Stay with Me: A Happily Ever After Book (Book 2) Page 5

  I threw myself into a report and entered the data as I listened to the news over my speakers, frowning at some of the reports on stocks. I had several investments and was always considering how they were doing, even though I made plenty of money. That’s how a smart man kept his money, and I was always looking for a profit on an investment. Hell, at this rate I needed the earnings to pay my phone bill. Cherie wasn’t cheap, but she was worth every penny. I’d keep her voice in my ear every moment if I could, and looked around for some coffee as I yawned.

  I didn’t sleep talking to her, or not talking to her. I was damned if I did as well as if I didn’t. Maybe some drinks and laughter with my buddies would be good for me. I stood and left to make some coffee, well-aware of the fact that I was drinking too much these days. I missed the high that was Cherie, and I idly wondered if I should suggest meeting in person, given that we were both local. There was a chance that we wouldn’t click in person, but I highly doubted it would be the case.

  I walked to the break room, looking forward as I lost myself in my thoughts. Making it was automatic at this point in my life and I didn’t need to think about it at all, at least until I heard a female’s voice say my name. I turned my head with a frown, annoyed that I was interrupted and saw Lisa. She was an assistant to one of my top managers and a hookup at one point when I first moved back to the city. Lisa was a beautiful blonde woman that offered a good time back in the day, though she was the reason I didn’t repeat that mistake. “Hi, Brett. How are you?” Her voice was low and sultry, even though it wasn’t going to work on me.

  “Doing well. How are you?” I kept my tone light and looked back at my coffee, since I was familiar with how aggressive she could become when she thought that a man was interested in her.

  “I was thinking of going out for some drinks tonight. Would you like to join me?” There it was.

  “I have plans, but thanks.” I didn’t offer up another night, needing to shut this door as soon as possible.

  “Another time?” She pressed as I thought about what to say. Lisa was an employee, and I had to treat this delicately, or else HR might be all over my ass.

  “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” I said lightly as I looked around the empty room. “Those times are over, Lisa.”

  She narrowed her eyes for a moment and stood straighter, pushing her fake breasts out before she smiled. “Are you certain? We had fun back in the day.”

  “I’m very sure,” I told her, looking at her with a firm gaze. Someone walked into the room, and I picked up my coffee and told Lisa to have a good day before returning to my office.

  Amy was sitting at her desk typing, and I looked at her curiously as I passed. “Everything all right?” Her voice was light, but I heard the curious tone in it.

  “It is,” I paused and looked around. “You’re a compassionate person. I appreciate that.” She looked up at me with a small frown, and I reminded myself to tell Cherie that she had the same quality, something that was hard to find.

  “Thank you.” She sounded uncertain, and I smiled before walking through my door.

  “It’s a good thing,” I assured her before I closed my door to her soft laugh. I finished my day and left right at five to meet the guys for dinner and drinks at the corner sports bar, telling Amy to have a good night before I walked out. She looked like she was finishing for the day and she smiled wistfully at me as she murmured something back. She looked like I felt inside and I hoped that Amy would end up happy with the man that she was thinking about.

  I walked to the bar since it was close and beautiful out with Fall approaching. Southern California tended to stay even as far as temperature, so I always appreciated a cool night. I entered the bar and saw my friends at a table in the corner, walking over to join them. The guys were successful in business as I was, living similar lives. Colton was the only one that was in a steady relationship for two years and we all raised our beer in a toast as he announced that he was going to propose in Santa Barbara over the weekend. A few months ago, I would’ve scoffed at him being recently divorced after my own whirlwind relationship, but I understood it better now. I had the memories of Larisa in my mind as well as my fading feelings for Amy that hit me so hard from the start. Colton and Tracy were great together, showing me what life could be all about with the right person.

