The Checklist (Explicit Version)

Chapter 1

"A sex list?" he repeated a beat later.

Nodding, I focused on my phone again. "I want all kinds of sex. You would assume a guy knows more than one position but noo. When I asked for prince charming as a kid, I didn't know that meant prince charming was boring. Vanilla. You get where I'm going with this?"

I was hitting number fourteen on my list, but I cringed when I finished typing it down. "Actually, maybe not..."

I pushed my shoulders back, but apparently, I'd gone to hard because next thing I knew, my stool was tipping backward.

My neighbour cussed loudly and wrapped an arm around me. Despite wearing a jacket, I felt how large his hand was against my spine before he ripped himself away from me.

"Jesus, you're a fucking lightweight," he grumbled, sounding almost frustrated with me.

Blinking away my blurry vision, I watched him drown his entire cup of whisky with a small gasp before he slammed the glass down. "Bill. Hers too."

He didn't wait for the bartenders nod before glancing back to me. His eyes seared into mine with intensity. Goosebumps trickled underneath my jaw, instead of feeling intimidated—which is how I would normally feel from this much attention—I smiled.

"You don't have to but thank you." He said nothing as his eyes scanned me with a mixture of confusion and mistrust. "My ex liked to think he was leading the charge of the feminism movement. Said he wouldn't pay for my bill because he wanted to defend my feminism. Sometimes he sounded like he was mocking me. He knew how I felt about supporting girls and all that. But he also knew how much I liked having a choice. And sometimes, I wanted to be spoiled, but I couldn't say that without seeming like a gold digger. He's from a wealthy family, but I also know his family. I doubt that would have made me seem like a gold digger. My parents are well off, too. But..."

I slowly shook my head to get rid of the woozy feeling. It only made it worse.

Cautiously, my hand rose to my forehead before I closed my eyes. "I'm not feeling so great. I'm hitting the decline already. Damn, I'm getting old."

I tried getting out of my seat, but I nearly fell on my face before the stranger scooped me up in his arms again. He was swearing louder now.

"You got someone to pick you up?" He asked, but it sounded more like a demand.

Eyes half open now, I grumbled, "No. Valerie is the one with the car, but we're not exactly on speaking terms right now."

Technically, I could ask Nellie to meet me at the bar since it was a ten-minute walk from our rented bungalow. But I couldn't, not without having to explain to her why I was drinking on a Tuesday night. And I didn't want to talk. Not right now. I wanted to sleep.

The man squeezed my hips and grumbled something under his breath before releasing me.

"Fucking hell." He fished his phone out from his jean pocket and pressed some buttons before lifting his angry hazel eyes to mine. "What's your address?"

I was ready to go on a tangent about stranger danger until I realized he was ordering me a car. I babbled my address and he furiously typed it while clenching his jaw.

"Let's go," he said sternly before putting his hand on a respectful place on my upper back. "The car will be here in three minutes. We'll wait outside."

For some reason, my body blindly trusted this man. The moment he finished carrying me outside, he leaned me against the wall and watched me impassively.

I only smiled. "Will you come home with me?"

He stared at me silently. Soberly. It felt like minutes were ticking away until he threw his head back and scoffed out a sincere laugh.

"Has anyone ever spoken to you about stranger danger?"

"Well, yeah." I frowned and glanced to my boots, slowly coming back to reality before groaning loudly. "You're right. I'm all over the place. Ignore me."

Without thinking, I patted his stubbled cheek once. I lowered my hand, ignoring how it tingled in the process. "You're not a bad stranger, though."

His brow raised, as if he was surprised by that statement. "You're definitely drunk if you think that."

"You haven't tried to grab my ass this entire night. You get an A+ in my book for that," I teased, but that only made his expression cloud in anger.

"Guys grab your ass when you're drunk?"

"Don't worry, I accidentally trip sometimes. And I have a weak knee, so sometimes I just," I thrust my knee out between us, barely missing his crotch, "Move like this."

A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips before it quickly disappeared. "Glad I didn't touch your ass then."

"Glad you have something to be glad about." This felt nice. I haven't thought about Remi in a while.

Until now. Crap.

My eyes started stinging with tears all over again, so I focused on my fury. "I hope it was worth it. The moment his mom finds out about his extracurricular activities, she'll give him hell."

"You know his mom?" He paused, as if he was trying to control his curiosity. "You're going to tell her?"

"No," I snorted before smirking faintly. "I'm telling my mom, and she will tell her friend."

The stranger didn't say anything, but when I turned my head toward him, I noticed him studying me with dim interest again. That was, until the phone vibrated in his pants pocket the same moment a dark grey car pulled to a stop next to us.

In front of me, the man lost all emotion from his face before facing the car. The driver had the passenger window rolled down, and I yawned while he bent down to have a short conversation with the driver. After a moment, he straightened and opened the backseat door.

"Get in," he deadpanned, but his voice softened a fraction when he saw me hesitate. "He will take you straight home."

My shoulder slumped before I pushed myself off the wall. I stumbled toward him and he straightened, as if he was preparing himself to catch me if I fell. I successfully reached him a second later and didn't think twice before throwing my arms around him.

He turned rigid, and I nearly fell when he jerked out of my arms. That made him curse next to my ear before wrapping a big arm around me, holding me steady.

"Such a goddamn lightweight," I faintly heard him growl in irritation, but he still handled me gently as he ushered me inside the car.

Once I was seated, he lifted my legs inside and stepped back to watch me lean against the headrest. I gave him a tired smile. "You're one of the good ones who pretend to be bad, aren't you?" I asked carelessly. "I like you, stranger dude."

He tsked, and for the first time tonight, he smirked, but it wasn't nice. It was mean and malicious. "That's where you're wrong. I'm not nice at all."

At my frown, he strode back and closed my door, sealing his words. I didn't bother to open the door and argue with the man. Instead, the moment the car moved forward, my eyes fell closed and everything went black.

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