Page 40 of Whatever Lola Wants (Odyssey #2)

W hen the limo pulled to the curb at Anna’s house, the half-dozen women inside cheered.

Ginger had been introduced to Anna’s core group of friends, had been immediately welcomed, and was now debating the proper way to do Jello shots with three of Anna’s former colleagues.

The rest of the limo’s occupants were trying to convince Lola to add a strip club to the night’s agenda.

Anna had expressly forbidden strippers of any kind, so Lola had to decline. But she assured them that good times were definitely on the agenda. As the driver came around and opened the door for Lola , they were already hitting the fully stocked bar for another round.

“Pace yourselves, ladies,” Lola called as she stepped out. “ And save some for the bride!”

Hoots and cheers followed her up the walk to the front door. She rang the bell, grinning when Anna opened it almost immediately. She let out a low whistle at her friend’s outfit. “ You look hot.”

Anna giggled and did a little twirl. “ I know, right? Grant almost had a heart attack. He said no way was he letting me out of the house like this.”

Lola couldn’t blame him. Anna had poured her statuesque figure into a purple halter dress.

The neckline was low, showing off firm, unfettered breasts, and the skirt was short, putting killer legs on display.

The spiked heels on her feet added a good four inches to her already impressive height, and her hair had been fluffed and teased so it looked as though she’d just rolled out of bed.

The slumberous eyes and slickly painted lips made her look as though she’d be happy enough to roll right back in again.

“How’d you get him to chill?”

“Simon dragged him out before he could make it an order.” Anna grinned and tugged the front door closed behind her. “ I’m probably going to pay later, so you better make it worth it.”

“Oh, it will be,” Lola promised with a laugh and hooked her arm through Anna’s as they trooped down the walk.

“So, how are you doing?”

Lola glanced at her, confused by both the question and the sick-room tone. “ I’m fine. Why ?”

“No reason,” Anna chirped. “ Let’s get this party started!”

“Wait, wait a minute.” Lola stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, dragging Anna to a halt. “ What did you mean?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing.” Anna smiled reassuringly, but her gaze was fixed over Lola’s right shoulder. “ Let’s go party.”

“Uh-uh, it’s not nothing, and we’re not moving until you tell me.”

Anna looked so miserable Lola almost relented—the last thing she wanted to do was spoil what was supposed to be a fun night. But it wasn’t like Anna to evade, and her spidey senses were tingling.

“Anna. Talk .”

“Fine.” Her eyes met Lola’s , reluctant and worried. “ Grant told me Simon had a lunch date today.”

Lola started to laugh—why was Anna so worked up about Simon’s client lunch?—then she paused. “ Lunch date as in he had lunch with a client, or lunch date as in he had a date for lunch?”

“A date for lunch. Michael set him up with some new submissive who just moved to town.”

“I see.”

But she didn’t. He’d lied to her. She’d asked him to have lunch, and he’d told her he had a client crisis to handle. He’d sounded disappointed that he hadn’t been able to have an office picnic with her, and flirted with her about their scheduled date at the club on Saturday night.

But he’d lied.

Anna’s eyes filled with tears. “ Grant says Simon’s been talking about finding a permanent submissive for a while now.”

Lola nodded numbly. “ Right . He mentioned that.” But that had been over a month ago, and aside from the first night they’d spent together, he hadn’t brought it up again.

“I’m going to kill him,” Anna muttered, her tears drying up as her brown eyes narrowed to angry slits, and Lola would’ve laughed if she hadn’t been slowly dying inside.

“It's fine.” She drew in a deep breath and patted her friend’s arm. “ Really . We just had a little communication glitch.”

Anna searched Lola’s face for a long moment. " Are you sure?"

"Yeah, sure."

“Okay," Anna said, nodding. " I just don’t know what’s wrong with him. What’s he doing looking for a someone else, anyway?”

Lola forced a shrug. “ He’s a Dom . He wants a sub. It makes sense.”

“But he’s happy with you. I know he is.”

“Maybe he’s not as happy as you think,” Lola said woodenly, then forced a smile. “ Come on, we’ve got better things to do tonight than worry about this.”

“I’m so sorry, Lola .”

Lola allowed herself one sad smile. “ I know. So am I . But don’t worry about it, okay? I’ll handle it later. Right now, it’s time to party.”

“I just?—”

Anna’s protest was cut off by a shout from the limo. One of Anna’s former co-workers was hanging out of the moon roof, a bottle of champagne in her hand. “ Hey , bitches! Get in here and let’s get this party started!”

“You heard the woman,” Lola said and nudged Anna toward the car. “ Let’s get this party started.”

