A tiny bubble of hope springs in my chest, but bursts immediately when I catch sight of the drawer of my nightstand. It’s not closed all the way, which means when I used my vibrator last night after waking up from a particularly explicit dream about Dominic, I was too blissed out to secure it properly. The view is all I need to accept that my skin hunger, and treacherous brain, are still alive and well.
Fine. That just means I’ll have to find a way to handle it that doesn’t hurt Mal.
“No!” Mal shoots up from the bed and stands over me. Her hands are back on her hips, and the blond bob she’s been sporting since she took out her braids swings from the motion. “You said you wanted to do this, and I said I was going to help you, so this is happening.” She grabs my hand and yanks me up onto my feet before continuing. “Plus, Ash is sexy as hell, and I happen to know for a fact he’s amazing in bed.”
I scrunch my nose. “How doyouknow that? Please tell me this isn’t one of your leftover one-night stands, Mal.” She laughs mischievously, and I pin her with a hard glare. If she’s slept with Ash, then we might as well call him right now and tell him to stay home. I’m not planning on having sex with the man tonight, but having dinner with him seems like a waste of an evening if there’s no chance of it happening at all.
“Relax, will you?” Mal smacks my arm. “You were clear about not dating one ofmyexes.” I narrow my eyes at the emphasis she placed on“my.”The bit of tension I’ve been carrying in my shoulders all week increases tenfold when I realize Mal never told me how she knew Ash. I know it’s not from college, because I would have met him too, and it can’t be from work, because Studio Six doesn’t deal with anyone I don’t know.
“Mallory Pearl Kent.”
“Oh my God!” She rolls her eyes. “He used to date Jasmine. You remember her, right? She was my suitemate freshman year.”
The name is familiar, but I can’t picture the girl’s face. I didn’t even know she and Mal were still in touch, let alone swapping exes.Lord, do I really need to do this?
“Yeah,” I mutter, twisting my ring around again. “I remember her.”
Mal pads over to me, stilling my fidgety hands with her surprisingly steady ones. “Don’t freak out, Sloane. They broke up right after he got injured because she didn’t want her name attached to a washed-up athlete. Her words, not mine.”
I shake my head, suddenly remembering the snooty, rail-thin girl with resting bitch face who was preoccupied with marrying rich. Throwing a man to the side as soon as he wasn’t useful to her anymore sounds on-brand for her, but it’s too bad she didn’t have the foresight to hang in there for Ash’s second act.
“She sounds like a dream.”
Mal snorts. “Please, she’s a money-hungry bitch who lacks empathy and basic decency, but her loss is your gain tonight, babe. Now get dressed because your date will be here soon!”
At that exact moment, my doorbell rings, and Mal’s eyes go wide with a surprise I thought I was going to feel when my date showed up. I actually feel fine. Nothing but a little flutter of nerves that’s easily tamped down with a deep breath.
“Get dressed!” Mal hisses while she’s running out of my bedroom. “I’ll let him in.”
I nod but say nothing as I watch her go. The door clicks behind her and everything goes quiet around me. I know I won’t be able to hear anything going on downstairs, but I still try to listen. After a few moments, I turn to the full-length mirror and shrug out of my robe.
Smiling at my reflection, I admire how perfectly the black lace lingerie set I picked up yesterday fits. I adjust the garter belt and the lacy black cuffs wrapped around my thighs then grab my dress off the bed and slip it on. Zipping the back to the top without help is a bit of a challenge, so I wait for Mal to come back up to do it. I slip into my heels and walk over to the mirror to fasten my earrings and pick out a necklace. I’m clasping it on when Mal walks back in with the biggest smile on her face.
“Sloaneeeee!” she squeals when the door closes behind her. “He looks so good, and he’s even nicer than I remember.”
“That’s great, Mal. Are you sureyoudon’t want to go on a date with him?”
“Nah. I’m good. I already have plans for the night.”
She zips up the back of my dress and smacks me on the ass. I shoot her a death glare.
“Oh, yeah?” I turn to face her. “You didn’t tell me about any plans.”
“I’m telling you now.” She straightens my necklace and smiles at me. “Plus, I didn’t want you to cancel on Ash to come with me, especially when I’m going to Reign.”
The mention of the popular nightclub makes my pulse kick up a bit. She’s right; I might be nervous about my date with Ash, but I don’t think I’m ready to be in a nightclub right now either.
“I could have canceled and stayed right here in my bed.”
“Sure, but your vibrator needs a break, babe.”
Mal starts pushing me toward the door, and I choose to let hercomment about my vibrator slide. When we reach the landing, Ash is standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting with a huge smile on his face. Mal was right. He does look good—over six feet tall, with light brown skin and curly hair that he keeps short. A muscular frame poured into a black polo and slacks. His brown eyes are warm as they take me in, raking over my body with a subtle look of appreciation before he steps forward to offer me his hand.
“Wow. Sloane, you’re breathtaking.”
“Right?” Mal exclaims from behind me. “I told her that dress makes her boobs look incredible.”
Ash flushes and clears his throat, making a show of keeping his eyes on my face, and I can’t help but laugh. “Thank you, Ash. You look nice tonight as well.” He smiles pleasantly at me, giving my hand a light squeeze before letting it go.