  The idea of telling them that I was regularly taking to a phone sex girl was laughable, and I kept it to myself as I listened to them talk for a while. A trip to Belize was brought up, just the guys and all I could think about was not talking to Cherie in that period. It wasn’t like I was talking to her now and I was surviving, so some time on the beach might do me some good. We also discussed attending some games in the area as I ordered another beer to wash down the greasy burger that I’d chosen for dinner. Between the four of us, we could score tickets to any event in any city, and we used to do that a lot. I needed to get back to that, grinning as I looked at the television screens at the various scores.

  “Any new women in your life?” Chet asked me as his brown eyes twinkled. He teased me the most about my random hook ups and especially the marriage. “You’ve been back a while now.”

  “Nothing serious,” I responded lightly as I dipped my last fry into some ketchup.

  “You’re not tapping anyone at work, are you?” Colton asked, knowing how poorly that worked out with Lisa.

  “Definitely not,” I assured him, thinking back to today. I heard laughter and frowned as I looked over to see Lisa and her friends coming in. “Fuck. I shouldn’t have mentioned that I was going out.” Colton glanced over and let out a low whistle.

  “Here we go again.”

  “No, I am not touching that,” I promised them as I downed my beer. Lisa looked over and smiled at me as her friends dragged her to the bar, making me quickly avert my eyes. I kept my attention on my table despite her loud giggles carrying across the bar. Why the hell did I ever sleep with her?

  We drank and talked for a couple of hours, and I was feeling the buzz as I stood to leave. Realizing that I drank more than intended, I made my way towards the door and pushed it open. “Brett?” Lisa called out as it closed, making me groan. She came out after me, and I looked at her with a dark glare.

  “Did you come here hoping to find me?” I demanded as she shrank back with wide blue eyes. “I made myself clear today, or so I thought.”

  “My friends like it there. I didn’t think I’d see you, but I did, so…what are you doing now?” She asked as I ran a hand through my hair. I wondered how good of an employee she was as I tried to think of what to say to make myself clear.

  “I am leaving now,” I stated slowly, not wanting to get angry at this moment. I turned and started walking to the curb to grab a cab home, leaving her standing there. I slipped into the first car that I could find and told the driver my address. I pulled out my phone and looked at it for a long moment. Cherie never called me, but tonight, I wanted to see a message from her or a missed call.

  Once I was inside of my apartment, I changed into shorts and dropped on the couch with a fresh beer. It was Friday, and I was going to drink. There were weekends that you might find me in the office but not this one.

  I took my phone from the cushion beside me and dialed Cherie as I took a slow breath. It rang, and I held my breath until she answered in that sexy drawl of hers. “Where the hell have you been?” I asked as I heard her suspire before she laughed.

  “I was just…busy.” Her words were vague as I leaned back on the couch. “Did you miss me, Phil?”

  “More than you’ll ever know. I’m hard right now just hearing you.” It wasn’t a lie, and I stroked myself over my clothes as she told me that she wanted me inside of her. Things progressed quickly from there, my inhibitions all but gone with the beer in my system as I talked her through an orgasm before coming in one of the Kleenex that I kept in every room now.

  Once we were done with round two, I sipped some water and took a deep breath. “Are y
ou okay, Cherie? I was worried about you,” I confessed as she sucked in her breath.

  “I am great, Phil. Don’t worry. I just got busy and couldn’t spend a lot of time on the phone,” she replied as I nodded.

  “Do you work another job?” I asked, pushing the boundary that she seemed to prefer to set with clients. Maybe it was too personal, but I wanted to know more about her.

  “This isn’t my forever, Phil. Of course, I do,” she replied in the slow drawl that I’d grown to love the sound of.

  “What is it?” She chuckled on the other end, and I waited for her to deflect the conversation.

  “You know that I won’t tell you that.” I did know, and I laughed myself.

  “I thought I’d try.” I didn’t tell her the whole truth about my job. Being local and something of a celebrity in some circles, I knew that my relationship with Cherie was better left a secret. I was already known as a playboy since the dissolve of my marriage, and I didn’t need the details of escorts and phone sex added to that rumor. At least with Cherie, I didn’t have to worry about her knowing my identity and looking me up on Google. We were both equals in this situation. I considered pushing her for a meeting, but I held back, for now, worried about the consequences.

