chapter sixteen
Mia
Boy, the lines are blurring, I think to myself.
Actually, that’s not exactly correct. The lines are blurred.
They are already fucking blurred.
Luke helped me masturbate into one of the best orgasms of my life.
That was not on my playlist for the summer.
Shit! I don’t even know how I got myself in this position, but all I can think about is the way that Luke makes me feel when he touches me.
We resisted for so many years from ever being physical with each other. We certainly didn’t even contemplate being friends with benefits, and yet here we were, three days into a fake relationship, and we were already intimate. In ways I’d never even dreamed about.
How did this happen?
I swallow hard as I rub my forehead and stare at my face in the mirror.You are going to get yourself in trouble, young lady.I point at my reflection. My hair sits at the top of my head, and my eyes look tired. I have to head down to work, but I’m not sure exactly what I’m going to tell Juniper.
All the other girls knew that we had kissed, of course. We were going to do that in front of them for the show, but what we were doing late at night, when the lights were low and no one was around, had nothing to do with our pretenses. It wasn’t like Rex had a secret camera in the hotel room, spying on us.
We were doing it because we wanted to do it, and I wasn’t sure justhow far it was going to go before we realized we were making a huge mistake. I hear a knocking on the door, and I freeze.
“Hey, Mia, are you nearly ready?” Luke calls out.
“I’ll be out in just a moment,” I say.
“Actually, I need to send some emails, so I was going to head down to the conference room and just have a seat and do some work.”
“Okay. Are you not going to come with me to the beach to see the bookmobile and get some amazing books?” I call out.
“I’ll have to do that later if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” I say quickly. “Not at all.”
Thank God. I don’t really want to look into his eyes right now and think about the way he sucked on my breasts.
Like he’d enjoyed it. Like my nipples were tasty morsels. Fuck, we were in trouble.
“I’ll see you later, Mi-Mi.”
“Bye, Luke.” I take a deep breath and grip the marble countertop of the vanity.
I am actually grateful that he’s not coming with me directly to the bookstore. I just need some space to think, to ponder, to ask myself what the fuck I’m doing. While a part of me is slightly irritated that he’s choosing to work again instead of spending time with me, I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
When I hear the door slam, I slowly open the bathroom door and head out into the hotel room. My eyes spy the rumpled sheets on the bed, and my body grows warm with heat and desire. Luke made me come on that bed not eight hours ago.
“I—oh my gosh, what did I do?” I cry out.
I know I should feel disgusted with myself, but it was just so hot. I’d never done anything like that before in my life. Not even with a boyfriend, which wasn’t saying much because all my boyfriends sucked. But still, it was Luke!
I pull on a floral dress, brush my hair quickly, grab my bag, and head out of the hotel. I need to speak to Juniper. I need to find out from my friends if I’m making a big mistake.
As I walk along Main Street toward the beach, I start to jog. I’m not really much of a runner, but I can’t wait. I’m so incredibly grateful when I see Wendy, Juniper, Summer, and Silvie all standing by the bookmobile.
“I’ve never been happier to see a group of girls in my life,” I say as I run toward them.
