Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend Read online

  “Yes, I am getting my bachelors in teaching. My dream is to be a dancer or singer on stage. Broadway would be great, but I like keeping my shit firmly in reality and I doubt I’ll ever get out of here and get on a stage. So, gotta go for something within reach. I’m going to be a math teacher. I’d like to teach Algebra but this last stretch will be hard. I’m almost finished doing my intern-1, which is where I teach part-time at a school and get no pay. Then next semester I will be teaching full-time, unpaid and then I’ll graduate and I can be a teacher.”

  “See, we already have things in common.”

  “Yes, now. I’m curious as to the ‘provide for you sexually’ part. That sounds interesting.”

  She was blushing really hard when she said that and I kind of liked it.

  Her blush was something else. Her eyes looked past me, widened, and her face flamed almost to a deep shade of maroon. I turned to see the waiter standing there with a ‘Did she really just say what I think she just said?’ type look.

  I turned to him, smirked and said, “Yeah, dude. You heard her just fine.”

  5

  Scarlet

  What. An. Idiot. I laughed it off, turned, and shook my hair to hide my humiliation. I can say that was the most embarrassing moment of my life. Dax made it worse but saying, ‘yeah, you heard just fine’. Asshat.

  However, I was curious. I mean, what kind of guy says stuff like that? He only picked women who provided for him sexually? That was all kinds of creepy or too Mr. Grey. Yeah, I read Fifty Shades of Grey. Great series, but this guy into that kinda stuff? I don’t know how I felt about that. I was a virgin like any other so I don’t know much except from what I read in books. Well, and from the toy Tiffany insisted I take from her. A few kisses from guys I dated but when they figured I wouldn’t give them more than what they wanted, that’s all that seemed to happen. Kisses. Never any hand holding or dating that went beyond movies and an occasional dinner. I often paid for my half, too.

  I figured I’d end up paying for my late night dinner now, so I made sure to order something small.

  “And what’ll you have, ma’am?”

  I looked over the menu quickly and knew I wasn’t going to get much so I just replied, “I’ll have two pancakes, and three slices of bacon please.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The guy turned and walked some feet away when Dax whistled and said, “Hold up.” Then he turned to me and said, “Is that all you’re eating? You’re not hungry? I doubt you ate at work and I know sometimes a lot of people don’t eat very much before work so why don’t you get something that’ll fill you up more?”

  “No, Dax. That’s okay.”

  Then, naturally, my stomach rumbled, letting him know I was hungrier than a few pancakes and bacon.

  “Order something that’ll fill you up, Pixie. You can’t just eat that. You look hungry.”

  “Is that a fat remark?”

  He wiped his hand down his face with exasperation. He turned to the waiter and said, “She’ll have a split decision, eggs over easy, bacon, sausage, no powdered sugar on the French toast. Thank you.” Then he waved the waiter off before turning back to me.

  “Hey! You can’t order for me like that.”

  “Yes, I can. And I did. Get over it. You need to eat a full meal so when you get home, you can rest with a full belly.”

  “I said-

  “Scarlet. Stop.”

  I put my fists underneath the table and clenched them tight. Ooh, I really wanted to strangle him. Who did he think he was getting all caveman-boss on me?

  “Caveman.”

  He put his feet down on the floor, turned to me and smirked.

  “Sorry. So, a teacher huh? I could totally see you as one. Especially when the kids get bad, and you get out your ruler and smack their hands all teacher-disciplinary-like.”

  That took the anger right out of me. Silly scenario.

  “I think that’s like, old fashioned. Like, maybe fifty years ago type teaching. I don’t plan on smacking hands with a ruler. So barbaric. Are you an accountant for people or businesses?”

  “Businesses. I mainly work at one place, but I often do others. Like I told you, I don’t have many friends, and if I’m not working out, having se-“, he stopped mid-word when he looked at me with uncertainty.

  “You can say it, Dax. Having sex. You have a lot of sex, right?”

  He started having a coughing fit. I thumped him on the back a few times and he murmured, “Yes.”

