Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 131330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
If she found out, she would feel betrayed, and she’d have every reason to. She offered her virginity to a faceless stranger in a club, not to me. And while I had no idea that it was her, I feel a responsibility for her. I’ve always wanted to protect her, but this . . . I’ve taken something from her that didn’t belong to me.
She deserves so much better, and I’m going to make sure she gets it.
“I uhh . . . just realized I was supposed to submit some applications for Scandal by close of business last night and it completely slipped my mind.”
“Oh, you better get that sorted out,” she says, retreating back to her glass and drinking what’s left in the bottom.
I nod before pointing to my full one over by the edge of the pool. “Help yourself to mine,” I tell her, turning away before finding myself pausing. “Hey, listen, I booked out that restaurant your mom loves for your dad to take her out tonight and figured while they were out, we should hit up Pulse. I’ve gotta check in with a few things, and I know with all the bullshit going on with Austin’s restaurant, he could really use a night to relax. What do you say?”
Aspen glances back to the view, clearly conflicted. “I don’t know. I had a really late night. I’m working on only a few hours sleep.”
“We don’t need to leave for a while. Take a nap.”
Her face scrunches again, and I have to force myself to take another step back to keep from remembering the way it felt as I pushed inside of her and the way she whimpered when her walls stretched around me.
Fuck. I need to erase this from my mind.
How could I not know it was her?
“I don’t know,” she murmurs. “Could I bring Becs?”
“By all means, but if she starts dancing on my bar again, I’ll put her in an Uber and send her ass home.”
A grin stretches across Aspen’s face, and just like that, I know she’s in. “Alright, fine,” she finally says. “But if you and Austin are boring, we’re out. You’re not taking us out just to sit around in some lousy booth, talking about the good old days when you used to do crazy shit. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right, and we’re all getting fucked up. I want at least three of us hurling in Mom’s rose bushes.”
“She’ll kill you.”
“She will,” Aspen agrees. “But it’ll be worth it.”
I laugh, and with that, I walk away, wondering how sick I must be to want to fuck my best friend’s sister all over again.
7
ASPEN
“Damn, Aspen. Your brother is looking like a snack,” Becs says as we arrive at the first club Izaac built, Pulse. We haven’t been here for a while, and despite only celebrating its fifth anniversary last month and still being considered new in the grand scheme of things, I can’t help but gape at the renovations. I’ve gotta give it to Izaac, he knows how to keep his clubs relevant, and damn, he does a great job of it.
“Don’t even think about it,” I tell her as my gaze sails over the upgraded bar and the new mezzanine level that overlooks the sprawling dance floor. “I don’t care if you were the last two beings on earth and it was up to you to keep the human race alive, you’re still not sleeping with him.”
“Why does he look so . . . feisty?” she murmurs, her gaze sailing up and down his body as he stands with Izaac by one of the many bars. He’s been an ass ever since Mom so kindly pointed out the gold stamp on my wrist during lunch, and it’s clear he knows exactly what it means. Hell, when Izaac pointed it out, I couldn’t have been more humiliated. It’s one thing for Izaac to know how I spent my night, but Austin . . . shit. I was hoping the night out and a few beers would help him calm down, but judging by the look on his face, either someone just accidentally kneed him in the balls, or he’s still pissed. “Whatever you did to piss him off, I approve. I bet he’d fuck like an animal in a mood like this. He needs a distraction, and that distraction is going to be me.”
Damn. There’s no denying that giving Austin a distraction would make my night so much easier. But still . . . I can’t allow it to happen.
“I call girl code,” I tell her. “He’s been an asshole about my feelings for Izaac since I first sprouted a pair of tits. He would blow up every time someone even joked about it, and now I break out in a sweat whenever anyone even mentions Izaac’s name around Austin. So no, on principle, you don’t get to make him your project tonight. If I can’t even be allowed to like Izaac, then he sure as hell does not get to sleep with my best friend. Find some other desperate loser to screw in the back alley. I’m sure it won’t be hard.”