and waved it in the air. “This is good shit!”

The black-and-white ad showed a buxom blonde in black lingerie. She was in profile, with her head thrown back and her eyes closed. In large, dark pink font was the tag line:
Raising More Than Temperatures…

Cassie smiled. “Well, I love it.”

Julia slammed the ad down. “Thank you.”

“I do, too,” I offered, “but Mr. Stein…”

Julia waved my comment away. “Oh, screw Mr. Stein.” She sat back in a huff and crossed her arms.

“Jules,” Cassie said, “make the man a new ad. Brad will get some new copy for you and we’ll be all set.”

Julia pointed at me. “Until he sends her back with more ‘requests.’ This man is impossible. You know what? I’m tempted to put a couple of octogenarians wearing seductive muumuus on the ad. That should be classy enough for him.”

Cassie looked at me. “We’ll come up with a new concept.”

“Yeah,” Julia said, rolling her eyes, “something highbrow.” She looked at Brad.

He shrugged and gave a noncommittal grunt.

I smiled. “Thanks. I’ll let him know you’re working on it.”

“Thank
God
it’s Friday,” Julia said as I got up from the conference table and made my way to the door.

Hmm…

It
was
Friday. An entire week had passed since my hot encounter with Justin. As much as I wished that night could have turned into more, I knew it had been a fleeting thing. One-night stands were just that—one night. Even if I wanted to give in and give him a call, I couldn’t. I hadn’t gotten his number. Disappointing, but I would likely never lay eyes, or anything else, on Justin again. I dialed Nina from my cell phone as I made my way to the elevator.

“What’s up?” she answered on the third ring.

“How about going to Blaze tonight?”

“Again? I was thinking we could try this new bar downtown.”

I thought about it, but only briefly. I had plans that included Blaze, because those plans also included Evan. Justin may have been forever out of my reach, but Evan definitely wasn’t.

The thick-necked bouncer glanced at our IDs before letting us in. Nina threw her hands in the air and started dancing as soon as we were inside. Without preamble, I slowly made my way toward the bar, all the while looking for him.

When I got there, a short brunette woman was serving the drinks. I frowned and looked around. Maybe he was on a break or something. Bartenders took those, right?

The bartender smiled and made her way to us. “Hi, ladies. What can I get you?”

A tall, hazel-eyed hottie to go, please.
“Uh, I’ll have a Hurricane, thanks.”

Nina pressed herself to my back as she leaned forward to yell over the music. “Rum and Coke, please!”

I looked back at her. “Do you ever drink anything without Coke?”

“Not if I can help it.”

I smiled and shook my head. Once our drinks arrived, I stopped the bartender before she walked away. “Excuse me.” She turned, giving me an inquisitive look.

“Yeah?”

“Where’s the other bartender? Evan?”

“He’s off tonight.”

“Oh,” I said softly. “Thank you.” She smiled and walked away. Damn. I felt totally deflated all of a sudden. I sat down in front of the bar and scanned the crowd silently.

Nina stood in front of me and leaned down to be heard over the music. “What’s wrong?”

I shook my head.

“Stacy…” she warned.

“I wanted to see Evan tonight, but he’s not here.”

Nina frowned. “Who?”

“The bartender from last time we were here.”

I could see the wheels turning in Nina’s blond head. Suddenly she raised her eyebrows. “Ohhh, him.” She held up a hand. “Wait. You brought me back here because of a man? Didn’t you just sleep with that one dude that was here last week?”

I cast a furtive glance around. “Could you say that louder? I think they might have missed it in Canada.”

Nina smiled. “Sorry. But damn girl, you really are taking this liberated thing to a whole new level.”

“What can I say? It suits me.”

“Apparently,” Nina said before sipping her drink.

“Whatever happened with you and that guy you met?” I asked. “Did you go out with him after your, uh, special night together?”

Nina sighed. “Once, and that was a total bust. Let’s just say some guys are fuck material only.”

I laughed. Nina had a charming way with words.

She looked around until someone caught her eye. I felt an elbow in my ribs. “Ohmigod, Stace, check out the hot stuff over there.”

I followed her gaze to a handsome, muscular black man standing near the edge of the dance floor.

I tilted my head. “Definitely hot.”

“Hell yes,” Nina said, “and you know I’m down to swirl, too.” She gave me a halfhearted wave as she walked in his direction. “I’ll see you,” she called back.

I smiled as I watched her approach him. I’ve known Nina since junior high and never has she been afflicted with shyness. It was something I’ve always admired. I sat there thinking about how different my best friend and I were in so many aspects. I had only just begun to spread my assertive wings, and now tonight was ruined. I had planned to spread myself in Evan’s direction—in more ways than one—but now that hope was lost. At least I thought it was.

“Hi, beautiful.”

I turned toward the voice and couldn’t stop the smile that played upon my lips. “Evan. What are you doing here? I thought you were off.”

He shrugged. “Can a guy go out on his night off?”

“Back to his job?” I arched my eyebrow.

Evan gave me that killer smile and a hint of a dimple appeared in his left cheek. “So you got me. I was hoping I’d run into you here.” He took a swig of his beer before narrowing his eyes at me.

“What?” I asked.

“How did you know I was off tonight?” he asked with a smirk.

“I, uh,” I said as I looked around, stalling for time and hoping to come up with a plausible excuse. Wait a minute. No. That was the old me. I cleared my throat and looked him straight in the eye. “I asked the bartender and she told me.”

The smile was still on his lips. “Why were you asking about me?”

“I wanted to see you again.” I sipped on my drink.

Evan nodded. “The feeling’s mutual.” He looked around the club as he drank his beer. Finally, his eyes found mine again. “So, you and Justin, huh?”

Gulp
. This was already awkward, and I hadn’t said anything yet.
Stay bold, Stacy.
I squared my shoulders and made sure my gaze didn’t waver. “Yeah, me and Justin.”

He leaned close to me and I could feel his breath tickling at the side of my face. “Was it good?” he asked in a low voice.

I widened my eyes. “Excuse me?” I turned to look at him. That was a total mistake, because it brought our faces mere inches apart.

“Was it good?” he repeated.

“Why do you want to know?”

He shrugged. “I figured I could do better.”

My stomach did a little flip. “You think so?”

“I know so,” he said as he leaned in to kiss me.

Our tongues touched and I moaned into his mouth. My arms found their way around his neck as the kiss deepened. I was definitely getting wet.

“Stace,” Nina said.

Evan and I pulled apart. “Yeah?”

“Um, sorry to interrupt,” she said sheepishly.

“It’s fine.” Her timing truly sucked, but, really, it was fine.

Nina pulled her new friend up next to her. “Stacy, this is James; James, this is Stacy.”

We exchanged pleasantries before I made introductions of my own. Evan greeted Nina and James before casually resting his arm around my shoulders.

Nina and James dove into conversation as they sat down at the bar. I turned my attention back to Evan, whose arm was still around me. How bold did I want to be? Decisions, decisions…

“Are you really fine with the fact that I slept with Justin?” Okay, so I’d decided to be totally upfront. I was channeling my inner Julia, I guess.

“Yes.”

I scoffed. They were friends. I doubted Evan was really fine with it.

“I
am
.” Evan smiled. “Look, I’m not saying that I’m thrilled about it, but it doesn’t stop me from wanting you myself.”

“You want me?” I teased.

“Oh yeah,” he said in a husky, seductive voice that shot a tingle straight to my pussy.