I was relieved not to have to tell more lies, especially since I’d pulled that one out of my ass, and Edmund probably knew everyone at the Apex office, so it wouldn’t be hard for him to catch me. But I would’ve felt even better without these two around right now. I mustered as much of a smile as I had in me and lifted my chin to Colette. “I’m going to go shower.”
A few minutes later, warm water sluiced over my shoulders, helping to ease the tension in my neck. I closed my eyes and let it work its magic, but it was impossible not to think of last night as my imagination wandered—Jagger desperate and needy, the erotic growl he’d let out when he came down my throat. The way he’d demanded control, and I’d eagerly ceded it to him. My breathing grew labored.But then, the polar opposite behavior in the bedroom—something he said he never did. Jagger was warm and giving, soft and thoughtful, providing me a first time I would never, ever forget. Though it seemedhewanted to forget it already this morning.
That last thought shook me from my lust-filled haze, and I finished washing up. As I exited the shower, my cell rang. Miles was FaceTiming me. It was not even eight thirty here, so it was only five thirty on the West Coast.
I wrapped a towel around me and tucked it in at the corner before answering.
“Hey,” I said. “Are you just getting home or up super early?”
Thumping bass in the background answered my question. Neither. He was still at the club.
“What a house!” he yelled.
I laughed. “Wow. That noise is coming from a house party? It sounds more like you’re at a club.”
“I was referring to the mansion on the bluff. Why haven’t you called me yet to give me the details of you and bossman doing it? I’m desperate to know what kind of kinky shit he’s into.”
My jaw dropped open. “Back up. How did you know I was at a house on a bluff?”
“Find My Friends.” He shrugged. “I stalk you every day, cookie. You were there last nightandup until twenty minutes ago. I’ve beendyingfor you to get back to Edmund’s place.”
“But how did you know it was Jagger’s house?”
“Oh. Find My Friends gives the address. I Google-imaged it to make sure you were safe, and then when I saw the house, I went down a rabbit hole and looked up theowner. Did you know it’s the most expensive property ever sold in all of Montauk?”
I stared incredulously at my best friend. Meanwhile, he thought nothing strange of his behavior and kept on going.
“Spill the tea, girl. Did you dust off the cobwebs and open the bat cave? I left a Chappell Roan dance marathon to come outside and hear the deets.”
I shook my head, wondering when the boundaries of our friendship had disappeared. Then again, I felt like I might burst if I didn’t tellsomeoneabout last night. So I leaned close to the camera with a cat-that-swallowed-the-canary smile and lowered my voice. “It wasamazing.”
Miles screamed so loud, I wouldn’t be surprised if he woke up the rest of the house I was in. I laughed. “Shhh... People are still sleeping here.”
For the next fifteen minutes, I gave him some of the details from last night, concentrating more on the boldness of my actions, which I was proud of, than the details of our intimacy. Miles would often come home and give me the blow by blow of his hook-ups—sometimes literally—yet it felt wrong to do that with what happened between Jagger and me, at least the intimate and beautiful part in the bedroom.
While Miles and I chatted, I brushed out my wet hair and rubbed lotion into my legs. My hands stopped on my calf when I noticed something missing.
“Oh no. I lost my anklet.”
“The gold one with the little star you always wear?”
I went into the bathroom to check the shower floor and the area rug where I’d dried off. “I know I had it on when we were on the boat yesterday. I remember seeing it when I put sunscreen on my legs.”
“Maybe you lost it in the covers, getting dirty with Big Zaddy.”
I sighed. “That’s possible. I probably shouldn’t be wearing it anymore anyway since Brendan gave it to me. But I really loved it. It’s so simple and petite.”
“Cookie, if I didn’t wear jewelry from my exes, I wouldn’t wear any at all. And don’t even get me started on the clothes I borrow from my hook-ups and never give back. I go on a dating frenzy with men my size when my wardrobe needs replenishing.”
I chuckled. “I gotta go. The train back to the City takes something like three-and-a-half hours, and I need to get groceries and do laundry when I get home. So I’m going to need an early start.”
“Ugh. That sounds dreadful. I vote you go back to the mansion under the guise of looking for your anklet and bone the boss all day.”
“I’m pretty sure last night was a one-time deal.”
“You always underestimate yourself, cookie. You’re addicting. Trust me, I know. I’m already counting the days until I come back to visit you. And I didn’t even take your virginity. That man is not going to be able to stop himself from coming around for a lot more than seconds.”
CHAPTER 22