  We talked casually for a bit longer and then she seemed to start seducing me all over again, making me wonder what she’d be like in person. Cherie was insatiable but what about the woman behind the voice? She told me about her fantasy of being completely bound to a bed, unable to move, while I did anything I wanted to her. I already knew about her love for toys in the bedroom, having heard the proof over the phone and decided to take it a bit further.

  “What if I were to use a plug on you, pushed on your stomach with your ass spread out for me?” I pushed as I stroked my hardening cock. I’d experienced anal sex with a couple of women in my life but longed for it more than ever right now, at this moment.

  “Mmmm, push it in,” she urged me as I heard the familiar moan fill the room. She was touching her clit for me, and I gripped myself tighter. “All the way, Phil.”

  “I want to be inside of your tight ass,” I told her as she let out a few harsh breaths.

  “I want you there. I’ve never wanted anybody there,” she admitted before crying out again. “I want you to fill me.”

  “I’d fuck you so hard, Cherie. I’d take that ass so deep and slow until you begged me for more,” I was stroking myself hard now, chasing the orgasm that didn’t seem to be enough anymore. I wanted more.

  “Yes, keep talking,” she urged me in a trembling voice that held some familiarity in it, something I just brushed off as too many conversations. “I’m so close.”

  “I’d stroke that clit while I fucked you, Cherie. I’d touch every part of you that I could while I slid inside. You’ll be so tight and warm, just like that sweet little cunt of yours. I want you everywhere, in every way. Fuck, I am so hard. I want you, Cherie.” I cried out as I reached for another Kleenex and shot into it. “I want to be with you for real, so much. I want to fuck you. Please,” my last word came out as a long moan, and I heard her fall silent in the middle of her own release.

  Amy

  I was coming, so hard, but his final words shocked me into silence. Phil wanted to meet me? I didn’t do that. It was against the rules. There were so many reasons that it couldn’t happen but as the waves washed over me, I knew that I wanted Phil inside of me and I let the idea sink in as I jerked on my bed. Could I do that? Would it stop at one night or would we both want more? Could he keep my identity secret? Would I be surprised at his?

  I never wanted to take this to a physical level. I liked the anonymity of phone sex, conversations in which I could lie about who I was. I hung up, and it was all over, at last until Phil called me that first night. That changed everything just as Brett started to change everything in my real life. What a combination and I smiled bitterly as a tear slid down my cheek.

  I waited until my body was still, taking in the sounds of him on the other end. “I can’t meet clients, Phil.”

  “Why not? This is more and you know it,” he argued as I pressed my lips together. I couldn’t have either man, and that made me sad.

  “This is work,” I told him, waiting for the pain to set in. “You’re a great man, and I love these chats, but I don’t want more.” I was lying to both of us now, and I felt the tears in my eyes, I fell for Phil early on, close to the same way that I did for Brett. “I want you to find your real, Phil. Some woman deserves all of this from you, but it isn’t me. This is just a job for me, and I never think about meeting the clients. I talk to more men than just you the same way.” Ouch, I just hurt myself.

  “I see. I was foolish to feel more for you. Just a job,” he repeated as I heard him sigh. “I can fuck any woman that I want, Cherie and I will. I’ll fuck them all and think of you,” he promised me in a cruel voice as tears slid down my cheek. “What will you do? Keep talking to strange men and getting yourself off, when you can have the real thing?”

  “Stop it,” I said as my voice shook with tears.

  “Are you crying, Cherie?” His voice softened, and I rested my head in my hands.

  “I have to stick to the plan, Phil. I should work for my future, and I can’t let feelings get in the way of that. I can’t just meet you without thinking of the repercussions,” I told him as I drew my knees to my chest. “It’s a risk to both of us.”

  “We’ve been talking for a couple of months, Cherie. I know that I feel something and I’d like to examine it. I already lost one girl, and I am not losing another.” I thought back to the woman that he worked with and smiled ruefully. “Hell, I’ve lost more than that, and I want to dive into this and feel you in the flesh.”

