Katie Ashley - Beat of the Heart

AJ rubbed his palms together. “Then let me take your cougar virginity.”

I laughed. “You’re not letting this go, are you?”

“Nope. I’m going to keep on and on until I wear you down, and you finally go out with me.”

“Seriously?”

“Mia, Mia, Mia, what am I going to do with you?”

“I’m sure you have several NC-17 rated scenarios running through your mind at this moment.”

Throwing his head back, AJ laughed heartily. “Yep, I do actually. But all joking aside, do I really need to continue pleading my case? I just brought you gift shop flowers for Christ sake!”

“That’s true.”

“Can I shoot straight with you?”

Tilting my head thoughtfully, I replied, “I think after I gave your junk a rubdown, we can be pretty honest with each other.”

AJ groaned. “Don’t remind me of that.” When I opened my mouth, he wagged a finger in my face. “And before you can demean it, I did enjoy it.”

“Fabulous.”

“Anyway. Here’s how I see it. We’re both young, single people needing a ‘date’—be it a romantic interlude or hot, sweaty sex.”

I turned a strangled cry into a cough. “That’s certainly not beating around the bush.”

“The time for subtlety has gone, Mia.”

“I see.”

AJ closed the gap between us. I stepped away from him until my back banged against the wall. Looming over me, AJ’s dark eyes twinkled with intensity. “You were totally shit-on by a major dickhead and need to get back in the game. The easiest way to do that is no-holds bar, uncomplicated sex. Don’t you agree?”

That statement got my blood up and thrumming through my veins. “Yes,” I whispered.

“Finally we see eye to eye on something. It’s a win-win situation for both of us. You get to fuck that douchebag of an ex-fiancé out of your system, and I get laid in the process.”

“How generous of you.”

AJ laughed. “I’m a very giving person—of myself, my time…of orgasms .”

“I’m sure you are.”

“Then it’s a date?”

“It’s a maybe right now because I have a few conditions.”

“Such as?”

“Being a famous musician, I would wager you’ve gotten around a lot.”

AJ’s lips curved up into his signature smirk. “Regardless of your comment back in Frank’s room, you don’t have to worry about my stamina, cariño. I’ll give you a night you’ll never forget.”

I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. “Yeah, that’s not what I was talking about.”

“Then what?”

Leaning closer to him, I said, “If I were to take you up on your offer, I would want you to get tested before I slept with you.”

AJ’s jaw dropped to his chest. “Are you serious?”

“Dead serious. You wanted to know if I was free this weekend, and the major tests only take forty-eight hours to come back.” When he didn’t respond, I replied, “I’ll be happy to do the same.”

A curious expression replaced the scowl on AJ’s face. “Does that mean I’ll be riding bareback if my tests come back clean?”

My brows furrowed in confusion. “Huh?”

“You know, sex without a condom.”

“Um, no, I don’t think so.”

“And why the hell not?”

“Well, if you must know, I can’t take birth control because of the migraines I have. So we would need the protection.”

“Ah, I see. Bummer.”

“Take it or leave it, big boy.”

AJ grinned. “I’ll take it.”

“Good.”

“So we’re on for Friday night?”

My heartbeat accelerated in my chest while I fought to catch my breath. Was I actually going down this road? Sex with a stranger? Well, a man who was basically a stranger to me but well known to everyone else—lots of females included. I thought of Mama Sofia and how dead inside I’d been since her passing. That coupled with Dev’s infidelity had crippled me. I wanted—no I needed—to feel alive again.

“Yes,” I finally replied.

AJ clapped his hands together. “All right then. How about I pick you up for dinner around seven?”

My brows furrowed. “Oh, you actually want to go out?”

He snickered. “You really think I’m a ‘wham, bam, thank you ma’am’ kinda guy, huh?”

I lifted one of my shoulders. “I just figured since this date was about sex—”

“First of all, I’d never take you straight to bed—only assholes with no game do that. Second, for you, this is about experiencing life again.”

“And that includes dinner?”

“Yes, ma’am it does, along with something else thrown in just for kicks.”

I found myself smiling. “Okay, then. That sounds nice.”

“Gotta pen?”

“Sure.” I reached into my pocket and handed him one. He took the Get Well Soon card from my other hand. “What’s your number?” Once I gave it to him, he grinned. “I’ll text you for the directions to pick you up, okay?”

“Okay,” I replied as he handed me back the pen.

“Mia, I’m glad you finally decided to take me up on my offer.”

“Me too,” I replied honestly. Of course, I sounded a lot more sure of myself than I felt. Inside, I was on a Merry-Go-Round of emotions.

When AJ leaned closer to me, an intense fire burning in his eyes, I jerked back. He grinned at my reaction. “Easy girl. Just a chaste good-bye kiss,” he whispered, his breath fanning over my cheek.

“Sorry.”

His warm lips pressed a tender kiss on my cheek, rather than my lips. When he pulled away, he winked. “I’ll make sure to ply you with a little alcohol on Friday night to make sure you’re not so skittish.”

Shaking my head, I pushed him playfully. “Whatever.”

“I’ll be back to see Frank, so maybe I’ll see you before then.”

“Maybe so.”

Walking backwards down the hall to Frank’s room, he wiggled his fingers at me. “Bye Mia.”

Shifting the flowers, I waved back. “Bye AJ.” Once he disappeared back into Frank’s room, I exhaled the breath I’d been holding. As I walked into the station, Dee greeted me with a grin that stretched from cheek to cheek.

“Hellz to the yes! Mama Mia’s gettin’ back in the game!” he exclaimed, before doing a little happy dance.

“Yeah, nothing like extreme peer pressure from your bestie along with an overly persistent guy to make it happen.”

“This is going to be epic!” Dee gyrated his hips as he danced over to me. “You need to make an appointment for hair and nails ASAP.” His gaze dropped below my waist. “And I’m thinking a bikini wax as well. Don’t wanna be welcoming Mr. Latin Lover to the jungle.”

“You ass!” I cried before smacking his shoulder. My outrage only fueled him on, and two of our other shift partners broke into hysterics when he started twerking in front of me.

“Thanks. I think I need some bleach for my eyes now,” I groaned.

Slinging an arm around my shoulder, Dee gave my cheek a smacking kiss. “I’m proud of you, baby girl. I think this is exactly what you need…and more.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“You gotta have faith,” he mused.

I wagged a finger at him. “So help me God if you start doing a George Michael ass swish in front of me like in the Faith video, I’m going to request a transfer for you.”

He pursed his lips. “Don’t be hatin’ on my mad dancing skills.”

“Let’s get back to work, shall we?” I prompted before grabbing a chart.

Friday night found me wine glass in hand, stomach twisted in knots, and pacing back and forth in my bedroom. Standing in front of Mama Sofia’s antique mirror, I once again gazed at my reflection. Dee, along with my best girlfriend, Shannon, had insisted on taking me shopping at Lennox earlier in the day. Everything in my closet that was dressy or sexy had too many Dev memories attached to them. I needed a whole new ensemble for my big splash back into the dating world.