Into The Fire - E. L. Todd Page 0,19
open on its own.
“Let’s go back to my place,” I said. “We’ll figure it out in the morning.”
“It’s okay. I can crash with a friend.”
“And wake them?” I asked. “Just stay with me.”
Hesitance was in her eyes.
“It’s not a problem. I can play guitar until you fall asleep.”
Gratitude moved into her eyes. “You really don’t mind?”
“Not at all,” I said. “Why wouldn’t I want a beautiful woman to spend the night with me?” I winked so she knew I was kidding.
“Well…thanks.” She slapped her forehead. “I feel so stupid losing my keys.”
“I do it all the time.”
“I tend to lose things pretty often. It’s what I’m known for.”
“You can be known for worse things.” I hooked my arm around her waist then guided her down the hallway.
“I guess that’s true.”
“For instance, I’m known for my cockiness—but you already knew that.”
She laughed. “You can’t miss it.”
We left the building then walked back the way we came. I kept my arm around her so she wouldn’t be cold. Normally, guys would stare at a woman like her walking down the street, but with me by her side, they didn’t even look.
They would be stupid to.
“You’re warm.”
“I’m always warm. That’s why I hate summer.”
“Well, everyone hates summer in New York. It’s pretty humid.”
“I’ve always wanted to move to Alaska…”
“Are you serious?”
“Partially. I really like it there.”
“But…isn’t it cold all the time?”
“And beautiful,” I said. “I was stationed there for a few months. It’s quiet. I liked it.”
“Did you see a lot of wildlife?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe. Polar bears, narwhals, you name it.”
“Cool,” she said.
“When I retire, I want to get a place somewhere up in the mountains.”
“Sounds lonely.”
“Friends will visit. I love the city but the peace and quiet is what I really crave.”
She kept walking beside me.
“You’ll visit me, right?”
“Am I invited?” She smiled like she was amused.
“Yeah, I’ll teach you how to fly fish.”
“I doubt you could teach me anything,” she said with a laugh. “I’m not that coordinated.”
“Give yourself some credit. You learned to strip, didn’t you?”
Offense moved into her eyes.
“I didn’t mean that in a bad way,” I said quickly. “Dancing on a pole and spinning around and shit looks hard. You didn’t learn that in a day.”
“My arms were so toned…”
“I bet they were. So, let me teach you to fly fish.”
“I’ll think about it…”
We reached my building then walked back into my apartment.
“You can have the bed.”
“Is it clean?” she asked.
“Clean enough for me.” What kind of question was that?
“I’ll stick with the couch…”
“Honestly, that’s probably more dirty.” I gave her a knowing look.
“Okay…the bed it is.”
I chuckled. “I just washed the sheets yesterday and I haven’t had time to get them dirty so you should be fine.”
“I feel bad making you sleep on the couch.”
“Don’t,” I said. “I’m used to sleeping on a tiny bunk in a room with a hundred other dudes. I can handle it for a night. Besides, if I shared the bed with you, you’d be all over me.”
She rolled her eyes. “I would not.”
“As soon as the shirt comes off, you’ll be pining for me. It always happens that way.”
“Are you really that cocky or do you just act that way?”
“I’ll let you be the judge of that.” I gave her a quick smolder before I walked into the bedroom and grabbed a pillow and tossed it on the couch.
“What about a blanket?”
“I don’t need a blanket. I usually sleep in the nude.”
“TMI…”
“Like you don’t want to see my dick piercing.”
She grabbed the pillow and swatted me in the face with it. “Get a grip, man.”
“What?” I asked with a laugh. I snatched the pillow from her then hit her back gently. “You want to fight? I promise you’ll lose.”
She stood absolutely still with a look on her face that said, “A pillow fight is the stupidest thing in the world.” Then she quickly dashed into the bedroom as fast as she could.
“Oh, I don’t think so.” I followed after her with my pillow in hand.
She snatched the other pillow off my bed and swung at me, hitting me right in the face. Getting hit by a pillow isn’t as soft as you might think. With enough power and strength, it could be uncomfortable.
“You little—”
“Little what?” She smacked me again in the shoulder.
I aimed the pillow at her thigh and hit her gently but with enough force that it wasn’t totally pathetic. “You talk a lot of shit, you know that?”
“Is that all you can do?” She hit me hard in