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“You’re guaranteed to win,” Cal grinned.

“That doesn’t sound suspicious at all.”

Cal chuckled but said no more about it until we were out of Eugene and taking the ramp up to the interstate. Finally, he asked, “What do you have on under that skirt, Shortstop?”

I rounded a silently surprised expression his way. “Pardon?”

As he accelerated on the highway, Cal leaned over and tapped the glove compartment in front of my knees. “It’ll matter when you open that and see what I have planned for our evening.”

Still skeptical, I hooked one finger under the compartment latch and popped it open. A small, black case with a zipper around the edge sat in the drawer innocently. I picked it up and kneed the compartment closed. “What’s this?”

“See for yourself.”

With another side-bounce of my eyes toward affable Cal, I unzipped the cloth and plastic box that was perhaps the size of an old CD case. When I flipped back the top, a discreet, black object made of soft silicone sat in a padded compartment, and next to it, what looked like a silver remote. I rotated a half-lidded look toward Cal like a demonic doll. “What.”

Cal’s teeth flashed white in the golden hour light that streamed through the windshield. “It’s just that I want to see how long you can hold out. Since you take forever and all.”

“Oh my God.” I glanced back down at the vibrator and its remote. “I never should have told you that.”

“Probably not,” he agreed, still smiling.

I bopped a look between the vibrator toy and him again. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am serious,” he said, sobering comically. “I’ll be very upsetif you don’t slip that in your pussy, Ruth.”

“But on the way to an awards ceremony?” I asked, my voice trilling up an octave.

“And during,” he said seriously.

“Oh, no.” I closed the lid of the case firmly. “No way.”

“Ruth,” Cal said, and his voice took on a low warning hum. “You’re not afraid, are you?”

“I…” I paused, thinking. Was I? “I think I’m hesitating because it’s unusual. But I’m not afraid.”

“Of course not. And you wouldn’t deny me a game just because you think it’s unusual, right?” Cal slid a fast glance my way before returning his eyes to the road.

“N… no.” I said at last. “I guess I wouldn’t.”

“Are you a tiny bit curious?” he pressed, his lips hovering on the edge of a smile.

I bit my bottom lip. “I… suppose.”

“Then put that in your pussy like a good girl and let me play with you.”

I squeezed my legs together in response. His voice slipped through me, wrapping around my RNA and embedding itself in my being. I couldn’t part myself from my desire for him, and the realization rushed through me like the thrill before a skydive. I was falling for this man, and there was no backtracking from it. I gave him a heated look, eyes on his profile as I flicked open the case. “Would you, by any chance, like the remote after I do?”

A slow, satisfied smile lifted his cheeks. “You might even say I’d demand it, Shortstop.”

I pulled in a silent, steadying breath as I lifted the egg-shaped vibrator from its padding. It had a flexible ring on the end for ease of retrieval, I assumed. “Please don’t wreck this car while I do this, Cal.”

“Oh, I’m not the one in danger of losing focus,” he grinned.

The silicone felt soft as suede, but slick, and it had a little blue light on the side that had already been turned on. With an unsure glance at Cal, I spread my knees apart and angled my hips up. Cal glanced down and then back to the road. “On second thought, maybe I am in danger. Shit, you look good.”

I indulged in a coy look his way and then I slipped the egg between my legs. I had to maneuver my lace panties aside, but then it was at my entrance where moisture had already collected just from the mere suggestion that I would be playing a game like this with Cal. I pushed it inside of my suddenly aching center, and it slipped in easily before I squirmed and settled it comfortably. It was just large enough to not fall out, but not so big that I would be bothered by it constantly. In fact, I could see myself forgetting it was even there. Just in case, I tugged on the little silicone ring to make sure it was snug.

I unclipped the flat, oval remote from the case and handed it to Cal with a skeptical look. “What is your plan, here?”