So, remember that guy from the bookstore? The one you said looked like he eats iron or whatever?
Three dots appear immediately. Jules is always on her phone.
Avery…what did you do?
Now I can’t stop from laughing as I reply.
I went home with him :)
Three dots appear. Disappear. Reappear. Then my phone buzzes in my hand with an incoming call. I answer, and Jules’s voice nearly blows my ear out.
“Are you absolutely insane!?”
I twist in bed, embracing the scent of my new man. “Well, good morning to you too, Jules.”
“Are you talking about the prison tattoo guy? You went home with him?”
“His name is Chris,” I tell her. “And you were wrong about him.”
“Oh, honey, I amneverwrong when it comes to men.” She scoffs. “You areeighteen,and you went home with a stranger who reads books about security systems and looks like a professional killer—”
“He’s a security consultant,” I correct her. “And he’s nice.”
“Riiiight,”she replies. “And I’m the Queen of England. Please tell me you did not sleep with him.”
I don’t answer right away, which is an answer in itself.
“Oh my God.” I can just picture her shaking her head, resting her face in her hand. “Yourfirst timewas with the scary bookstore hitman.”
“And you know what? It was incredible,” I reply smugly, hugging my knees to my chest. “He was careful with me, sweet, sexy, and he held me afterward, and I fell asleep in his arms.”
“Avery…”
“Jules, he’s not what you think. Sure, he’s a little guarded, but he’s a guy. Guys don’t just spill their feelings immediately. He’s good. I know he is.”
Silence on the other end. Then, a long, defeated sigh. “You really like him, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“'Kay, then I want to meet him. Likereallymeet him.”
“Okay, no problem.” I hear the shower turn off, and my heart leaps. “Jules, I gotta go.”
“Okay. And, Avery?”
“Yeah?”
“If he hurts you…Iwill kill him.”
I laugh, feeling free like I’ve never felt. Like the world is filled with promise. “I appreciate that, Jules. But he won’t.”
We hang up, and I lie back in bed, positioning my body in the most alluring way so that when he comes out of the bathroom, he’ll want me. Again.
Jules was wrong about him. She only saw the surface. I mean, she barely even spoke to him. She assumed the worst but never saw what I saw—what’s underneath. The man who is gentle with me, asks me if I’m okay. Who has a future planned for us.
I trust him completely and totally.
Which is why what happens next destroys me.
