Marrying Mr. Wrong (Dirty Martini Running Club #3) - Claire Kingsley Page 0,40

at this.

Cox: You’re doing just fine. You’re on the bed and I roll you over. I want those tits.

Me: Sports bras aren’t sexy to get off. Let’s pretend it has a zipper.

Cox: Good, I like that. I’ll lower it with my teeth.

Me: What do you do with them once they’re free?

Cox: Oh, sugar. I treat ’em right. Lick. Suck. Squeeze. That feel good?

Me: So good.

Cox: I can keep going if you want.

God, what was I doing? I shouldn’t want this fantasy to turn real, but my body wasn’t interested in what I should or shouldn’t want. My nipples hardened and warm pressure pooled in my core.

It would feel good.

So good.

It had been a long time.

Except maybe Vegas, but I wasn’t counting that because I wasn’t sure what had actually happened.

I took a deep breath. No, I needed to cool this down.

Me: You know we’re just playing, Cox.

Cox: I know, sugar. Have a good run.

I deposited my phone in my purse and went back to my breakfast. I’d text Nora later. I clearly couldn’t be trusted with my phone right now.

Dad finished up and it lightened my heart to see him in such a good mood. I paid the bill and he didn’t even complain. He tucked his glasses and pencil in his shirt pocket and got up. Then we made our way outside.

The restaurant was on the outskirts of downtown, not far from Seattle Center. I was following Dad toward my car when a woman across the street caught my eye. She had one hand on her hip, a phone in the other, and everything about her body language shouted I’m annoyed.

Why did I recognize her? She was older than me, maybe late forties or so, with platinum blond hair and stylish clothes. Very pretty but also kind of… severe.

I glanced at her again as I held the passenger door for Dad. That’s right, she’d been at Cox’s office. The woman who’d burst into the room during his meeting with Mr. Calloway. Althea McLellan.

She hadn’t seemed very friendly then, and now she was shedding enough negative vibes into the universe to darken the sky with black rainclouds. So I didn’t wave or try to say hello.

I took Dad home, then went back to my apartment to change. Nora texted to make sure I was coming. I donned my running clothes and made sure to wear panties. And my sports bra did not have a zipper. Not that I dug through my drawer to see if I had one that did.

Fine, I did look.

But it was only out of curiosity because a sports bra with a zipper would be easier to get in and out of. It had nothing to do with replaying our brief text game in my mind and wondering what it would be like if it actually came true.

Clouds had rolled in on the tail end of our run, but the rain held off. We slowed to a walk to cool down, although we hadn’t been going very fast. Lately we kept our pace to a light jog to accommodate Everly’s pregnancy. Her doctor had assured her she could jog as long as she felt up to it, but not to push it too hard.

I didn’t mind the slower pace. My friends and I had trained for, and finished, a half-marathon together. It had been a great experience and maybe I’d do another one again someday. But for now, I enjoyed the simplicity of getting some exercise and spending time with my friends.

And the noted absence of the Bedazzled Bitches, a group of mean girls who used to run here too. We hadn’t seen them since we’d kicked their asses at the half-marathon.

Thinking about that made me smile.

“Good job, ladies,” Everly said, brushing a tendril of blond hair off her forehead. Her cheeks were a healthy shade of pink and her baby bump was the cutest thing ever.

“Agreed.” Hazel adjusted her glasses. “That was quite invigorating.”

“You know what would be really invigorating?” Nora asked. Her dark hair was in a thick, bouncy ponytail. “A man who can find my clit without fumbling around for ten minutes.”

I laughed. “Date last night didn’t end as well as you’d hoped?”

“It was such a disappointment. And I thought he had so much potential.”

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” Everly said.

“At least he learned a little something,” Nora said. “The next girl will thank me.”

We took a few minutes to stretch next to our cars, then walked across the street to Brody’s and picked a table