“Ashy, are you ready?” Josh’s voice sounded after I heard the apartment door close. I looked down at the time on my laptop and saw that it was just after seven P.M. “I’m going to have a quick shower, and then we’ll be good to go.”
Moments later, I heard the shower turn on, and I continued tapping away at emails. He was obviously going out for the night, although I was unsure what it had to do with me. Ten minutes later, I heard the shower shut off and then Josh’s bedroom door close. When it opened again, I finished an email and closed my laptop, then I climbed off the bed, deciding to be a sociable house guest and see where he was going.
Josh was sitting on the couch with wet hair, and dressed in jeans and a black, button-down shirt. I was immediately hit by the seductive scent combination of his soap and aftershave. He leaned down to tie the laces of his shoes as I stepped further into the living room.
“Hey,” I said with a smile. He looked delightfully dressed up for a night out, while I was sporting the uniform of my glorious work-from-home life—my favorite sweat pants and cami, with my hair in the usual topknot. “You want a beer?”
“Have you suddenly lost your short-term memory?” he replied with a wicked grin.
My confusion soared sky high. What was he talking about? I popped open the cap of my beer and took a swig, then raised a brow and waited for him to inform me of what I had supposedly forgotten.
“It was less than twelve hours ago that I told you that I would show you a good time. To be honest, I’m a little heartbroken that you forgot, but I’ll remind you. Ashlyn, it would be my pleasure to show you a good time.”
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing at the craziness and obvious innuendo of his statement. “Do those lines really work?”
“Wouldn’t know. Only said that to you, Ashy. Please take your cute little ass into the bathroom and change out of your sweats. You look cute as fuck, but I want you in those jeans that make your legs look like sin. I am showing you a good time and, if you are lucky, you might get a sneaky kiss at the end of the night.”
“What?” I laughed at his absurdness. “There will be no sneaky kisses. You have clearly lost your mind.”
“Not even a peck?” His brow shot up in question.
“I’m not promising anything, but maybe, if you’re lucky, you might get a kiss on the cheek.”
“Butt cheek?”
“You are impossible.” I took a step away and shook my head. He couldn’t be serious. I didn’t need to be shown a good time, especially by Josh Crawford. And why the hell was he talking about a sneaky kiss? There would definitely not be any kissing. But fuck, I missed making out. I had always been a huge fan of making out. It got me going every time. If a guy wanted in my pants, he had a better chance if he kissed the shit out of me. I missed the roughness of kissing a man—the graze of stubble, the domination. Why was I thinking of this? There was no way in hell I was going out with him; not when I just floated into fantasy land of making out.
“Ashlyn, get your ass into your room.”
I swung around, and my hands went to my hips. “When did you become so bossy?”
“Please go and get dressed,” he said, lowering his voice and pleading with his eyes.
I rolled my eyes and huffed. “Just because you said please, doesn’t mean you aren’t bossy.”
“I knew you were stubborn, but fuck me. Trying to convince you is like trying to get my cock through a pinhole.”
“Seriously? Your cock through a pinhole?”
“Ashlyn, please go and get dressed.”
“Fine!” I huffed in defeat and stormed out of the kitchen. I had no clue what I was doing. When I reached the guestroom, it suddenly hit me. “You do realize its Friday night?” I asked, stating the obvious.
“Yep.”
“A Friday night where you could be out scouting your next lay?”
“Ashlyn, please, go and get dressed.”
I considered my options. I could either keep fighting him and get lost in a war of stubbornness where no one would come out victorious, or I could give in and see where the night took us.
“Fine.”
His lips twisted into the most genuine smile I’d ever witnessed on Josh Crawford. Well, aside from the one he gave me all those years ago when he pushed into m—No, no! I could not go back there. I couldn’t go from thinking of making out with a man to thinking about having sex.
I shook all thoughts of his smile, of his ability to take a girls virginity—fuck. I shook all thoughts of Josh Crawford out of my head and disappeared down the hall.
What was I getting myself into?
My plan for a relaxing Friday night with ice cream and a movie was halted. What he had planned was anyone’s guess. Unpredictability and Josh Crawford walked hand in hand. Working in fashion allowed me to have a cupboard full of cute and way-too-expensive designer clothes at my beck and call. You would never know that now, though, as I fumbled through the clothes I’d brought to Josh’s. Finally, I found my standard black skinny jeans—yes, the ones that supposedly made my legs look like sin—a baby pink fitted tee with a scooped neck that allowed for a peak of my cleavage, and my favorite metallic silver heels. It was girly, but had an air of sass to it. I stepped into the bathroom and did a quick assessment of my hair, then decided there was nothing I could do besides a loose fishtail braid that hung over my shoulder. I left my makeup light.
As soon as I stepped into the room and the clicking of my heels sounded, his head swung around from the game he was watching and his eyes raked over the length of my body. I felt like I was being observed under a microscope. My skin instantly prickled to life and my cheeks heated. Without saying a word, Josh stood from the couch, clicked off the television, and walked to me. My heart hammered in my chest, and suddenly it seemed as if the air in his living room had shifted.
“Is this okay? I wasn’t sure if I should wear heels or not. I can change if it’s too casual or too much,” I rambled, as though I had suddenly become a babbling fifteen year old.
“You look good, Ashy.” His voice was thick as he spoke, and his eyes deepened from chocolate brown to almost black. “Let’s go.”
Josh switched off the lights, leaving only the one lamp in the corner on, and we left the apartment. There was a whisper of anticipation in the air, and I couldn’t ignore the buzz it sent through my body. The excitement of not knowing what we were doing or where we were going swirled through me as I slid into the back seat of an awaiting cab. I decided then and there that I would give no fucks and go with wherever tonight led me. I needed to let my hair down, I needed to allow myself to come undone, and who better to do that with than Josh?
Twenty minutes later, the cab pulled up to the curb in front of Delight’s. Delights was a gentleman’s club that I frequented with Josh, Ky, and Eden. You might think it’s strange that I would love coming to a place like this, but it was a safe option. The girls with their perfect bodies, whether enhanced or not, distracted the men so women like me who just wanted to drink, dance, and hang out with friends could do so without getting groped or eye fucked. And the guys didn’t seem to mind.
“This is just what I need,” I gushed as we made our way into the late spring air.
The second we stepped in, I was overwhelmed by the low, sultry music that offered the girls the perfect tempo to sway their hips to, and the dimmed lights that encouraged seduction to feather your skin. It sent a delightful shiver through my body, and I felt switched on. Josh’s eyes flashed to mine, and he lifted his chin slightly toward the bar in silent question. I nodded in response, then his fingers linked with mine and he maneuvered us through the expanding crowd.
Once at the bar, he dropped my hand and leaned over to give his order. I was expecting the guy behind the bar to lean in and ask my order, but it never came. A low glass of whiskey and a tall glass of vodka Coke were placed in front of us, then Josh handed him a twenty and nodded in thanks.