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“You should buyhera present.” Jenny nodded. “Like a tropical vacation or something. Or a four-thousand-dollar dress.”
“That’s a good idea. I usually give her chocolates at Christmas, but I could get her something for her birthday. She always remembers mine.”
Jenny scowled at me. “You get herchocolatesfor Christmas? I met Shirley for ten minutes, and I could already tell that she would do anything for you. She’s going back to organize your office, and it’s seven o’clock at night! Screw the chocolate. Get her a Porsche.”
I laughed. “You’re good at spending my money, Jenny! Lots of creative ideas. I like it.”
She laughed, too. “Sorry about that. I just think you should reward good people, you know? Good people are hard to find.”
“True, very true.” I reached over and grabbed her hand, then held it for the rest of the ride.
The cocktail hour was in full swing when we got there, with the typical well-dressed Preston crowd. Jenny hitched up her dress, then fluffed her hair. “This is a fancy party, huh?”
“Fairly fancy,” I agreed. “The Prestons are an old-money family. You’ll probably see a lot of Chanel suits and pearls tonight.”
She looked confused. “On the men?”
I laughed. “No, the women—Chanel suits are classic Boston rich-white-women wear. I’ll show you.”
She hesitated before we walked in.
“You have nothing to worry about,” I assured her. “You look gorgeous, Jenny. You’re the prettiest girl in the world.”
“Cole,stop. You’re so silly.”
“I mean it.” I grabbed her hand again. “Shirley was right.”
We headed for the bar, and I did not imagine it—every single dude in the restaurant checked out Jenny from head to toe. Shewasthe prettiest girl in the world, and I was so lucky she was my date. “What do you want to drink?” I asked.
“Something fruity. With a straw, so I don’t mess up my lip gloss.” She motioned to her face.
“I’m on it.” I turned to the bartender and ordered a bourbon for myself and a rum punch with a straw for Jenny. She slurped her drink down fast, and I followed suit. I wasn’t going to let her outdrink me.
I pulled her onto my lap. “We should go to a Thunder game sometime,” I said.
“You mean the hockey team?” Jenny asked.
“Yeah—I own them.”
She almost spit out her drink. “What? You own a hockey team?”
“Yep. You know what that means, right?”
“That you’re rich as fuck?”
Ialmost spit out my drink. “Yes, but that’s not what I was going to say. What I wasgoingto say was that it means we can have box seats, baby. Would you be my date to a game? There’s actually one tonight—if we leave here in time, we can make the third period.”
“Coley, I’d be honored,” she cooed. “Box seats all the way!”
Picturing us at the game made me smile. I could see Jenny in a Thunder hoodie, drinking beer from a plastic cup, hooting and hollering at the team. I squeezed her against me, vowing to buy her both a hoodie and a beer later. “It’s a date.”
We largely ignored everyone else at the party. Instead, Jenny sat on my lap while we drank. It was awesome. When she excused herself to go to the ladies’ room, I ordered more cocktails. I felt like the cat that had swallowed the canary as I sat at the bar, waiting for her to return and also for James to show up. I hadn’t talked to him since he’d given me AccommoDating’s phone number. He didn’t know I was bringing Jenny tonight. I could hardly wait to see my friend’s face!
James and Audrey came in a few minutes later. It didn’t escape my notice that they held hands, and that their complexions looked bright. Orgasms were good for your skin. I knew all about that. Mycomplexion looked like I’d had the three-hundred-dollar facial at Balans on Newbury Street.
“I didn’t invite you here,” James said, clapping me on the back. “But it’s nice to see you anyway.” He kept Audrey close to his side, probably worried that I would try to steal her again.
Little did he know. I had an escort all my own.