“Well, okay then.” I sigh.
A part of me expected, and was even ready to receive, some sort of flirty comment from the brazen man. Instead, he zipped past me, with an invisible cloud of dust trailing behind him.
Eyes on the door, I contemplate not locking it, but change my mind at the last minute and turn the lock.
I need to keep Nico firmly on the other side. Physically, mentally, metaphorically. I cannot cross that line.
Ever.
I pull my phone out of the pocket of my robe, snap a picture, and send it to my besties.
Guess where I’m at?
Xanthe:You better not be at some boogie spa without us. *sad face emoji*
Hollis:Girl, you better start talking.
Something went wrong with the pipes at my place, so I’m showering nextdoor.
As soon as I hit send, my phone rings in my hand. I answer Hollis’s call. She is squealing as she starts rapid-firing questions at me.
“Calm your tits, woman,” I whisper-yell.
“Breathe, Hollis,” Xanthe says in the background.
“I’m trying. I’m just so excited. It happened. She fucked the baseball hottie.” Hollis sounds giddy, practically foaming at the mouth.
“Relax. Nothing happened. I just thought you’d appreciate the double shower and steamer.” That’s not entirely true. A small part of me wanted them to know where I was.
“Aww, man. Seriously?” Hollis whines like a kid whose Christmas got canceled.
“Yes, seriously.”
“Is this still because he had sex with your sister over a decade ago?” I bristle at Hollis’s remark. Nico and Charlotte’s shared history shouldn’t bug me, but it does. My silence speaks volumes to my friends. “I love you, Sav, but get the fuck over it. They were in college. Who didn’t fuck everyone in college?”
Xanthe chuckles in the background. “She’s not wrong, Savy. I remember quite a few one-night stands leaving your dorm room back in the day.”
“Shut up.” I’m going to have to hire someone to unalive my best friends, because they know way too much and are prepared to use that information against me.
“All we’re saying is you should be open. Don’t just count him out because of Charlotte. Have you even spoken to her about him?”
“It doesn’t matter. Charlotte isn’t the only reason,” I admit.
“And the other reasons?” Xanthe asks.
“I work with his sister.”
“So?” Hollis says.
“Umm, how about the fact that he’s probably slept with half of the women in LA? And—and this is a big ‘and’—he just fucked some girl this afternoon. I saw her leaving his place all happy and bubbly. You only look like that after sex. He’s basically a walking red flag.”
Holli snorts. “Who knew you were such a judgy prude.”
I gasp. “Am not.”
“You are. And you know what?” Hollis takes on a haughty tone.
I have a feeling I’m not going to like what Hollis has to say. “What?”
