After swallowing the chips, Lauren blew out a long breath. “What more is there to say?” “Was it fantastic?” Jade’s eyes looked dreamy.
“Did he cop a feel? Or better yet, did you?” Ava asked as she kicked off her fluffy slippers and tucked her feet under her like she was getting ready to hear a fairy tale. More like she wanted to hear akinkyfairy tale.
No, he hadn’t that night, but she had. God, she’d never forget how strong his chest felt
beneath her hands. Jade squirmed in the chair like an excited puppy, and Ava draped an arm over the back of the couch as they waited for her to answer the questions, but Lauren kept her lips sealed.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, Jade said, “Okay, you won’t talk, so let me try to figure this out for myself.” Placing a thumb and forefinger on her chin, she tapped a finger. “He walked you to your car and kissed you. But you said he kissed you a couple of times. So do you mean he kissed you once, stopped, and kissed you again?”
Lauren shrugged, picked up the remote control for the TV, and flicked through the channels, trying not to give anything away.
“That’s a ‘no’ then. So, he got in the car with you and you drove to a secluded location and he kissed you again.”
“And you did it in the backseat of your car like a couple of horny teenagers,” Ava chirped in with excitement.
Lauren rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help but laugh at the two trying to figure out what had gone on. She decided to put them out of their misery; they’d eventually get it out of her anyway.
“He kissed me again in his office this morning.” She went on to explain what had happened with Emma, how she told Jack about Abby, and how he comforted her while she fell apart. “So he was only comforting a crazy woman the best way he knew how.”
“Giving you a hug is being comforting, but putting his tongue down your throat is saying he wants to do the nasty with you,” Ava commented.
She wasn’t going to tell Ava she was spot-on, so instead she played the denial card. “He doesn’t want to do the—”
“Of course he does,” both girls said.
Lauren shook her head. “It’s not going to happen. I’m not interested.” If she said it out loud a few hundred times, she might start believing it.
Ava scoffed and Jade rolled her eyes.
“What?” Lauren asked, exasperated.
“Honey, since Graham you have never let a good-looking guy kiss you. And yet you’ve let Jack, the stud muffin, kiss you not once but twice,” Ava pointed out.
“So?”
“So, if you weren’t interested, there’s no way in hell you would have let him kiss you.” Ava picked up her wineglass and raised it like a toast.
“He caught me by surprise.” Even to her ears it sounded unbelievable.
She rose from the sofa and walked over to the window overlooking the beach. It had grown dark and only the lights on the cargo ships were visible in the distance.
Why had she let Jack kiss her at Jovi’s and then again in his office? That time the kiss had gone a lot further. Lauren tried to convince herself that she’d needed the comfort, but she knew she was only kidding herself. God, she thoroughly enjoyed it. It was the best orgasm of her life, and they hadn’t even had sex.
It had been years since she let anyone like Jack get that close. Her aversion toMr. Prettysmust have been understood because it kept them away, and if any were more determined, she shot them down with extra-strength refusal.
The rare times she did date, the men were less than desirable. Sure, they could be a little strange sometimes. One had lived at home with his mum—he was thirty-five. Another was a tortured poet who claimed to have no money because his poems never sold. And the last guy she dated, the Pee-Wee Herman look-alike, was a computer game freak. They were safe because Lauren never needed to worry about having her heart broken by them.
Not for the first time she wonderedwhy Jack? Could it be because it had been so long since she’d had sex and her vibrator couldn’t replace the touch of a red-hot man? That could explain why she gave Jack a private lap dance. Maybe before she saw Jack again she’d spend some extra time with her battery-operated friend, in the hopes it would take the edge off and stop her from turning into melted butter in his hands. Because even though she told him to stay away and keep his hands to himself, she wasn’t completely sure she really wanted him to. And that scared the hell out of her.
“Lauren!” Jade snapped her fingers, getting her attention.
She twisted around to see two sets of impatient eyes staring back at her.
“Why did you let him kiss you?” Jade asked. They weren’t going to let this go. “Maybe it’s because it’s been a while and he was available,” Lauren answered.
“Nuh-uh, not buying it.” Ava shook her head, her silky, black hair swinging with the movement, but almost immediately it fell perfectly back into place. “It’s always ‘been a while’ and you’veneverlet that happen before. And there are always guys available.”
Lauren threw her hands in the hair. “He’s hot, and I’m horny. That’s why. There, happy?”
