Built for Pleasure Read online

  “Oh, my gosh guys. I’m so sorry for interrupting, but can we get pictures with you two?” one of the women said as she looked at Julia and Star for approval.

  “Sorry ladies, not right now,” I said.

  “Please, we promise not to take too long.”

  “No, sorry,” I repeated and then turned toward Julia.

  Instead of looking agitated by the interruption, Julia was actually smiling and nodded that I should go take the pictures. She practically pushed me out of the booth while she laughed at the absurdity of the whole thing. Following Julia’s lead, Star also motioned for Taylor to go ahead and take the photos although she didn’t look nearly as amused by the whole thing.

  “Do you girls want me to take the picture?” Julia asked as she popped out of the booth and grabbed one of the girl’s phones.

  “Yes, thank you,” a few of the girls replied.

  This group of young women was probably barely old enough to be in the club. They certainly weren’t my type of woman and their pushiness was a huge turn-off. By this point, I was just taking the pictures to get them on their way.

  Taylor joined me and the two of us stood between two women and smiled into the camera. But after Julia took one photo, one woman asked for a picture alone with Taylor, then another woman asked for a picture alone with just me. This went on for at least ten minutes before we were finally able to get them to move on.

  I felt terrible by the time I sat back down with Julia. This wasn’t at all the kind of guy I was. “I’m so sorry, I apologize for the interruption,” I said as I poured us both a glass of champagne.

  “Not at all,” she said with that same playful grin. “That was really entertaining. I bet those girls will be talking about the two of you for weeks now.”

  “Normally I would say no to anything like that if I was on a date with a woman. Please know that it’s not normal for me.”

  “It’s a good thing we aren’t on a date then,” Julia laughed. “And I don’t mind. There will probably be a group of guys coming around to take pictures with me really soon too,” she dramatically rolled her eyes and I couldn’t stop laughing.

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yep, I know, it’s hard to compete with the likes of me,” she continued. “I’ll try and keep you in the loop though.”

  “Yes, please do! How about I get us some more champagne and food?” I asked and everyone nodded.

  I pulled Julia’s hand up to my lips and gave her a quick kiss before making my way to the bar to get what we needed. Julia was again throwing me off my game. Her lighthearted way of handling that situation was so ideal that I couldn’t have dreamed of a better response. She saw those women and was welcoming and inviting to them and even helped with the photo, it was pretty damn amazing.

  So far Julia was checking off so many boxes of what I wanted in a woman and we hardly knew each other. I really had to get to know her and suddenly my mind was shifting from bringing her home to actually talking and getting to know what she liked and didn’t like. If you would have asked me just a few hours before if I was interested in any sort of dating, I would have vehemently denied it.

  “Wow bro, I like her,” Taylor said as he joined me at the bar.

  “I know, she looks familiar to me though. Is she famous or something?”

  “Not that I know of, but she handled those girls like a pro. It wouldn’t surprise me if she was in television or involved in publicity somehow. Either way, nice catch.”

  “Thanks. I just can’t shake this feeling that I know her though. It’s really weird.”

  “What’s her name?” He asked.

  “Julia is all I have so far.”

  “Well, let me know if you figure it out. I’m going to get my date onto the dance floor and then head home in a bit. It was nice catching up with you. Let’s talk this week, let me know if you ever figure out who she is.”

  “Deal.” Taylor and I gave each other a quick hug and then he went back to the table to get his date. The two of them were on their way to the dance floor as I came back with some more champagne.

  “I thought at these tables you were supposed to get someone to do that for you?” Julia asked.

  “I know, haven’t seen her all night though.”

  “Well, that seems unusual,” Julia said and grabbed my hand when I sat down with her.

  “They will bring some snacks over soon. I hope you’re hungry.”

  “Starving, famished. I could eat a small child,” she joked.

  “Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.”

  I couldn’t resist, as I looked at her cute little smile I leaned in and let my lips touch hers. At first, she pulled away a little, I think it was out of surprise that I had just kissed her though and she soon leaned into the kiss. Her hands wrapped around my neck and her fingers worked up into the back of my hair.

  Julia parted her mouth and turned to the side as she let me thrust my tongue inside of her. The delicious taste of her mouth electrified me and it seemed to have a similar reaction to her as I felt one of her legs cross over the other and slide between mine. She wanted me, her body was telling me that she wanted me and I just couldn’t ignore it.

  “Wow, that was nice,” Julia said when we finally pulled apart.

  “Yes, it was.”

  I poured a couple of glasses of champagne and handed one of them to her. Her red lipstick wasn’t even smeared after our kissing session. My eyes stayed fixated on her lips while they wrapped around the edge of the glass and then she slowly lifted the glass and the alcohol slid into her mouth.

  “What?” She asked playfully as I stared at her.

  “I feel like I know you,” I finally said.

  “Oh, you do?” She asked and then coyly looked away. “That’s a pretty good line.”

  “It does seem a little cheesy, sorry.”

  “I know what you mean. I feel like I know you too. Maybe we really do know each other?” She winked and then went back to drinking her champagne.

  “Do we?”

