Page 35 of Pink and Country

I threw the dice.

Pixie switched the playlist out for a jazzy one. Everything about her oozed sex. She was so easy to get addicted to. Her laugher created a tidal wave deep in my core. I was doped on her scent.

From her subtle glances to her glistening eyes, I caught every one of her movements. The woman loved the game. She was fierce and unapologetic.

“Eight hundred dollars, HN. You’ll see, I’ll wreck you,” she said, holding out her hand.

“Please do,” I whispered underneath my breath. “I’ll give you everything.”

My neighbor ignored my innuendo, but her flushed face showed she’d heard every word I spoke.

Her features told me everything I needed to know. A twitch of her eyebrows meant she was about to pay me a large sum of money. The gleam in her eyes appeared each time she had the upper hand. Her lips curved whenever she cashed money. We weren’t playing Monopoly anymore. We were playing self-restraint. At least I was.

I bet Bubble Gum knew the effect she had on me. Not that she could catch a sight of my erection from under the coffee table, though. I grew feverish. In my mind, I pictured myself laying her on the kitchen table and cherishing every inch of her flesh with my tongue. Pink Hair would ride me to oblivion, and I’d pound into her with purpose, shattering both our worlds. Then she’d wrap her lips around my shaft, and I’d forget about everything, my only goal to coat the back of her throat with my cream. Fuck. I swallowed, hopped to my feet, and made it to the kitchen. I refilled my glass of water, taking care to keep my back to the woman who was killing me softly.

“Dessert?” I asked once I regained some of my control.

I brought the plate with fresh fruit dipped into dark chocolate to the living room. I sat beside Fairy on the floor and fed her a strawberry. All my blood rushed to my groin. I was playing with fire but didn’t care if I got burned doing so. Pixie closed her mouth over the juicy fruit, and for a second, I imagined my cock. My throat worked as I tried to put to sleep the storm raging inside me. I inhaled through my mouth. Once. Twice. Thrice. I was hard as a flagpole.

As if she sensed my growing uneasiness, Cock-Teaser rose to her feet and lit a few candles all around the room. She beamed in the flickering light. How could she waltz through the sexual tension like it meant nothing? She bent over to pick up the matchbox she dropped on the floor, giving me a front seat view of her perfect heart-shaped bottom. Was she tempting me on purpose? Testing my self-control? She put the matchbox back on the fireplace mantle and sat back on her side of the coffee table.

“Get settled, HN, I’m going to end you.” Yeah, I know you will.

Around three a.m., Fairy ended me for real. I had no money left and went bankrupt.

I raised my hands in surrender. “I’ll give it to you, woman, you ruined me.”

We both yawned, then stood to put the board game back into the box.

I zeroed in on her lips. I’d resisted kissing every smile, every pout, and every word coming out of them all night. You just landed in the friend zone, Carter. We’d reached a truce. I wasn’t about to screw up everything. Not yet.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and balanced on my heels. “I guess I should go.” Pink Girl nodded and walked me to the door. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around me and gave me a huge hug. It was awkward and magnificent at the same time. I felt tipsy as I breathed her in.

“Good night, HN.”

“Night, Fairy.” I heard the door closing behind me but didn’t turn around.

My heart leaped in my throat. What the fuck just happened?

* * *

I pried my eyes open at the sound of the doorbell the next morning. What the hell? My fists rubbed over my eyes; my eyelids still half-masted from the sleep. Squinting, I unplugged my phone from the charger on the nightstand. Eight o’clock. I exhaled in one big huff. I hadn’t slept more than a few hours.

Ding. Dong.

I blinked. “Go away,” I said, whisper-yelling. Who could it be? Nobody had called from the gate.

I slipped my naked self into a pair of navy-blue cotton pants and tucked my morning wood in, trying to prevent flashing a tent to whoever stood on my front porch. Two at a time, I ran down the stairs, not bothering to put on a shirt.

My hand raked through my hair, trying to comb the tousled dark strands I knew were scattered in all directions.

I stretched and scrunched up my facial muscles to remove any traces of sleep from my face, and unlocked the door.

Fairy.

She stood there, a soft smile drawn on her lips, dressed in a sleeveless puffy vest over a black sweater, silver leggings, and sheepskin boots on, looking freaking gorgeous.

Her night had been as short as mine—four hours at most—but unlike me, she was every shade of radiant.