He nodded in understanding, gesturing for another round when our glasses were empty. “How is it working with your brother?”
“It’s not too bad, actually. We don’t work directly together too much. He works more with R&D while I run the behind the scenes. Besides, if he gets too bossy, I’ll just tell Mom on him.”
Daniel’s head tipped back, exposing the thick ridge of his Adam’s apple, letting loose a loud, boisterous laugh. It somehow managed to not get lost in the crowd, but instead, wrap around me like a warm hug. It was relaxing—comforting.
“Why don’t we go make a selection?” he asked once he’d settled down.
I downed my tequila like a shot and nodded my head, unable to actually agree aloud.
Another couple had just finished with an iPad, leaving Daniel and me alone in the back hall. He tapped the screen, filling out information until finally, we came to the dreaded list of my worst nightmares.
“Anything you want or don’t want?”
“No talking,” I muttered around my thumbnail.
“Okay.” He clicked a few more buttons before stepping back. “How do these look?”
Passionate. Gentle. No talking.
Good. They were good.
Boring.
God, he was going to get so bored. I’d be a ball of nerves, and he’d probably yawn on the couch. What if we never did this again, and it didn’t even work because I’d played it too simple? What if I never got a chance to watch again? Would I regret being safe?
No. I needed to be cautious because one thing that would make this beyond awkward would be a panic attack. Bored was fine. This wasn’t for him. It was for me.
Yet, before I turned away, I clicked one more box.
Oral sex – female receiving.
“Good choice,” he praised.
He finished up on the screen and stood in the middle of my pacing path, forcing me to stop and look at him. He didn’t touch me, but he did bend at the knees so he could meet my eyes.
“We can leave at any point. I can leave at any point. Just say the word.” I nodded like a bobblehead, gnawing the last bit of my nail off. “Even if you need a little alone time to yourself,” he said with a wink, his lips slowly lifting.
It took only a moment before his meaning hit me. I knew what he was trying to do, and it worked. I dropped my arms and huffed a laugh. “Oh my god.”
His smile grew until he was almost laughing. “I’m just saying.”
I slapped his shoulder, and in a dark hallway at a live porn club, with a man I didn’t know very well, I relaxed. I bantered and joked. For a second, I almost felt like the old me. The one who used sarcasm like a sword—who always made the dirtiest jokes, who wasn’t scared.
Then the bracelet vibrated, bringing any laughter to a screeching halt. I held up my arm to show him it was time.
“Do you want another drink? I know more than two is against the rules, but I know the owner.”
Another laugh, but I shook my head. More alcohol may relax me, but it may also lower my guard in a bad way, and I’d flip out. Better to be tense, than panicking.
“I’m okay. Lead the way.”
He nodded to the big, hulking man outside the door and let me walk through first. It was a different room but set up the same as the last. The scene beyond the window was the same, but the colors were different. Instead of a blue comforter, there was a white one. The headboard was grey instead of wrought iron.
Turning away from the window, I made my way to the same black leather couch, perching on the edge, but prying myself away from the corner. Daniel flipped the switch and casually sat less than a cushion away from me, bringing his ankle to his knee.
“Is this okay?”
I nodded quickly.
“Do you want to sit back? It may help to relax your muscles a bit if you’re not on the edge of running the whole time.” Before I could say I wanted to be ready to run, he held up his hands. “I promise to help you if you need to run. I’ll slingshot you toward the door faster than you can get up.”
Somehow, another laugh slipped free, and I relaxed my spine one vertebrae at a time until my back pressed against the smooth leather.
The door to the other room cracked open, and a man pushed through. He was tall and built under slacks and a white button-up. He looked like Daniel plucked him from a GQ magazine to perform for us. What really caught my attention was the look of adoration he had for the petite woman he towed behind him.
She smiled shyly up through long lashes, letting him walk backward, leading her to the bed. When his legs hit the mattress, he stayed upright and reeled her in, brushing her hair aside and stroking her cheek, her neck. He leaned down, caressed his nose along hers. They breathed the same air for what ran on like an eternity until I felt like I was back on the edge of the couch, begging for them to just do it.