“No, really. I bet he’d be great in bed.”
I screwed up my face and pushed Kendall away. “Calm down. He’s in the Cape.”
“Oh,” she grinned. “Well, then you don’t have an excuse to say no. So get your ass dressed and let’s head out.”
I exhaled and took a few steps back, needing a bit of perspective—needing to get away from Kendall’s black hole of decadence. “I don’t know. I…”
A red flash caught my eye and I grabbed my cell phone off my dresser and glanced at a text from Ben. We’d exchanged numbers the day before but I hadn’t expected to hear from him.
Hadn’t expected, but was kinda sorta wanting to. My stomach did this weird lurching thing though it faded as I quickly read his message.
Hey. Presenting offer now. I’ll be late. Don’t miss me 2 much.
I stared at the message for a few seconds, and then glanced at Kendall. Her eyes softened for a bit, the dark charcoal beneath them crinkling in the corners. “Come on, Georgie. It’s been forever.” She glanced around. “Besides, why the hell would you want to stay here when you can be with me kicking it down?”
I bit my bottom lip, fingering my cell for a few moments before tossing it back onto the dresser. Things started to bubble inside me and I exhaled, fisting my hands for a second while everything ran fast. And then stopped. I waited, breath held, for it to start again.
“Hey, are you alright?”
I nodded, not really thinking that I was alright, but not wanting to talk about it either. Chin thrust forward, I glanced at my closet, my eyes falling onto the ice blue boat neck dress I’d bought just before my incarceration. It still had the tags on it.
I’d forgotten how gorgeous the fabric was. Oh, and the color…it sure would look great with my Steve Madden’s.
Kendall tugged on my arm, her face scrunched into an exaggerated pout and I giggled. “Come on, Georgie.”
A smile opened on my face and my hand inched toward the dress as the pressure inside me eased a bit. “Okay,” I said as Kendall squealed. “But just so you know I don’t drink anymore.”
“Whatever.”
“And I don’t do weed or coke either.”
She nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“And we’re not going home with random guys.”
She flopped back down onto the bed. “Gotcha.”
I glanced down and frowned. “Are you going to put some underwear on or what?”
Her grin widened as she cocked her head to the side. “Now why in the hell would I want to do that?”
Shit.
Chapter Nine
Ben
Kachenga was the kind of bar you’d expect to find somewhere on the sunset strip in Hollywood. It reminded me of The Whiskey a bit—not exactly a dive but not exactly respectable either. It was dark, loud and crowded, and by the time I arrived it was close to midnight.
I was lucky to get in—The Rats were an up and coming indie band and even though I was more of a straight up rock kind of guy—I preferred Foo Fighters or Five Finger Death Punch—I’d heard of them. The place was packed and the lineup was discouraging and even though I said I’d never be that dude who used his celebrity, I was willing to do just about anything if it meant getting inside and being with Georgia.
I would have sent her a text but my damn phone was dead and I was hoping she was still here because she wasn’t back at the loft. I hadn’t spoken to her since she’d replied to my text hours earlier and told me she was heading out to Kachenga with her friend.
My teeth clenched at the thought. She hadn’t elaborated on who exactly her friend was and I wasn’t sure what my plan was going to be if I found her here with a guy—who I was assuming would be that fucking Seamus the cat character. Would I pretend I didn’t see her, slide through the crowd and leave without saying anything? Or would I walk right up to her and make that play, the one that had me careening down center ice with a target in sight.
Georgia was my fucking target and I had it bad.
So, here I was, hands in my pocket and shoulders hunched forward like some loser when a, bunch of girls strolled by and saved me. Teetering on ridiculous heels the once closest to me, a blonde with tits about two sizes too big for the dress she was wearing, slurred, “you’re coming with us.”