Free Bite Me by C. C. Wood

against the arm of the couch, his torso twisted to face me and one knee bent on the seat cushion. He looked as though he were straight out of a GQ photo spread.
    I wiped my mouth with a napkin he had thoughtfully left on the table. “You aren’t hungry?” I asked.
    Conner shook his head. “No, I’m not hungry.”
    I could almost hear his unspoken words, for food . My stomach clenched, and I snatched up my wine for a deep gulp. After last night, I wasn’t sure if he would be hungry for blood or maybe something else. The thought made me squeeze my thighs together.
    I must have broadcast my feelings loudly because Conner’s face shifted into a deliciously wicked grin. Resolutely, I ignored him and ate another slice of pizza. Once I finished my second slice, I drank more wine and felt my muscles relaxing. Conner was a nice dining companion. I didn’t feel odd eating while he sat drinking wine. He asked me questions about my day at work and chuckled when I told him about Lauren and Jenna’s antics that night. When I briefly mentioned Marissa, he seemed to understand that she wasn’t my favorite person and didn’t ask any questions about her.
    It was nearly four in the morning when I glanced at the clock and sighed. “I need to get to bed. I have to work again tomorrow.”
    Conner took my wine glass. “Go get ready and I will put away the food.”
    I did as he said, wanting to get rid of my pizza breath. I brushed my teeth and used a soft rubber band to pull my hair into a loose ponytail. I hated waking up with hair covering my face. When I came out of the bathroom, Conner was already in the bed, his clothes neatly laid out on the chair in the corner of my bedroom. I ditched my yoga pants, but kept my t-shirt on as I slid under the sheets. I shouldn’t have bothered, because as soon as I got within arm’s reach, Conner yanked it over my head and threw it on the end of the bed so that I was dressed only in my panties.
    He pulled me down into the crook of his arm, tucking my face against his shoulder. I placed my hand on his chest, surprised that he seemed to want to go to sleep immediately. I figured we might fool around a little.
    Conner turned us so suddenly that I squealed. “If you wanted to play, you only had to say so, Donna.”
    I guess he could read my mind after all.

 
     
    I was drunk. Sloshed. Trashed. Hammered.
    I was also having the best time. Of course, I always had a great time when I hung out with my girlfriends. The five of us were probably our waiter’s worst nightmare. He was young, probably early twenties, and adorable. After a few cocktails, the girls and I became extremely verbal in our appreciation of his assets. Shannon and Ricki in particular seemed to enjoy discussing his resemblance to Adam Levine.
    Upon my insistence, we ordered a variety of appetizers. With the amount of alcohol we were consuming, I knew we needed to put some food on our stomachs before things became too crazy. As we plowed through nachos, hot wings, and other fattening fare, the conversation turned from work to men.
    “I swear it’s been so long since I had an orgasm with someone other than myself, I’m afraid I won’t be able to do it with someone else in the room. Sort of like a shy bladder or some shit,” Ivie complained.
    We all giggled and Kerry popped off, “So you have shy orgasms?”
    Our giggles became raucous laughter. As we calmed down, Ivie’s eyes turned toward me. Oh, shit , I thought. She was about to ask me about my love life. I might be able to get away to fibbing to one of the girls, but all four of them together were better than any lie detector used by the FBI, CIA, or any other alphabet soup intelligence agency.
    “So Donna, have you met anyone lately?” she asked.
    My thoughts scattered wildly. Fuck me. I quickly decided that partial truth was better than outright lie.
    “I met a guy, but I’m not sure how serious it is.” That was complete truth. “We’ve only been out a couple of