  “It’s okay. It’s not a problem for me if you say you have a lot of that. How old are you?”

  “Old enough. And yes, I have a lot of sex but it’s not like I have tons of partners. Get that out of your head. I am choosy when it comes to my partners.”

  “Which I am not in, so that’s cool. You can tell me if you want. Are you like Christian Grey?”

  “Who?”

  “Christian Grey. As in Fifty Shades? They are turning it into a movie.”

  He just looked at me like I was stupid. That or he had no idea what I was talking about. I hated explaining this stuff. I looked around just in case anyone was close enough to listen, and leaned into Dax and whispered. “BDSM type stuff.”

  “Ha-ha! You can say that. But I don’t sodomize women. They do everything willingly, and they love it.”

  “Then, I’m definitely not your type.”

  “I know, but that’s okay, Pixie. You do still make my dick hard though,” he placed his hand behind me on the chair and had started twirling a small chunk around his finger.

  God, the stuff he says made me so flabbergasted.

  “So why are we even-? You know. Here?”

  “For some reason, I want to hang with you. You’re a beautiful girl, smart and the fact you said you won’t sleep with me is something I admire.”

  “Huh. Okay. So what type am I, if I’m not your type?”

  “Oh, just by looking at you? Well, when I saw your truck, it seemed like you’re a little princess. That type of truck costs money to maintain-

  “Stop right there, buddy.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Yeah. I’m gonna interrupt you. Listen, Dax. I am not some little princess. Everything I have, I’ve had to work really hard for. That truck, was my grandfathers and after he died, before I was born, my Nana kept it in prime condition. That was his baby. My Nana respected that, kept it that way and when she gave it to me to use for school, and work, I promised myself I would keep it the same. I’m not rich. Far from it, actually. I guess I deserve that though for judging you like I did. But you never denied it, so.”

  I opened my hands in a ‘what do you want me to say’ gesture and looked away from him.

  “Cause most of it is true except for the friends. I don’t get close to people.”

  “Even the girls you go out with?”

  “I don’t ‘go out’ with girls. We fuck. And no, they know the score when they get with me.”

  I thought about what he said for a minute. I liked how he was honest and I didn’t mind it if he was crass or crude. It just seemed natural for him.

  “And you think you’re gonna have sex with me?”

  He turned my way, his eyes skimming over my body, landing on my chest. The look in his eyes made me feel naked. It was like molten lava. Little pulses of excitement ran through my veins and without will of my own, my breasts felt heavy underneath his gaze and responded to him by hardening into tight, and painful points.

  Even though he said I wasn’t his type and I said I wasn’t going to sleep with him, didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate a man looking at me the way he was looking at me right now.

  I didn’t have to look down to see them when I saw his nose flare and his mouth open slightly.

  “I think…”

  “Here you go, y’all.” Our food was set down, and she asked if we needed anything else. But she wasn’t looking at me. Her eyes had been glued on Dax, just trying to get him to notice her. But he just kept looking
at my boobs.

  “Uh. Dax?” His tongue swiped over his lips then he looked up at me. His stare was making me squirm in my seat, but I couldn’t look away. I liked how he looked at me. My core felt hot, and I could feel my arousal seep down to my panties. No one has ever made me feel like this. Wanton and needy. My breath caught. I didn’t want to be another sexual conquest for him though. I couldn’t deny though that what I felt pooling down in the pit of my stomach was pure lust and desire.

  “Yeah?” His voice became hoarse and thick as he spoke. I nodded my head towards the waiter. He kept his eyes on me for longer than what was comfortable, like he didn’t want anything interrupting his eye-fucking. That’s the only way I could describe that look. He was undressing me with his eyes and I could just imagine his hands running over the curves of my body. Teasing the flesh to his every demand.

  The waiter cleared her throat with irritation. Then Dax’s eyes changed, turning hard as he looked up at the pretty waitress.

  “Where’s the guy that took our order?”

