Page 111 of One Bad Idea

"With Derek, there's always a line." He grimaced. "So, who was he tonight? A musician?"

I gave a confused shake of my head. "What?"

"Or," he continued, "was he pulling the old, 'I have a yacht' routine?"

"Oh please, we didn't discuss yachts."

Jaden gave a slow nod. "Right. So, it was the gold medal thing."

Damn it.

When I made no reply, Jaden said, "What sport? Polo? Or skiiing?"

"Well, it wasn't skiing," I muttered.

"So polo then."

"Maybe."

"And you believed him?"

"I don't know," I said. "I didn't have time to think about it. And besides, it's not like I could ask anyone."

"Exactly."

"What?"

"That's exactly my point. You don't know him. You don't knowanyone, which means you shouldn’t be here by yourself."

Well this was just delightful.

"You know what?" I said. "I've heard just about enough." The song was winding down, and I made a move to go.

But Jaden held on tight. "Not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because the song's not over."

"So?"

"So, I’m not done."

We were no longer moving. "Oh, you're done alright."

"No. I’m not." He gave me a hard look. "I've got one more thing to say."

"Oh yeah?" I snapped. "What's that?"

"It's a good thing he doesn't know where you live, because if he did, you'd probably find him on your doorstep when you got home."

I swallowed. "What?"

"Your doorstep," he repeated. "He's got this fucked-up habit of turning up where he's not wanted." Jaden gave me a tight smile. "So, unless you want him creeping around your door, I’m just saying it's a good thing I showed up when I did."

Suddenly, my skin felt ice cold.

Oh, crap.