  Just as I asked the question the waitress came to the table and put down the food I’d ordered. I’d ordered way too much of it. In fact, I felt like a maniac as soon as the food arrived and there were six different platters for us. I had thought Taylor and his new friend were going to join us but now it just looked like I planned on force-feeding Julia a ton of appetizers.

  “I’m starving,” she said and drank another glass of champagne while we both went head first into the various foods.

  “You are so beautiful; I just want you to know that before I start stuffing my face with food.”

  “You’re pretty good looking yourself there, Mike,” she replied before putting a stuffed jalapeño into her mouth in one bite.

  Her eyes got large right away and then started to water. She was looking at me as if I could help her and all I could do was pour her some more champagne. I wasn’t even sure that champagne could help cool her tongue after eating that hot piece of cheese-filled pepper.

  “You didn’t know that was a jalapeño?”

  “No,” she said with the food still in her mouth. Her cheeks were filled with the food and she continued to chew it though. “It’s okay,” she said more to herself than to me. “I’m okay.”

  “Just spit it out, it’s fine, here,” I said and handed her a napkin. “They aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.”

  “No, no, it’s fine,” she insisted and continued to chew. “I like it. I just wasn’t prepared for it to be a pepper,” she laughed a little even though she didn’t look like she was having fun at all.

  Her dewy white skin had turned the same shade as her red dress. She finished off one glass of champagne and then another one before she managed to finish chewing and swallowing the pepper. The whole time she still had half of a smile and looked cute as could be.

  “I feel horrible. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that was a jalapeño. I bet they look a lot like fried stuffed mushrooms.”

  “Yeah they do,”
she laughed.

  “I’m so sorry,” I pulled her in for a hug and held onto her for a minute. “You looked like you might die from that thing. Was it horribly hot?”

  “No, I’m okay. It just caught me off guard.”

  The room and the people around us disappeared as she stayed wrapped up in my arms for a minute. I wasn’t exactly a protector or anything like that, at least that had never been the persona I identified with when I was around women, but being around Julia made me feel different than normal. I’d actually just let her eat that pepper and I should have said something, it had happened so fast though. For a moment I expected she would get annoyed or agitated with me, any other woman would have. I expected her to lash out at me, but she didn’t. I was trying to manufacture a reason not to like this girl and it had totally backfired on me.

  Julia didn’t seem annoyed at all; as she lifted her head up she was smiling and laughed at the whole thing. This was the sort of laid-back personality I’d been hoping to find in a woman, it was how my buddies and I always reacted when something like this happened to us. The women I usually met didn’t seem to think things like this were very funny. The last girl I’d been on a date with actually called me a jerk before we had even finished our appetizer.

  “Probably good that this isn’t a first date,” Julia laughed. “I don’t think I would have liked having snot dripping down my nose on a first date,” she gingerly wiped her nose with a napkin.

  “You still look really good, even with snot,” I laughed. “How would you feel about doing a real first date some time?”

  “I think we could manage that. So does that mean this doesn’t count as a date? Because I’d really love to bring you home for a night of fun. Of course, if it was a first date I wouldn’t do such a thing,” she said playfully.

  “This is definitely not a first date,” I replied, eager to please her.

  Who was this girl? How was it that I felt so connected to her and yet knew nothing about her at all? She had a great sense of humor and a body with curves that I couldn’t stop looking at.

  The music drifted off and it was just the two of us sitting there again as if everyone else had disappeared while we continued talking and having an amazing time. We talked about a lot of things, but nothing really personal. Our opinions on the new Broadway show, what we were looking forward to this fall around town, and even the subway and its constant inability to allow a phone signal while you were traveling through the city. I didn’t have the heart to tell her I hardly ever rode the subway anymore but it did seem odd that in this day and age they couldn’t figure out a way to get cell service or Wi-Fi down there.

  The conversation between the two of us flowed easily from one topic to the next while we sipped our champagne and ate our bar food. It was the best first date I’d had in a really long time, especially considering it wasn’t a date at all. Perhaps that was why we were getting along so easily; there was no forced intimacy like what happened on first dates normally. There were no expectations of what would come next in our night and I felt more at ease than I typically was, it was as if I already know Julia, but I didn’t know her at all. +

  We both switched to water as it got to the early morning hours and the night started to wind down. It was nearly three o’clock in the morning when I finally settled the tab and walked Julia out to my hired car. I wanted to bring her home. Normally after a night even half as good as this one I would have brought the girl back to my house. Not tonight though, I wanted to see her again. I wasn’t about to ruin this whole thing.

  “If you give Joe your address I’ll drop you off,” I said when we climbed into the back of the big SUV.

  I handed her a pad of paper and she wrote her address down and passed the slip of paper to my driver Joe. Although she had teased about bringing me home with her, I really was just fine with dropping her off. The connection we had was intriguing to me and I planned on asking her out again.

  “Thank you, Joe,” she said before turning back toward me. “Thank you for the ride home.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m happy to do it. I really wouldn’t feel right just putting you in a cab. You should give me your number too, so I can call you and arrange our real first date.”