  “Oh. He had to go, it was the end of his shift. No worries, though. I’ll take real good care of you.” She was looking directly at Dax as if she was offering herself up on a platter with an apple stuffed in her mouth. As she said that, she had thrust out her chest. She was a tall, thin girl, pretty blue eyes and short brown hair.

  Dax snickered and brought me up close to his body where I ended up splayed half way on top of him. I didn’t get balanced, and had to stop myself from face planting on his lap (that would be too much humiliation in one day), so I put my hand down and holy. Mother. Of. Pearl. It landed right on his-GULP-erection.

  “Sorry.”

  He looked down at where my hand laid and when I started lifting my hand, he placed his on top and kept it there. My eyes widened, but he kissed my forehead and turned to the waitress. My hand flexed and his steel-hard member flexed right back. Oh, snap.

  “As you can see, I’m well taken care of. Just the check please.”

  The girl’s eyes shifted to where my hand was on his man-parts, she smirked, looked at me up and down and then back at Dax. “Sure thing, sweetie.” She said before walking away.

  “Dax.” His eyes softened a bit when he turned back to look at me.

  “Yeah, Pix?”

  “Uh. My hand? May I have it back?”

  He looked down to where my hand cupped around the erection inside his jeans and he just shrugged.

  “Whatever you want. I don’t mind. But first-.”

  He squeezed his hand on mine, and rubbed my hand down the hard length of him. A hiss of pleasure escaped from his lips.

  “Agh.” I yanked back my hand and said, “I thought I wasn’t your type!”

  “It’s looking like you are my type after all.”

  “I really don’t get you. I’m still not going to sleep with you.”

  “Yet.”

  I shuffled back so my back was against the wall and my body faced his. “There is no ‘yet’. I’m saving myself for the man I marry.”

  The fork he was eating with clattered to the plate. The smile he was expressing flattened and his eyes raised so high they almost disappeared in his hairline.

  “What do you mean? ‘Saving yourself for the man you’re going to marry’? Does that mean?”

  “Yes. It’s exactly what it means. You don’t have to broadcast it so everyone hears, you know.”

  “You’re a-you’re a-,” He was flapping his hands wildly in circular motions, trying to get out what I knew he was trying to say. The slore waitress was making her way back towards us when he was about to say virgin, so I slapped my hand over his mouth.

  “You say what you’re going to say and I’ll make you wish you were never born, Declan. Got me?”

  “But-,” the sound was muffled by my hand and it tickled my palm.

  “Here’s your check. Lemme know if you need anything else.”

  The waitress was still standing at the end of the table, waiting for what, I don’t know, but Dax was still looking at me with surprised shock. When he didn’t say anything to the girl, rude or not, I shook my head and told her, “Thank you.”

  She still didn’t move and I was getting irritated by the whole dang situation. I took my hand away from his mouth. I looked at Dax and his fish face. His mouth opened and closed, opened and closed.

  Just like he had when I met him last week. Like he was at a loss for words. I rather liked that.

  “Dax! The waitress.”

  He growled (yes, literally growled) and turned to her, “Leave us.” His voice was hard and commanding, but she left us alone, huffing on her way.

  “Scarlet,” he looked around us and then crowded in close to me and whispered, “Are you a virgin?”

  His face was inches from mine and my heart started racing uncontrollably.

  “Yes.” My voice was breathless. With Dax so close to me, I felt his breath skirt across my cheeks. “Dax?” It came out as a whisper and then he threw himself back in his seat.

  “Okay. Friends then.”

  “Friends?”

  “Yes. We’ll be friends then. You know? Hang out, go out to lunch or dinner. Movies. Call each other. Text. Stuff like that.”

  “You wanna be my friend?”

  “Yeah. I do.”

  I shifted myself in the seat. I had to look away from him. I’ve never had an actual friend to hang out with before. Especially a guy. This would be a whole new experience for me. What Dax was offering was nice. Right?