  “I’m still not sure,” I replied as he sighed. This was going so much further than I ever expected it to, so much faster than it ever should have. I was scared, excited and nervous all in the same breath and I didn’t know if I wanted to step off my safe, sheltered little ledge. I knew that everything that I built was falling apart around me whether I stayed here in my bubble, that I wanted more than to be the girl on the other end of the phone. I pushed Brett away already, and I wasn’t certain that I wanted to do that same thing in this case. “It could change everything, Phil.”

  “It could be great. It will be between us in a private place. Nobody will know about this,” he assured me, sweetening the package even further. I imagined us in a hotel room together, acting out every fantasy that we’d discussed and my hand slipped between my legs again. I was wet and ready for him, and I slid my fingers over my clit as I let out a low breath. “Baby, we could stay up all night getting to know each other intimately, personally. I could taste that sweet pussy for hours.” I let out a moan, and he laughed wickedly on the other end. “Are you touching yourself?”

  “You make me want to for hours, Phil. I always feel turned on thinking about you,” I told him as I slipped two fingers inside. “I do it away from these calls. I think I’m addicted.”

  “I am just as addicted. Meet me. I’ll get the best room for you and pleasure you for hours. I want to see your face when you come, Cherie.” Phil murmured more words to draw me in further and make me explode against my hand, longing for so much more. He came right after me, and I fell weakly against my pillows as I took a deep breath. I wanted him.

  “Fine. I will.” I gasped at my words and closed my eyes.

  “You will?” He asked as I frowned.

  “Yes, in a couple of weeks. I need time,” I replied, knowing that I wouldn’t sleep for weeks now. I needed to go to a salon, get waxed, lose a few pounds…the list was endless.

  “I am going to use that time to make it the night of your life,” Phil promised me as I laughed nervously. “Can we still talk before then?”

  “Yes. I couldn’t live without that,” I said, smiling as he agreed.

  What was I planning for myself?

  We talked late into the night. With it being Friday, why not?
He drank beer, and I drank wine, leading to more sex as we talked about our night together. I knew that we didn’t have any rules from our conversations, and things were bound to get a little crazy. I’d discussed being tied up, spanked, fucked in every way possible and giving him complete control. I didn’t even know what Phil looked like. What if he was old and ugly? There was no way. There was a huskiness to his voice that seemed familiar to me, that promised sin in the best of ways, and I knew that he wasn’t ugly.

  I spent every moment talking to Phil when I wasn’t working. We planned our night repeatedly, giving into different fantasies every night. I grew more knotted with anticipation as the days passed, tired and edgy every single day at work. I worked through it, but I know that it didn’t go unnoticed. In fact, Brett seemed to be the same way when I looked closely at him.

  I was working on something at my desk, sipping another cup of coffee as he paused one day. “Are you all right, Amy? You seem a bit…jumpy. Is something going on?”

  “I’m working a lot. I have a freelance job on the side,” I told him, going on to tell him that I was a writer of short stories and blogs for a few clients. He asked me if I didn’t overdo it working so much and I shrugged, admitting that I liked the extra income so I could get ahead of the game while I was still young. I didn’t see the want in his eyes as he looked at me and nodded, telling me that he appreciated a woman that worked hard. He mentioned that he knew someone like that with warmth in his eyes, making me realize that he’d fallen in love. I was happy and envious all at once as he looked at me with genuine respect before telling me to take care of myself. That was all there was now; respect.

  I started with my pampering the second week of what I termed as the wait. I had my curly hair trimmed and highlighted with shared of honey and caramel, loving the way the colors bounced around my shoulders with the layers as I looked into the mirror after the cut. I had shopped a bit, changing up my style just a little bit with the prospect of a new life and I picked a special dress for the night at the hotel. It was a slip of a plum silk dress, with tiny straps and a short skirt that was going to be covered with a long black cardigan for reasons of my own, at least until I stripped it off and gave myself to Phil. I was going to pair it with black heels that matched the black of my mascara that I was planning to wear that night.