  “No, I think I’ll give you that later,” Julia said as she slid onto my lap and hiked her dress up and over her thighs. Instantly I was aroused and ready to slide inside of her. Knowing that there was only a small bit of fabric between my body and hers was exciting, but I wasn’t trying to have sex with her that night. The plan was simple, get her number, drop her off, and give her a kickass goodnight kiss.

  “I had an amazing time tonight,” I said between kisses.

  Her lips pressed erotically against mine and she pulled in a deep breath while we played with one another. I tried not to concentrate on the feeling of her hips slightly moving on top of me. I wasn’t going to be able to hold out for much longer. There was only so much a man could do.

  As we pulled up to her apartment Joe came around and opened the door so I could walk Julia up to her apartment. Julia climbed out of the car first and whispered something in Joe’s ear before heading to the front door to get it unlocked.

  “What did she say?” I laughed as Joe shut the door.

  “That I wouldn’t be needed anymore tonight.” Joe gave me a knowing smile.

  Apparently, I was sleeping over.

  Chapter 3

  Julia

  Mike was going to be mine. I should have said something to him about who I was, but I just couldn’t ruin our night. It didn’t matter. I’d fantasized about him for so long and now I was going to have him. We probably wouldn’t see or talk to each other again, but at least I would have one fun night to remember. I wasn’t even sure if he was still talking to my brother Rob at all.

  “I had a great evening,” Mike said as we got off the elevator on my floor and walked toward my apartment.

  “Yes, it was really fun. More than I was expecting.”

  “Oh, so you weren’t expecting me to be fun?” He laughed and raised an eyebrow at me.

  “I think you have far exceeded what I thought you were like,” I knew I’d said too much when he looked at me with a slightly cocked head. How would I of had expectations for a man I’d just met. Dang. I had let it out of the bag; he was going to see through this whole thing. I leaned in to kiss him in an effort to distract him from any thoughts regarding what I’d just said.

  He grabbed my hips and pulled me toward him as he found a way to wedge us both in between the doorway. If he had figured out that we really did know each other, he wasn’t saying anything about it just yet. He looked down at me and smiled a little before taking my lips as if he’d had them a million times before.

  I was glad to be pressed up against the doorway since I felt my knees getting shaky and I likely wouldn’t have been standing without the support behind me. I liked kissing Mike. It was better than I’d fantasized about and yet I still felt like I was in a bit of a daze as I looked up at him when he pulled away a little.

  “Come in,” I managed to whisper.

  “Okay,” he replied without an argument at all. His hazel eyes glistened with desire as the light from the hallway flickered above us.

  “We can have a night cap,” I suggested in an effort to hide my desire to take him straight to bed. Knowing that Mike was a decent guy took away the normal trepidation I had about bringing a man to my house. I knew him well enough to know he wasn’t going to hurt me or doing anything crazy; he was a good guy, he was the perfect fling for me.

  Who was this person that I’d become though? I wasn’t the sort of girl who lied to guys and took them home. Normally, on the rare occasion that I wanted to take a guy home, or go home with him, I didn’t lie to get my way. Something had come over me and I just knew he wouldn’t want to sleep with me if he knew who I really was. He’d balk at the fact that he knew my brother or that he knew me when I was younger and none of that should matter. We clearly had a connecti
on and that was real; the rest of it didn’t matter.

  “Sure, let’s have a night cap,” Mike agreed.

  I turned around and fumbled with my keys as I tried to get into my apartment. Normally, even with some alcohol in my system, I didn’t have a problem getting into my door. But on this night there was an extremely handsome man with a throbbing body part pressed up against me. He hands slid around and under my skirt hemline as he kissed my neck. None of this was helping me as I tried to concentrate on sliding the key into the hole. His fingers moved up my thighs and then all the way to my stomach as he took in the touch of my bare skin. My lacy black panties were exposed as my ass pressed up against him.

  “Hey now, I need to concentrate,” I teased.

  “I’ll help,” he offered and took the key from me.

  He didn’t help at all. Instead, Mike held onto the key while he continued to kiss my neck and drive me wild. I could hardly stand still as my body longed to have him. I pressed my hips back against him and leaned my neck into his kisses. The touch of his fingers on my bare skin made me want him more and more. I couldn’t take this anticipation much longer. I was dripping with excitement.

  “You’re not even trying to open the door,” I said softly.

  “Oh, sorry,” he laughed.

  With one quick movement he had the key in the door and swung the door open. He wrapped me up in his arms and flipped me around to face him as the door shut behind us. The quick movement made me giggle at first, until I saw the serious nature of his desire.

  I dropped my bag and he dropped the keys as our hands thrust onto one another and started to remove our clothes. My fingers shook with excitement while pulling his shirt off and then sliding up and down his amazingly defined chest. How was it possible that a human could look so perfect? Guys like Mike weren’t usually the ones I went for. I didn’t trust a guy who looked that good; surely they were just sleeping around and having their way with every hot girl that came around. I was more comfortable with Mike than I would have been if I truly had just met him that evening. But Mike didn’t know that was why I was comfortable with him. Perhaps he thought I was just full of self confidence? Or maybe he believed I was the sort of girl who just brought men home right away?