  It did sting though that as soon as he found me out I was still carrying my v-card, it was like ‘Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.’ Yada-blah-whatever. As if being a virgin is a turn-off. Like it was a freaking disease. I kinda wanted to say forget it. I didn’t want a friend out of pity.

  “Like we’re actually gonna hang out and crap?”

  He gave me a side eye glare of disgust and a frown.

  “What?”

  “Hang out and crap? I don’t hang out and crap.” He put his hands up in the air and used quotation marks when he said crap.

  “Whatever, Dax. You know what I meant.”

  “Why can’t you just accept it? Is there a problem with being my friend? I mean, your body and eyes sure say something different altogether, but if that’s the way you want it to be. Then I’ll have to learn to live with it. For now.”

  “No, there is no problem! I just never really had friends. No one’s ever met my Nana before. I keep to myself. I work. I go to school. There never seemed any time to just have friends. And for your information, my eyes and body don’t speak for me.”

  Yes, I did look at him as if I wanted more than just friendship, but I needed more time. This felt like it was going light-year fast. I could be his friend right now though. Slow and easy.

  In high school, I didn’t get close to anyone. Maybe fear of abandonment. Which in itself was just ridiculous. The only person who abandoned me was my mother, and if I remembered correctly, I didn’t cry when she left. Just a vast amount of relief. Even at age four.

  “Nana? Where are your parents? They dead?”

  Whoa. Did not expect him to be as blunt as that. Dax pushed his empty plate back, and propped his feet back on the cushion across from us.

  Sigh.

  “Worse. They are probably alive.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  I never spoke about my mother to anyone. Who knows who my father is? Marybeth never told me his name and I never asked when I was a kid.

  “You really want to know?”

  I had to ask. Just in case there was a way to avoid the subject-I would. I didn’t like talking about her. The only good thing she ever did was leave me in Nana’s care.

  “Yes. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to know, Scarlet. Is this a bad subject for you? Did they do something to you?”

  His voice turned into steel with the last few words. His jaw tightened and his hands clenched tight.

  “What could you do? Find them and
punish them? Ha.”

  His face snapped to mine with all seriousness and he was about to open his mouth when I continued. “No, they didn’t. I don’t know who my dad is. Marybeth never told me who he was and she dropped me off at Nana’s doorstep when I was four and the next morning she was gone. No bye. No love you. Ha. Like she ever said those words to me anyway.” I shrugged my shoulders, laughing without mirth and said, “Not even a letter. Just gone. Best thing to ever happen to me.”

  He stared attentively at me; his focus was absolute. He was really listening to what I was saying. Like learning about me was his sole mission in life. Was he waiting for me to say more? “Don’t worry. I’m not going to cry. I didn’t cry then and I have no reason to cry now. It’s just-life. It is what it is. I was four and she dumped me on someone who didn’t even know I existed. Nana-you know-she’s great. She took me in. Gave me a home. This orphan girl that no one loved.”

  Crap. I did not mean to say that much. And what-what the hell was falling down my face? Before I got a hand to wipe away the errant tear, Dax’s hand cupped my face and his thumb slowly swiped it away. Like a desperate and needy chick, I took that comforting gesture and curved my cheek into his hand.

  It just felt right though. Then, he did something that totally took me unawares. I don’t know if it was sweet or creepy. He took the droplet and kissed the tear to his lips.

  I know my eyes widened with bewilderment.

  Then he said the sweetest thing, “No more tears, Pix. Besides, it seems like Nana loves you. That’s all you need. So no more tears for people who aren’t worth the trouble. Okay?”

  “Yeah. Sorry. I guess that was some repressed abandonment issues running wild.”

  I turned away, trying to not let him see the effect he had on me. I lifted my bag on the table and pulled out my wallet.

  “I can deal with repressed issues. I think. What are you doing? And don’t worry about it. Your tears don’t bother me.”

  “Thanks Dax. I’m getting out my debit card so I can pay for my food.”

  He sucked in a breath, and I looked up to see his jaw clicking tight in place. The softness in his face faded like quicksand. “Put that away. Now.”