“Just leaving,” I mutter and stand.
Morgan panics. “Don’t listen to Bailey. Wait, Jack—”
“I’ll see you tonight,” I grumble.
Bailey scoffs. “Tonight? Where? If it isn’t youth service, your dad will be furious, Morgan.”
“Gabe can do it without me.”
They continue bickering but I leave.
Tonight, I have one goal: get Noel’s charges dropped.
As I drive home, reality sinks in steadily. I wanted her to keep texting me, but the more I think about it, it feels wrong, because it is.
She made it clear it would’ve been a mistake sleeping with me. I’m just another guy preying on her. Even though I have no intention of touching her again, the texting routine I crave isn’t innocent. I want the escape she offers. Filthy words. Dirty pics. Worse... The illusion this untouchable woman is mine for just a few precious minutes a day.
Hopefully, she upholds her end of the deal, and we go our separate ways.
For my sake.
Chapter 15
Morgan
Heat clings to my skin — that thick Georgia summer kind that smells like asphalt and gasoline and doesn’t move even when the breeze does. I lock the door of my BMW and tug down my dress. It’s red, spandex, and dangerously short. Daddy would not approve.
“Dang babes, you are hot in my dress,” says Ingrid, who sports an equally sexy pink dress.
“Thanks. You look great too. Do you think anyone will recognize me?”
“No. You look too different, and it’s dark. We will be just two regular girls tonight.”
“Awesome,” I whisper, and catch my reflection in the car window. My hair is pulled into a sleek ponytail that tugs my scalp tight. Smoky shadow, heavy lashes. Unfamiliar. Still, my gold cross flickers near my collarbone, a quiet contradiction I didn’t bother resolving.
I spot Jack who is talking to a group of guys next to a car. He smiles with his whole face, the kind that pulls people in without asking permission. The kind that makes women shrink as they step closer to him.
His tattooed hands move animated, and I can feel his excitement from a distance.
I loop my arm around Ingrid’s elbow, and we walk over.
“Hey, Jack,” I say, interrupting them.
The group turns and looks our way. Jack’s eyes blow wide.
A guy with curly blond hair whistles low and extends his hand.
“Ladies. Ladies. How are ya?”
I shake his hand, but he pulls it to his lips, giving it a playful kiss. His eyes are red and he seems intoxicated.
Jack yanks my hand free and drags me a few steps away.
“What is this?” He gestures to my body.
“I looked up pictures of these events. This is how the girls dress.”
“Yeah, cuz they want to get railed.”
