Stinger (A Sign of Love Novel)

"Yeah, I guess we didn't really talk about that, did we? You gonna be in trouble?" I asked.

She shook her head, biting her lip. "It wasn't mandatory or anything. No one will know whether I was there or not. I've just never blown something off… " She paused for a minute, deep in thought. "You know what? It's okay. But, there is one presentation that I want to go to tomorrow afternoon, the one I really came for, but I'm okay skipping the rest." She looked almost surprised before she turned her face to me and gave me a bigger smile. "Is that coffee I smell?"

I went over and grabbed her cup and brought it to her. "Pastries too if you want one?"

"I'd love one. That was nice of you to get me food."

"Babe, your stomach was growling so loud I thought it was a plane flying overhead. I couldn't exactly sleep through that."

She laughed out loud, putting a hand over her mouth so that she didn't spew the sip of coffee she had just taken. "It was not!" she laughed out. Then she frowned, "Was it?"

I laughed too. "Okay, maybe not that loud, but my Buttercup clearly needed food."

She smiled over the lid of her coffee, and took another sip. "So, are you gonna be in trouble for skipping your show?"

"Probably. I don't know. I haven't turned my phone on since you showed up at my door. My agent has probably been calling me non-stop."

She stared at me silently for a couple beats. "Carson… if this weekend isn't a good idea for your… career, I don't want to make trouble for you."

"Grace, I'm not exactly broken up about spending time with a beautiful, sexy Buttercup, rather than throngs of porn fans." Why did I hate talking about anything that reminded her what I did? It was part of the reason she was here–my experience.

She laughed a little uncomfortably and then got a stricken look on her face. "Carson, last night… in the middle of the night, did you…" She looked around and her eyes landed on the empty condom wrapper on the bedside table. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, okay."

"I'm clean. We have to get tested every month. I just got a clean bill of health a week ago. You're probably safer with me than some random guy you might pick up at the pool."

She nodded. "Well, that's… good. Still, I'm not on birth control."

"We'll be really careful, okay?"

She nodded again, taking another sip of her coffee.

"So, what do you want to do today? The city is our oyster."

"The first thing I wanna do is take a shower. I'm a mess." She brought one hand up and smoothed her wild hair down.

"You're beautiful. But how about you finish your breakfast and I jump in for five minutes, and then you take one after me. That okay?"

"Yes, sounds good."

"Okay." I smiled and leaned in and kissed her lips. "Out in five."

**********

Grace



Carson handed me the bag of pastries and some napkins and I sat in bed drinking my coffee and nibbling on the sweets, considering the situation at hand. I choked down the giggles rising up my throat. I didn't know if they were giggles of hilarity or hysteria. I was eating in bed–which I never did, sweets–which I never ate, after letting a gorgeous porn star give me multiple orgasms through the night. And now I was blowing off my conference–unheard of–so that I could spend more time with him. And hopefully later he'd give me more mind-blowing orgasms. Who was I? And why exactly wasn't I heading for the hills? Because you like him, a small voice said. I took a sip of my coffee, chewing thoughtfully. Yes, I liked him. But that was good, right? I had always planned on liking my Guy Number Two. Yes, it could be argued, pretty well, most likely, that what I was doing was slutty. But if I didn't even like the guy, wouldn't that make it even worse? So yes, I liked him. He was funny and I never knew exactly what was going to come out of his mouth. And there was a sweetness to him that I didn't think he showed very many people. And he was sexy as hell and the things he could do with his mouth and his…

"What are you sitting there thinking about?" Carson asked, standing there in nothing more than a towel. Mmm.

"Oh, nothing much," I said, standing up and stretching. Carson watched me, his eyes darkening. I liked that look–a lot. My shower would be a cold one.

He didn't move to let me by and so I smiled a little nervously and said, "Excuse me," as I dropped the sheet and scooted past him.

I closed the bathroom door and leaned against it, breathing hard. God, I was really out of my element here. Get it together, Grace. He said he'd take charge. Just relax and let him. It seemed to work out just fine last night. Heat rushed through me as the slideshow of our night raced through my brain. My breathing evened out and my nerves evaporated, at least for now, and I went about the business of brushing my teeth and showering.

When I emerged from the bathroom with a towel around me and my hair still damp, Carson was sitting up against the headboard, scrolling through his phone, still clad in nothing but his towel.

He looked up at me. "Hey, Buttercup."