“Yeah,” I answer with a shrug. “I do.”
“Holy—” Dustin hops off the belt and mock punches my shoulder. “This is great, man! When do I get to meet her?”
I know he’s happy because my last relationship was a shipwreck. I haven’t dated anyone since.
Jacob chuffs. “You meanwe.Because I sure as shit want to see the woman who grabbed his attention.”
Internally, I shrug. “I didn’t get her number, so I’ll probably never see her again.”
“Bull crap,” Dustin counters. “She lives in my building. You’ll see her again.”
“You’re a stud, dude,” Jacob says with conviction. “She’ll be back to another one of Dustin’s parties for more of your goods.”
I roll my eyes, and then I think on it. Shit. What if he’s right? What if she comes back to Dustin’s party and tries to hook up with me again? I mean, I won’t turn her down because, honestly, last night was the best sex I’ve had in a long time, but I don’t want to be used.
As I get off the treadmill and head to the bench press with the guys, my stomach sinks. Because that very well could be the case.
CHAPTER 3
AVERY MOORE
I wokeup the moment he left the room. He tried to be quiet, but I heard the change of air when the door opened and the subtle whoosh when it closed. Not the latch, though. He was careful with that one.
He was easily the hottest guy I’ve ever seen, and those eyes…god, those eyes. I remember every detail, every fleck, the pools I got lost in before I brazenly kissed him last night. And I have regrets because I don’t even know his name.
Not that it matters. I’ll likely never see him again.
I turn over in bed and stare at the spot he was in. The comforter still has a divet in the shape of his body, and faintly, I can still smell him. His lingering scent smells so amazing that I lean over and stick my nose in the comforter for a better whiff and nearly moan when I do.
Groaning, I flop back on my side of the bed. I can not be lusting after a guy. Not so soon. Not after Neil, the bastard, betrayed me. Not after he took my heart and tore it to shreds. Not after he lied. Not after he called me that vial word—the word I knew I was already but it demolished my self-esteem to hear someone I loved say it out loud.
Fat.
But then there’s my little one-night stand. I can still feel his hands all over me. He didn’t care about my curves. At least, not last night. Not when he was stupid drunk. Not when it was a surefire way that he was going to get laid. Because that’s all it was…right?
Of course. He doesn’t even know my real name, and I don’t know his, and chances are we’ll never cross paths again. And I’m okay with that. Getting involved with anyone right now is stupid. I’m just getting my life back together, and throwing myself at another man, albeit an attractive one, is the farthest thing from a good idea.
When my door opens and bangs against the wall, I squeeze my eyes shut and mumble, “Go away.”
Ivy’s toe pokes my side and I can practically hear the grin in her musical voice when she says, “You had a guy in here last night.”
I open my eyes and squint at her. She has a mug of tea between her hands and a grin on her face. She’s still in her pajamas though, which tells me she hasn’t started her daily routine of Saturday self-care.
When I was living across the country at my old college with Neil, we would talk every Saturday morning on FaceTime. She’d always be in a green face mask and had the phone propped up against the pillows while she painted her toenails a bright red. Always bright red.
“Yes, I did,” I admit, trying to bury my face in the pillow out of shame.
“And he snuck out.”
I nod into the fluff. Not going to lie, it hurt that he didn’t even say goodbye, which tells me one thing: I was a quick fuck. He probably felt ashamed that he slept with someone like me in the first place. Got one look at my curves and bolted.
She sits on the edge of my bed and places a hand on my back as if she knows where my train of thought went.
Even though she and my brother have the most romantic and strong relationship that I’ve ever seen, she’s always understood me. It’s like we share the same brain, even when we were miles apart.
Ivy and I met in high school when she started dating my brother. We had run in different crowds. She was the popular cheerleader, and I was the girl eating lunch in the library with my nose in a book. But once she started coming over to my house and hanging out with my twin, we quickly became best friends. My brother jokes about how he has to share her all the time. And now that I’m back, our relationship picked up as if I were never gone for two years. As if I didn’t make the biggest mistake of my life moving so far away to be with a boyfriend.
She never judged me for it. And neither did my brother, Dustin.