As they climbed into the limo, she did her best to shove thoughts of Simon and new submissives out of her mind and lose herself in the revelry. But one thought kept circling like sewage over a slow drain—he’d lied to her.

* * *

The next night, she waited for Simon to arrive.

He’d texted her that he’d pick her up, which suited her fine. She’d had a rough night, pretending to enjoy herself at Anna’s party, and her day hadn’t been much better. She’d taken a long, hard look at her relationship with Simon , and she’d come to a few uncomfortable conclusions.

She could hardly blame him for doing something he’d made no secret of wanting to do.

They’d never had a conversation about what they expected from the arrangement they had, and for that, she was kicking herself.

Perhaps if they’d had that talk, she’d have realized much sooner that he was still committed to the idea of finding his ideal submissive, and she could’ve ended it before falling in love with the lying asshole.

“Okay, asshole might be a bit harsh,” she muttered. But he had definitely lied to her.

And she was definitely in love with him.

She felt the sting of tears behind her eyes and willed them back. She didn’t want to cry--she couldn’t do this if she cried. She needed to be calm, rational, reasonable.

And when it was over, if he left—then she’d cry.

The knock on the front door echoed through the room.

She rose from her perch on the sofa and walked over to answer it.

He was smiling, golden eyes glowing. Happy to see her.

“Hey, sweetheart.” He leaned in to brush her lips with hers.

“ Ready to go?” he asked, then frowned as he took in her appearance.

Threadbare jeans, a ripped and stained UC Berkeley sweatshirt.

Her bare toes poked out from under the frayed hem of the jeans, and her face was free of makeup. “ Are you feeling okay?”

She nodded. “ I’m fine. Come in.”

He stepped inside, shutting the door behind him as his eyes scanned her attire. “ I know you usually dress at the club, but this is pretty casual.”

She nodded and headed for the sofa, acutely aware of him right behind her. “ I wanted to talk.”

She started to sit, then realized she couldn’t. She drew a deep breath and turned to face him.

The naked worry on his face nearly broke her. “ What’s wrong?”

“Why did you lie to me about your lunch plans yesterday?”

He blinked, and his eyes went carefully blank. “ What ?”

“When I called you yesterday and asked if we could have lunch, you said you had a client crisis to deal with. You didn’t.”

“Are you checking up on me now, Lola ?”

She nearly smiled at the defensive tone, at the no doubt instinctive attempt to deflect. But her heart was breaking, and smiling was beyond her capabilities at the moment.

“No.” Her voice was calm, her gaze steady. “ Anna mentioned it. She thought I already knew.”

“Fuck.” His muttered curse seemed to echo in the quiet room. He drew a deep breath. “ Yes , I lied.”

She stood quietly, her hands still at her sides as she waited for him to continue.

“Michael asked me to take a friend of his, a woman who just moved here from Boston , out to lunch.”

The first glimmer of anger broke through the heartache. Did he think she was born yesterday? “ If that were all it was, you would have told me, straight out. Try again.”

A spark of something—anger? Irritation ?—lit his face, and his eyes narrowed. “ Fine . She’s a submissive, new in town, and he thought we might hit it off.”

And there it was. She nodded. “ Okay .”

He waited a moment before speaking. “ Okay ? That’s it?”

“No, that’s not it. Not by a long shot.”

He dragged a hand through his hair. “ It didn’t work out. She’s not right for me.”

She nodded again. “ But you’re going to keep looking for a submissive who is.”

He eyed her warily, and the urge to laugh rose up in her throat. She ruthlessly tamped it down, knowing if she gave in, she wouldn’t be able to stop until she was screaming. “ I’m a Dom , Lola .”

“And Dom’s need subs.” She pursed her lips. “ So , what are you doing with me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” she said, tamping down on her temper, “if you need a submissive, then what. The fuck. Are you doing. With me?”

She could practically see him trying to gauge her mood, trying to decide how to handle her. She gave in to the urge to laugh, one harsh bark of sound that held no humor. “ Are we just having a good time? Enjoying each other? Exploring our mutual sexual attraction?”

She narrowed her eyes when he didn’t answer. “ Or am I just the place holder fuck until you find someone better?”

He moved now, so quickly she barely had time to blink before he was towering over her, his face so close to hers she could feel his breath when he spoke. “ I’ve never treated you like that.”

“No,” she said slowly, “you’ve treated me like your girlfriend. But we both know I was never that, so your treatment of me isn’t a reliable indicator of how you feel.”

“Goddammit,” he muttered and whirled away to pace. “ I never meant for us to get this far.”

“That much is obvious.”