She couldn’t think of a better idea. “And we can talk more about movies, and TV shows, and books?”
“That. Or about the threesome we’re going to have some day.”
She arched an eyebrow. “I am not sharing you.”
He smiled devilishly at her. “Good answer. And for the record, I would never ever share you.”
“Good. Now for even suggesting that, I need two orgasms, stat.”
He tipped his forehead to the bathroom. “Shower. You. Against the wall.”
After he delivered on her request, they went out to lunch in Hayes Valley at one of her favorite restaurants that had 47 varieties of dipping sauce for French Fries. Clay agreed that it might be the best restaurant he’d ever been to and that fries were an unbeatable food choice.
But as the evening unspooled, Julia became aware of a ticking clock. Time seemed to speed up, to charge headfirst to the end of the night as the inevitable goodbye loomed closer. When his car arrived to take him to the airport, she said goodbye and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. There would be no poignant, postcard kind of kiss. They might have had fun, they might be insanely compatible in bed, they might even have the same taste in movies, but there was no they to them. She had too much baggage here in her hometown. Too much trouble that wasn’t close to being wrapped up. And too many more Tuesday nights before she could call it even.
She needed to start erecting a wall. Clay would go down in her history as the best sex ever – a night of unbridled perfection in the bedroom. And, fine, he scored major points for being easy to talk to and fun to spend the day with. But he lived 3000 miles away.
“Nice meeting you,” she said crisply and turned to leave.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him, her body flush with his. Damn, she loved the feel of his strong chest against hers. She liked it too much.
“Julia,” he said, and this time his voice was intense, serious. “I had an amazing time with you. I know this sounds crazy since we live on opposite coasts, but I need to see you again. I’m going to call you.”
He kissed her deeply, a searing kiss that made her stand on her tip toes and thread her hands in his hair so she could hold on tight. When he broke the kiss, she felt wobbly and her lips missed his.
As he drove off, she realized maybe her heart missed him too. But she reminded herself that it was easy to say I’m going to call you. What was harder was doing that. What was Herculean was seeing someone on the other side of the country.
* * *
Clay pounded hard on the punching bag with a final hit. His breath came fast, his heart beating ferociously from the workout.
“Never seen you hit so hard, man,” Davis said to him. “Who are you picturing now? That network bastard you had to deal with in San Francisco?”
Clay shook his head as he bent over the water fountain at the boxing gym for a cold drink of water. He hadn’t been picturing the network exec at all. He’d been thinking of how much it sucked that Julia lived so damn far away. He’d been back in New York for one day. One stinking day. And he couldn’t get that feisty woman out of his mind.
“No,” he answered crisply.
“You should just call her,” Davis said.
He snapped his head up, staring hard at his friend. “What?”
“The woman you spent the extra day with in San Francisco.”
“How did you know?”
“You told me you were coming back in the morning and you missed our workout yesterday.” He tapped the side of his head. “Remember? I know how to read people. It’s my job.”
“Anyway,” Clay said, trying to brush him off.
“Are you going to?”
“Call her?”
“Yeah. Call her. Are you going to? Because you should.”
He shrugged, trying to act cool and casual. But he knew the answer. He’d always been planning to call her. He hadn’t been giving her a line when he left the other night. He wanted to see her again. He needed to know if there was something more to them. He’d enjoyed talking to her as much as he’d enjoyed making her scream his name. She fascinated him, and he couldn’t let her be just one night. He wanted more nights with her.
When he reached his apartment and shut the door behind him, he dialed her number. She answered on the second ring.
“Hello, person I never thought I’d hear from again.”
He smiled, wishing he could tug her sweet little body against his, plant a kiss on her beautiful face, feel her melt into his touch.
“Hey, Julia. What would you say about coming to New York for the weekend? I have a new set of ropes I’ve been meaning to use, and a restaurant I want to try, and a big king-size bed you’d look spectacular tied up to. Oh, and there’s also a new heist movie coming out this weekend that we could see.”
She laughed once. “Let me get this straight. I’m being invited to the Big Apple for dinner, a movie and a little bondage?”
“Yes, that would be correct.”
* * *
She didn’t answer right away. She carefully considered his request.
She’d won big earlier that night. The kind of win that made the weight of her past start to lessen. Besides, he was only asking for two nights of her life. This wasn’t a commitment. This wasn’t a relationship, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to get caught up in him.
“Then the answer is pick me up at the airport in a town car, handsome, because I’m going to be ready for all of that and then some as soon as I step off the plane,” she said, as she sank down on her couch, kicked off her heels, and started counting down the hours til the weekend.