Ready for Wild by Liora Blake

Author:Liora Blake
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery Books

(Braden)

“We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope . . . ”

—EDWARD ABBEY, DESERT SOLITAIRE

Let us take an inventory.

A roomful of guys telling hunting stories that sound too good to be true? Check.

A buffet-style dinner with sad-looking lasagna and an even sadder-looking iceberg lettuce salad? Check.

A silent auction overloaded with once-in-a-lifetime (overpriced) guided hunting trips and limited-edition (ugly) framed prints of game birds in a farmer’s field? Check.

Every element I expect from a foundation dinner has been met tonight. Only one thing is different: my date. A certain blonde in a blue dress who is currently standing on the other side of the room chatting up another local couple who can’t seem to get enough of all that sparkle Amber knows how to make use of. I’m proof enough of that—I’m here, after all.

I wander past the silent auction tables again, pausing once more at the blue lapis necklace-and-earrings set on display. As cheesy as it sounds, the stones are nearly the same shade as Amber’s eyes. Enough that I’ve actually debated putting a bid in on them. The main thing stopping me has been that I have no idea how I would give them to her.

Would I present them ceremoniously, wrapped up in a gift box? Or would that be too much? Maybe I’d be better off to just casually toss them her way in a plastic bag.

Also, when would I give them to her? Before sex? After sex? Both assume that we’re going to have sex, and even if that’s the case, neither is a good option. Whether pre or post, both offer too much opportunity for misinterpretation—like I was putting a deposit on services to come, or a tip on services rendered. And I’m not interested in wading into that tsunami. The bigger issue is that gifts—jewelry, especially—are for girlfriends, fiancées, or wives. None of which I’m lucky enough to call Amber.

Still, I find myself fingering the small bid sheet on the table and darting a glance at the ballpoint pen laid aside it. Amber’s laugh breaks my concentration, and my head jerks up, picking her out immediately in the crowd.

She’s now talking to two old-timers, both of whom look like this is the best night they’ve experienced since some USO show back in the day. Amber gives the old guy on her left a playful swat on his forearm, then laughs when the one on her right obviously says something at his pal’s expense. When they both return her laugh with their own, she offers up her signature Amber Regan smile, the one I now know is manufactured for the camera and conjured up for her admirers. Her private smile is something else entirely. Unguarded and honest in a way no camera could do justice to.

Fuck it. Right or wrong, girlfriend or not, I don’t care. I grab the ballpoint pen, scribble down a bid that’s sure to be enough, then toss it back on the table and walk away before I can change my mind.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.