Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 145155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 726(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 726(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
“Like what?”
“Arrive and then don’t go over and say hello but let him see you. And didn’t you say he liked dirty talk?” I nod. “Well, I would get my mouth so filthy it needs disinfecting and then I would go home without him. You watch, he’ll be begging for mercy tomorrow. And you know what men do when they are needy?” I shrug—really, I have no idea about men, do I? “They talk.” She raises her eyebrows and gives me a wink. I bite my lip and look at Bridget who shrugs her shoulders.
“Hmm, that does sound better than my plan I suppose,” I whisper.
She smiles at me. “Lucky you got that Brazilian wax. It’s not pretty when girls’ pubes hang out the bottom of miniskirts.”
“Eeww, you’re an animal.” Bridget chuckles.
“Hurry the hell up,” she snaps. “Time to tart up. Mr. Stanton is going down.”
I look into the mirror at my reflection an hour later; OK, yes, it’s true. I do look sort of hot. I’ve got the cleavage happening, thanks to my super-duper booster bra, tight-wrap bandage black dress, my shoes that I want to marry, and my hair is straightened to within an inch of its life. I’m even wearing red lipstick. If he can resist me looking as skanky as this then good luck to him, he deserves an exit pass. Now the dirty talk, that’s a whole different story. What the hell do I say?
And how far is too far? There’s a fine line between hot and downright low, maybe I will just follow his lead all night. See how far he can take me.
11:45 p.m.
We walk into our favorite bar at the Ivy and I must say the reaction of a few drunken men outside on the street to my dress has given me the confidence boost I so desperately needed. Abbie heads to the bar to buy our drinks and I wait with Briget. She knows a group of girls here from uni and one of them has come over to talk to us.
“Oh my, Natasha, you look amazing tonight.” She smiles. “Have you lost weight?” I fake a smile and nod. I hate it when girls say that when they can’t think of anything else. I haven’t lost frigging weight, you silly bitch. My thoughts are anywhere but on this conversation.
“Two o’clock,” Bridget whispers. I casually look around and I see them, the Stanton boys, well, three of them and Adrian. Two other men are not far from them leaning up against the wall and I now recognize them as Josh’s bodyguards. Josh is in his standard jeans and blazer, but he has a pink checkered shirt on, and he looks frigging awesome as usual. Bastard. I turn away instantly, not wanting to be the one that notices him first. Play the game Natasha, play the game, I chastise myself. Cameron notices us and bounds straight over. He grabs Bridge in an embrace and twirls her around.
“How are my two favorite cousins?” He smiles as he kisses her on the cheek. He comes over to me and puts his arm around my shoulder and kisses my forehead. “Sorry about the other night. Josh is a prick.” Huh, what’s he talking about? Oh, the fight night, shit, he doesn’t know that I’ve seen Josh since.
My mind races off in a tangent. He hasn’t told them we’ve hooked up, why would he do that? I know the answer: to protect me. I am suddenly seeing our midnight visits in another light. They have been staying at his house so of course he wants to be home before they wake up. Maybe, and I mean just maybe, I have misread this situation. Abbie returns with our drinks and I take mine immediately, wishing I could drain the damn tumbler in one gulp. From the corner of my eye I see the others join Cam and our group. Adrian kisses me on the cheek and squeezes my hand as does Wilson when he arrives. Joshua, however, stays back and silent but I can feel him watching me and I refuse to look at him. He can kiss my ass.
I keep playing the game, refusing to make eye contact with him while I talk to Adrian.
“So, why did you bail on me today?” I tease.
He shuffles his feet. “I wasn’t allowed out to play,” he winces.
“Huh, what does that mean?”
He leans in and lowers his voice so that no one else can hear us. “Josh said if he can’t spend time with you then I’m not allowed to either.”
I frown, not understanding his statement. What does that mean? “Josh can spend time with me—he just doesn’t want to,” I snap.
Adrian winces and nods. “By the way,” he whispers. “Josh hasn’t told his brothers about—” he points his glass at me, “—you know,” as he nods his head.