REGAN
I slipout of the bathroom first, sans my panties, and make my way back to the bar and order a beer. As I’m waiting, Ian slides up next to me. A chill rolls down my spine, like my body is preparing for whatever vile thing he’s going to say next.
“Brady.” My name drips like acid from his tongue and I don’t like it. My instinct is to run away as fast as I can, but I hold my ground instead. “Red is your color.”
The bartender hands me my drink, and Ian orders his own. “Looks like being a dick is still your color, Hicks.”
“Ouch, Brady. Just wanted to see if you’re enjoying the party.”
I glance around for a friendly face, one to save me, then Dean walks back into the ballroom, still fixing his now disheveled hair. We lock eyes and he gives me a slight nod, tapping the pocket where my panties reside. I quickly look away, but it’s not quick enough. Ian has noticed who I was just looking at.
“Seriously? Dixon? Of everyone here, you’ve picked Dixon? That’s surprising as he was flirting with Ramon Vera’sdaughter not too long before the two of you conveniently disappeared at the same time.”
I glare at him, gripping my glass so tight I think it’ll shatter. Why do I even care? We just determined benefits only, no feelings. Was he really flirting with someone else before he found me? Ian pulls me out of my spiraling thoughts, sliding his phone over to me. It’s a picture of Dean standing with another woman, his arm hooked around hers as she looks to be whispering in his ear. I push the phone back to him. Disgusted that I fell for his shit—again.
“You should really be careful with Dixon. He never keeps women around long, and you won’t be the exception to that, Brady.”
Ian grabs his phone and slides it back into the pocket of his suit pants. He seems almost concerned for me. That’s not something I would have expected from someone like Ian. He’s always looking to stir the pot in his favor somehow; even if this seems genuine, I still don’t trust him.
“I can handle myself, Hicks.” I storm off in search of Cindy and Leslie. I need to get the hell out of here. Suddenly, this ballroom seems too small for the amount of people, and the air around me is thinning, making my breathing more difficult.
I find Cindy at an auction table for driving lessons, while Leslie is dancing with Greyson with a pissed off-looking Chase glaring at them from the sidelines. I tug Cindy to bring her to the edge of the dance floor to get Leslie’s attention so we can get the hell out of here.
“Where were you?” asks Cindy.
“We need to leave…now.”
“Leave? They haven’t announced the winners yet,” she whines.
“Just please, trust me. We need to leave,” I say, my voice desperate. Cindy hears my pleas and listens without any more complaining about the auction. I wonder if she reallybid on those lessons. We grab Leslie off the dance floor and call our driver for the evening back to the hotel.
All three of us file into Cindy’s apartment. Once we are all inside, Cindy gets straight to the point and starts asking questions.
“What the fuck was that all about?”
I stall by sitting on the couch, taking off my heels without responding or looking at Cindy or Leslie, though I feel their gazes burning through my skull. The cushions dip on either side of me as they each sit down, taking off their own shoes, waiting for me to answer. What do I tell them? That I let my guard down and let Dean in, then Ian had been the one to ruin the fantasy?
Saying it out loud makes it sound so stupid and juvenile, but knowing he was flirting and touching some else makes my skin crawl. Is that why he didn’t want me to touch him? So he could go be with someone else? I’m such a fool.
“I just needed to leave,” I lie. My shoes are off and I pad into the kitchen to grab a beer that I know Cindy keeps for me in the fridge.
“Bullshit, Reg! Just tell us what happened,” Leslie pleads, giving me her puppy dog face. Fuck, I hate when she does that.
I recount the Cliff Notes version of what happened: Dean and I arguing, hooking up in the bathroom, and the photo Ian showed me. Both of them just stare, slacked jawed.
“That fucking prick. He was flirting with someone else?!” Cindy exclaims.
“Are we really going to trust Ian here? That picture is just a snip of what happened. He could have been snuck up on and he snapped it at the right moment. I don’t trust Ian, he’d pull something like that,” Leslie remarks.
She’s right. That photo is just a snip of a moment in time. I didn’t even ask Dean about it. I was too hurt to even think, Ifelt the walls of the ballroom closing in and the only logical thing I could think of was to run.
“I don’t even know what to do anymore,” I say, putting my feet up on the coffee table.
“I vote to keep the benefits, and if it feels too much, then cut him. Simple,” Cindy with a shrug.
“Simple? How is thatsimple?”I practically shout.
“You’re the one who asked for just benefits in that bathroom,” Cindy counters. “Follow through. Have great sex, and once you’re done, cut him loose.”
