Her eyes widen, brows rising in question.
“He… heard me scream.” My cheeks burn as I recall the intensity of his gaze. “My white T-shirt was completely soaked. Down to my white lace bra.”
“Oh. My. God.” Noia’s jaw drops. “So he saw...”
“Yup,” I confirm with a grimace. “And then he, um...” I trail off, not sure how to explain what happened next.
“What?” she demands as I zip up my jeans.
“He kind of... put his mouth on me?” I cringe. Just saying the words out loud sends a fresh wave of heat up my neck.
My best friend’s eyes nearly pop out of her head. “No way!” she shrieks, bouncing on the bed.
“He was actually going to pull my leggings down right there in the freaking bathroom!”
“You know that’s smut-level hot, right?”
Clearing my throat, I grab my top and pull it over my head. “When I shut him down, he told me it’s going to happen, and it’s just a matter of when.”
“Okay. I need to start writing this shit down.” Noia starts bouncing again, this time clapping her hands.
But I’m done talking about Jax. “And, Ryan emailed me today.”
Her expression instantly shifts from excitement to one of concern. “What did that asshole want?”
I pick up my brush and run it through my hair. “He wants to sell Summit to Sub Zero Fitness.”
“Why the fuck would he do that?”
“Because he’s a greedy bastard,” I tell her as I set down the brush. “They’re offering eight figures. He thinks I should sell, but I told him to go fuck himself.”
“Good for you.” She flops back onto the bed.
“I sent an email to my attorney outlining the whole situation.”
“Smart,” she nods, sitting up. “Let’s focus on having fun tonight. Operation: Get Sasha Some Dick, is now underway.”
I can’t help but laugh. “If you weren’t my best friend, and I wasn’t strictly-dickly, I would tonsil hockey you so hard right now.”
“Damn straight you would,” she grins, hopping off the bed to grab her purse. “Ready?”
“Almost.” Slipping on my favorite black ankle boots, I take one last look in the mirror and make a promise to myself. The last thing I’m going to do tonight is let Jax Riley get in my head, or my pants.
“So, I should probably tell you,”Noia says a little too casually, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel as we wait at a red light. “Ryder’s meeting up with us after he gets done with work.”
I snap my compact shut. “Okay, cool.”
“And where Ryder goes...” She gives me a sideways glance.
“Jax follows,” I finish, dropping my head back against the headrest with a groan. “Shit.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she says as she pulls into the parking lot. “It’s a big place. You can totally avoid him if you want.”
“Oh, I plan to. And then some.”
The bar is already packed when we walk in, the Friday night crowd in full swing. The rustic interior with its exposed beams and brick walls is bathed in warm amber light. A local band is setting up on the small stage in the corner, and the air smells like beer and fried food.
We spot Claire and Lizzy at a table near the back, and make our way over.
