It’s because I miss her. Miss all those moments we buried beneath hurt feelings and displaced trust.
Miss the feeling of her in my arms as I sank inside her warmth and finally felt fucking whole.
God, she felt so good. Better than anyone I’d known before her.
I scrub a hand over my jaw, desperate to shake the mental image loose.
Jesus, man. We are not going there. Doesn’t matter if she looks stunning and it’s been forever since you’ve felt her.
But that mental image seems content to brand itself into my brain and now, other body parts are threatening to awaken for playtime. Just perfect.
I straighten and stretch, as much to rid myself of the kinks that have taken up residence in my shoulders as to steer my brain onto a safer track.
Because if her sudden flirty nature is anything to go by, she would be on board with a spur of the moment tryst, but that would only further muddy the waters of our relationship. Friendship. Whatever the hell this is ship.
“Kiki, at this point, I don’t know if you’re drunk or I am, but thank you. I needed to hear that, because this is?—”
“—terrible, horrible, the last place you want to be?”
Nail, meet head. “Pretty much.”
“I don’t want to be here either. Wish we could leave.”
A furrow creases my brow as my gaze sweeps the room again, taking in outfits that probablycost more than my monthly paycheck. “Yeah, but this is your world. I thought you’d be thrilled.”
She shifts beside me, leaning her elbows against the bar as she looks out over the crowd, but there’s no nostalgia in her expression. If anything, she looks bored. Detached.
“Itwasmy world,” she says, rolling her eyes before turning back to her wine. “Now that I’m outside of it, I realize one very important fact.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t want any part of it again.”
“You don’t want your life back?” This is news to me.
“Well, sure, I want my life back.” She keeps her gaze on the bar, chewing on her lower lip for a moment before finally lifting her eyes to mine. “That’s actually what I want to talk to you about, since it involves you.”
My ears perk up at her words. Not entirely sure I want her to divulge the meaning behind them, but I can’t turn away now.
I lean in, my lips hovering close to her ear. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”
“Eddie!” Romy’s voice cuts through the din of the party, and I bite back a groan.
Perfect fucking timing.
The tall blonde is by our side a few seconds later, somehow managing to cross the room with the speed of a gazelle decked out in stilettos and silver sparkle. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Sorry I’m late.” She turns to Kiki, dropping a kiss on her cheek. “You look stunning.”
“You look amazing, Romy. As always.” Kiki returns the compliment with a smile, but it’s not the same one that decorated her lips moments earlier. This one is polite, controlled, and fake as hell.
But if Romy notices, she doesn’t comment as she slides her gaze to me. “Good God. Look at you. You’re an entire vibe.”
“Thanks.”
Look, I appreciate her compliment. Truly, I do, even if I feel ridiculous in this suit.
But when Kiki called me handsome, it was all systems go. With Romy, it’s nothing more than droll flattery. Not that she isn’t an attractive as hell option. She absolutely is, but I’m a one-woman guy, even though that woman has ripped my beating heart from my chest and stomped on it. Repeatedly.
The same woman who’s taking increasingly larger swallows of wine and looking like one cross word will send her bolting for the door.
