Not even Mia?

No. Unh-unh. I didn’t give a shit.

I tried to turn his mind from his thoughts, and me, by reminding him, “You learn that shit when you strip, baby.”

“Then at least that line on your CV was worth somethin’; you got that outta it. Then again, baby, not complainin’ about other skills you learned through your former occupation when you finally managed to climb on top, and I am not fuckin’ with you on that. You’re not hidin’ shit from me, Cher. I don’t know if you’re tryin’, but if you are, stop. You got your head wrapped around an idea, and I get that. I get why. I get there’re a lot of folk out there who’d think that idea is spot-on. But they are not me. I do not mind, not even a little fuckin’ bit, that I got you drunk, naked, and wild, givin’ the lap dance to beat all lap dances, just as long as that’s happenin’ to me.”

“You are so full of shit,” I bit out.

“Jesus, fuck me, Cher. Seriously?” he retorted. “Due to biology being unbalanced, a session like that, I got one shot. We had one session. Seein’ as it’s clear you didn’t pay close attention, when you get more, you’ll know I liked what I got a whole fuckin’ lot.”

“So we did negotiate a friends-with-benefits deal yesterday. Is that what this is?”

“I don’t know what it is, Cher. You want me to put a ring on your finger after fuckin’ you once, I can tell you on that you’ll be disappointed. What I know is, for years, I’ve had good times with you. Friday night, I had a great time with you. Friday night. The night Mia no longer was a possibility for me. Got a lotta people who mean a lot to me, but only one took my back, and you did that more than just fuckin’ my cares away. You took my back and my side when everyone’s been tellin’ me to pull my head outta my ass about my ex-wife. You made me see it different. You made me think. You showed me what it meant to have a friend who had a mind to me and what I should expect from the bitch who owns my dick.”

That meant a lot to me too.

But Merry wasn’t done hitting me with the velvet blows of his honesty.

“What I want is more good times with you, Cher. I wanna fuck wild and I wanna laugh hard, and while we’re doin’ that, I’m gonna look out for you. More, I can’t promise. That’s not enough, then I’m still gonna look out for you. There it is. You gotta get off break, but before I let you go, you gotta know it’s your play now. Make it.”

With that, he hung up on me.

I dropped my phone to my lap and kept staring at the floor.

Merry wanted to fuck wild and laugh hard, having no clue my heart was involved.