Mister Moneybags(17)
Rock hard and totally fucked, I was in no way prepared to lose this girl anytime soon. One thing was undeniable: the sexual chemistry between Jay and Bianca was off the charts. And I wasn’t ready to let Dex ruin it just yet until I had a better feel for what her reaction might be if and when I told her the truth. This time spent with her was possibly all I would ever have. Jay needed to exist just a little while longer.
She cleared her throat and said, “Well, I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Neither was I, but you’re making me a little crazy, Bianca.”
It dawned on me that I hadn’t been making much of an effort to get to know her better tonight, hadn’t asked any personal questions throughout dinner. That was partly because I was ill-prepared to talk about myself as Jay. Dex had spent so much time getting to know her intimately that Jay apparently felt he knew everything he needed to.
It would have seemed like I was uninterested if I didn’t pry into her personal life at least a little bit. So, I spent the next several minutes asking her about her childhood, her last relationship, her career—things I already knew.
I did my best to answer the questions she threw at me, but the more we talked, the more I was feeling extremely guilty for letting this charade go on.
Bianca had a hungry look in her eyes. She was most definitely attracted to me, and I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be needing many wooden sculptures to get into her pants. That was messed up. Dex was pissed at Jay for even thinking about fucking her. And Jay was annoyed at Dex for judging him for thoughts that came naturally. Perhaps, Dex and Jay should have both called ahead to secure some space at the insane asylum.
From the food to the kissing, dinner was phenomenal.
Once we returned to the Jeep, she turned to me and smiled. “It’s time. I want my present now.”
“I guess I did things a little ass backwards tonight, huh?” Reaching into the glove compartment, I actually felt nervous about it. Handing the wooden figurine to her, I said, “This…is for you.”
Bianca covered her mouth. “Oh, my God! Is this a goat?”
“Yep, a billy goat.”
She marveled at it. “Look at all of the detail. I can’t believe you did this.”
Neither could I.
“Look at the horns!” She laughed.
“Well, I’m a horny kind of guy.”
She rolled her eyes.
I winked. “You like it?”
“Yes! I would really love to see you in action at some point. Watch you whittle.”
Ugh.
“Yeah. Maybe. It’s something I kind of do by myself to relieve stress. I’ve never done it in front of an audience before. I’ll have to work up to that.”
“Well, clearly, based on the state of your fingers, it’s not easy.”
“Yes. Harder than you think.”
“That makes what you carved for me even more special. Thank you.”
Guilt was suddenly consuming me. “You’re welcome, Bianca.”
I stared out the window for a bit, trying to snap myself out of the shitty feeling. “Where would you like to go next?”
“I have to be home by ten forty-five, actually.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I have some work I have to do.”
“Work?”
“It’s actually my ongoing interview with Dexter Truitt. It’s via online chat.”
I sucked in my jaw. “Mister Moneybags?”
“Yeah. Rather than one sit-down interview, he’s scheduled me in during the evenings. Eleven each night, Monday through Friday. I guess that time works best for him.”
“So, you have to bend over backwards to accommodate his schedule?”
Two things were wrong with that question. One: I was making Dex look bad. Two: I was getting hard thinking about her bending over backwards with her legs open for Dex. Again…fucked up.
“Actually, it’s worked out well to have a set time at night. His daytime schedule is too full. It won’t be forever. My deadline is coming up at the end of the month.”
Funny you should say that. So is mine.
“Okay, well, we have at least an hour before I have to drop you home. What would you like to do?”
“Honestly? I would love to see where you live, if it’s not too far from me in SoHo. Maybe have a cup of coffee.”
“Really?”
“I hope asking to go to your apartment doesn’t sound too presumptuous.”
“No. Not at all.”
The reality of how far I’d taken this Jay lie really hit me in the moment. Knowing that my alter-ego was going to need a place to take Bianca to, I had rented a furnished apartment through an agency on a month-to-month agreement. How had I gotten myself here? If what I’d done ever came out, it was going to sound dirty—like I’d rented a fuck pad somewhere. When the truth of the matter was, I was inexplicably crazy about this woman and kept digging myself deeper in an attempt to buy more time with her. The entire thing made no sense to me, how would I ever get her to understand that down deep I’d done all this with the best of intentions.