I’m covered, he’s covered, the whole room has a pink and gold haze of speckled sparkles.
When the sparkly mist settles, he blows out a breath, but there’s so much glitter on his lips it looks like he’s going to a Lady Gaga concert.
His eyes narrow, his eyelids matching his pretty lips. It’s going to take months to get that shit out of his hair, his clothes, his skin, his fucking lungs. I can’t help smiling, even though I know I’ll have the same issue. We’re both covered.
He shakes his head, making a fresh dusting of glitter float into the air. “You’re going down, Pitstop.”
“Bring it on, Satan.”
CHAPTER 11
Penelope
There weren’t enough showers in the world to scrub his stench off me.
Or the damn glitter.
Okay, fine. He doesn’t stink. In fact, he smells delightful, like spring blooms meeting the first sunny day after a deep and painful winter.
But I’m sparkling like Edward Cullen in a sunlit forest.
Karlya points at my face. “You’ve got a little something...”
I nod, covering her face with my hand. “Shhh. Not enough coffee.”
My cousin and I are sitting in Bitches Brew. It’s the best coffee in Cedar Rapids, the best atmosphere, and I fucking adore the obnoxious pink decor adorning the walls. Cradling the oversized mug in both hands, I draw in a long, slow sniff of my chocolate raspberry mocha.
I just threw my finger around in circles at the menu and grunted at the poor barista. Thankfully it’s delicious. Rihanna’s Raspberry Ripple didn’t let me down.
For my next round, I’m ordering off their special edition Taylor Swift menu.
“Hungover?”
Ignoring her, I take a small sip, careful not to burn my lips.
“Peppy, you’re going to have to talk sooner or later.” She narrows her eyes. “Did something happen with your dad? Your mom? Brother? School? Milkshake man?” She stops. “Ah ha. Tate. Right.” She leans toward me, sliding her glass of milk across the table before swiping my phone.
Holding my cell over the glass of milk, she clicks her tongue. “Tell me what happened or the phone gets it.”
I don’t know what my face told her, what reaction I gave to Tate that I didn’t give to the rest of her list, but she should probably go work as an FBI interrogator. I cover my face with my splayed palm. “Please don’t.”
“Oooooh, so it’s juicy, too. I’ll do it, Peppy. You know I will.”
She will. She’s even more savage than I am.
“Isleptwithhim.” I say it fast because part of me hopes she won’t hear me, and the rest hopes she won’t react.
I should know better. She shrieks before clapping her hands together like a fucking seal. “OhmigodIknew it!” Her words tumble out faster than mine. “Tell me everything.”
I cover my hand with my other hand and shake my head. “I can’t. It was a mistake.” My voice is a pained whisper.
“I don’t believe that.” She sets my phone in front of her before gulping down some milk. “Was it good?” She pries my hands away from my face and wiggles her brows at me. “Was it life altering? Mind-blowing?Repeatable?”
I shake my head to each thing on her list, but her grin grows.
“It was good wasn’t it? Great even.” She points at my face. “You don’t need to answer, your face says it all. When’s it going to happen again?”
I heave out a sigh and lean forward. “It was amazing. It was hot and heavy and angry, and as soon as we finished... I felt like shit.” My chest tightens, and I’m tempted not to let her hear the thoughts that have been brewing in my head since Tate pulledout of my pussy. “His dad ruined Dad’s career, Karlya. His dad ruined our lives.” The lump in my throat swells, burning as the words push their way out.
