“Congratulations. That’s quite impressive.”
“Thanks. So, what about you?” Somehow, she couldn’t imagine him as anything but a mummy. His short dark hair was invisible beneath the wrappings. The only part of him she could see was his eyes. Well, those and his near-perfect teeth. Seriously. Did the wrappings make them look whiter? Did he use whitening strips? She bit back the temptation to ask.
Just be cool.
Be cool.
“I’m in legal services,” he told her, but before she could ask, he leaned down to whisper to her. “But what I do is not nearly as interesting as what I would like to do…to you.”
She blushed and pulled back, slightly embarrassed at his advances. She thought he was charming, sure, but was this the kind of situation that she wanted to get into? Was this what she really wanted to take a chance on right now?
“You seem a little nervous,” he told her, “but that’s okay. It’s normal. I know that this,” he waved his arm at the room around him, “is a lot to take in at once.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely not really what I was expecting,” she said, allowing a small smile to play on her face. “But then again, is it really living if you never try anything new?” She couldn’t help but wonder what was beneath his mummy form. More importantly, would she get to see it? Was he into sex with the costume on? Did he want to be unwrapped? How did it all work?
“Does that mean you’re ready to try something new, Kayla?”
“Maybe. Can I think about it for a little while?”
“Kayla, you take all the time that you need.”
FOUR
He wasn’t asking for a relationship.
Neither was Kayla.
It was just sex.
It was just going to be one steamy, hot, weird, passionate night, right?
So why was Kayla so nervous about jumping into bed with Bruce? Anne had vouched for him. He was clean, he was polite, and he was fairly kindhearted. He was hot. At least, she thought he probably was. It had been tough to tell beneath the wrappings. But either way, he wasn’t going to knock her up and then never call her again. He wasn’t going to give her some weird disease. He was fine. He was experienced.
She stared at her phone, wondering if she should text him.
Maybe not just yet.
Maybe it was too soon.
Meeting Bruce last night had been fantastic. Kayla had genuinely enjoyed chatting with him and getting to see everyone dressed up at Bitter Jupiter. That didn’t mean that she was ready for a relationship with a guy into fetishes, though.
It didn’t mean she was ready for this.
She glanced at the clock. It was time for work. She showered quickly, pulled her hair into a neat bun, and splattered on some makeup. While she typically put more effort into her appearance, Kayla just wasn’t feeling it today.
She still looked good. She just didn’t look great. She looked tired, worn down.
Today she just wanted to survive work, so she could come home and find a way to get her mind off of things.
She marched into the office with a plastered smile on her face that only had to last until her lunch break. Then, she told herself, then she could crack if she needed to. During lunch she could hide in her car and smoke a cigarette or just cry alone for a few minutes.
But she had to pull herself together until then.
Kevin couldn’t see her being a hot mess at work. She had fought hard for this promotion. So what if she felt overwhelmed? Feeling like you were drowning came with the job. Isn’t that how everyone felt at work? Either hopelessly bored or hopelessly helpless?
Kayla slid into her chair and stared at the pile of paperwork on her desk.
She took a deep breath and stared at the tiny clock mounted on her wall.