“Oh, I think you’re wrong, Suzanna, I’m nowhere near as straight-laced as you seem to think I am. The question here is are you a relationship girl or are you willing to put your money where your mouth is, so to speak. If you’re who you say you are, then you’ll jump at the opportunity for great sex with no strings.” After throwing the gauntlet down, Gray stood there waiting for a response.
Boy was my mother right; my big mouth had finally gotten me into trouble of the oh-so-hot variety. So I sleep with him, he’s lousy in bed, and I can move on, perfect. Even as Suzy finished her thought, she wondered what in the world she was getting herself into. “Ok, Gray, you win. Let’s scratch the itch once and for all and get it out of our system. No clinging or crying when it’s over, though. I’m not going to make an honest man out of you or anything afterwards.”
~~~
Gray was surprised; maybe shocked was a better word. When he’d thrown out the challenge, he hadn’t really expected her to take it. Suzy, as she liked to be called, had haunted his dreams for well over a year now. Truthfully he only continued to call her Suzanna because he knew it was guaranteed to get under her skin.
He’d first met her last year in a restaurant called the Ivy. He was dining with Jason Danvers, and Suzy had been dining there with Claire Walters, who was actually Claire Danvers now. Both were very beautiful women, but Suzy had taken his breath away. She was so vibrant and pulsed with energy. Most of the women he’d dated were born to a certain class and had only one thing on their mind, marriage. The husband mattered little as long as he had a healthy bank account.
In truth, he’d made a lot more trips to Myrtle Beach in the last year than had really been necessary. He knew the first time he met her that there was more to her than the world saw. Under her tough exterior was a caring, compassionate woman who tried hard not to let anyone see that side of her.
A few months after they’d first met, he had been working at the home office with Jason for a week. He’d asked her to spend the day with him on Saturday. She’d laughed and said she already had a better offer. Later on that day instead of going out for lunch, he had decided to eat in the cafeteria downstairs. He smiled when he saw Suzy a few feet ahead of him talking to the man who ran the cafeteria. George was probably in his late sixty’s and everyone at Danvers adored him. Gray had grown fond of him in the short time he had known him. Jason had told him that George had worked at Danvers for over thirty years. He always had a ready smile and a nice word for everyone who came through the line.
Gray was curious when he saw Suzy grip George’s arm and start what looked to be an intense conversation. He moved closer to hear what she was saying.
“George, I mean it, you’d better not touch that lawn-mower. Neither you nor Sara should be trying to cut grass right now. You know the doctor said that the horrible pollen this year was making your asthma worse and with Sara’s back problems, it’s crazy for either of you to try when you have me.” George had tried to protest, but Suzy had quickly but gently insisted that she didn’t mind. “I’ll be over Saturday morning as usual to do it. You know how much I enjoy that glass of fresh lemonade you always have for me afterwards. You wouldn’t deprive me of that now would you?”
Gray could see that George was no match for a smiling Suzy. He’d pulled back quietly, not wanting to intrude. He smiled as he headed to a table in the back of the room. Suzy had just confirmed what he had already suspected. There was much more to her than what she wanted everyone to believe. The time that had passed since then had only reinforced that knowledge. Suzy was apparently some-what of a modern day Robin Hood at Danvers. Instead of giving the gift of money to those who needed it, she seemed to give the gift of assistance.
She had gotten groceries for two months for Cindy in accounting after her surgery, she watched Jim’s dog when his mother was sick and he suddenly had to leave town, she spent the weekend helping Lori clean her basement after a water leak and apparently she mowed George’s grass. She would be horrified to know the way people at Danvers talked about her, almost in awe. It just made him that much more determined to get through her tough shell to the woman he knew was under it. He had no idea why she wanted everyone to believe that she didn’t care about anyone else because obviously she couldn’t resist a person in need.
He wasn’t going to delude himself; he wanted her in his bed anyway he could get her. It wasn’t just about the sex though, he also wanted the relationship to go along with the sex. He couldn’t deny that lust had been the first thing he felt for her and although it was still there, he could also see a future with her, and he knew that would scare her to death. He was going to have to approach her carefully, and if they needed to jump ahead past dating and go right to sleeping together then, hey, he was a guy, and that would suit him fine. He’d allow her to believe she was calling all the shots but sooner or later Suzy was going to be scratching her head and wondering what had hit her.