Page 5 of Hold Me
“Umm, you know how,” I tease her, fully aware that’s not what she means. “I’m no longer a virgin, which means Mark’s an idiot.”
“Oh, come on.” She rolls her eyes. “We both knew from the first day that he was a jerk. I mean, I knew. You were busy being swept off your feet by his charming green eyes.” She dismissively waves her hand. “But enough about that asshole. Tell me, who’s the lucky guy? I can’t believe you never told me anything about him.”
I pick up my cup of coffee and bring it to my lips. “You won’t like what I’m about to tell you.”
“And that would be?” Her dark eyebrows shoot upward. “You know there’s not much that can shock me. Wait, when did this happen? We talked, like, five hours ago.” She frowns.
“Two hours ago. I umm...” I grimace. It’s not as if I do something morally questionable every day. “I paid some guy...”
She stares at me for a long while, her mouth opening and closing. Finally, she narrows her eyes at me. “Oh, for the love of god, Lilith! What were you thinking? You could have picked up any guy at the bar! For free! You didn’t have to pay some... ” She bites down on her lip, her gaze troubled. “I hope you used protection.”
“Relax. Of course we used protection. We both got tested for STDs, and besides, Alessandra recommended him to me. Do you think picking up a random guy at the bar is somehow better?” I cross my arms in front of me. Katherine is the one who suggested I should pick up some unknown guy for a night or two.
“Alessandra?” Katherine gives me an incredulous look. “How does she even know the guy?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
She fidgets in her chair, her fingers clenching. “You planned this, didn’t you? And you didn’t tell me.”
I look away. “I knew you’d try to talk me out of it.”
“Damn straight I’d try to talk you out of it. You’re gorgeous. Your blue eyes would seduce any guy...” She pauses, her eyes darting down. “Or your boobs would in case it’s too dark to see your eyes.” Her lips spread into a grin, which twists into a grimace a second later. “All you had to do was pick your target and get him into your bed. It’s simple.”
“Yeah, simple for you.” I chew on my lip. “I’d have never dared to do that without knowing for sure that Mark was wrong.”
“Well, you do have bad taste in guys. All your exes were handsome jerks.” She sighs heavily. “I just hope you won’t regret your decision.”
“I don’t think I made the wrong choice. The guy was hot and he knew what he was doing. And it was pretty awesome for my first time.” I feel a smile creeping up my face. “He’s expensive, but he’s... different from Mark. Confident, patient, gentle...”
“Whatever you say.” A frown line creases her forehead. “But it still feels weird to me. I guess I want the guy to be interested in me too, you know? Not that he sleeps with me only because I paid him.”
“I know.” I meet her eyes. “But Mark’s words were ringing in my head all the time and I thought I would go insane. I mean, why torture myself with it? I know it sounds silly and stupid, but I couldn’t just convince myself everything would be fine.” I straighten my shoulders, lifting my chin up. I’m not sorry for what I’ve done and I’m sure I never will be. “This is probably the most selfish thing I’ve ever done, but I needed someone who would do exactly what I wanted him to. Someone who would put me above his own desires and who wouldn’t hurt me. Sure, I could’ve waited for someone special to come, but by then, who knows how freaked out about the whole thing I’d be?”
Katherine’s eyes soften. “All right. If you’re happy, then I’m happy.” Her lips spread into a wide smile. “But if someone finds out... they’re so going to judge you.”
“I don’t care. My life, my way.”
“Good point.” She licks her lips, tapping her fingers against the table, and I frown.
“What?” I raise a questioning eyebrow at her.
“Nothing.” All emotion vanishes from her face as if she just turned off a switch. “So... will you tell me more about this mysterious hot guy? Wait, that doesn’t even sound right. Why doesn’t he have a better job?”
“Alessandra told me he did it for the money. Apparently, he earns more than he would by just doing modeling or something.” I shrug. “I don’t really know anything about him. He has his reasons.”
Katherine traces a finger over the edge of her glass. “Huh. So there isn’t anything else you noticed about him?”
“Umm, he has a tattoo low on his hip, but I don’t know what it means.”
Katherine flinches, shifting in her seat, her face slightly pale. But then she tilts her head. “A weird tattoo? Great. How do you find them, Lil? I swear you couldn’t choose a normal guy even if you tried to.” The corners of her lips quirk up, but her eyes are wide, her chest quickly rising and falling.
“Normal is overrated.” I eye her carefully. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Katherine straightens, or pretends to straighten, her dark red dress, exposing more of her long legs. Her eyes dart toward the guy at the bar, her smile seductive. The guy smiles back and tips his glass in her direction. He’s not really her type. She prefers dark-haired guys, but there’s obviously something about this blond man that intrigues her.
“Sorry. Did you say something?” Katherine turns to me as if nothing happened, her green eyes calm. I assume she no longer wants to talk about Caleb, but I’m not sure why. She’s acting strange about the whole thing. Maybe she’s met him before or he reminds her of someone she used to know.
“Nope.” I glance at the guy, whose shoulders are slumped, probably because Katherine is no longer paying any attention to him. “I thought you were going to forget all about me and join the guy at the bar.”