Heartbreaker (Unbreakable #1)(23)

“Ran up a mountain yesterday. In Vibrams.”

“What ’ems?”

“Vibrams. Shoes specially designed to run as if you’re barefoot.”

“Why would you want to do that?” Kristen sat between us in the center of the couch, concentrating as she brushed a second coat of hot-pink polish on her toes.

The blender began to whir loudly in the kitchen.

I shrugged. “Something different. An activity to get me outside and in shape.”

“By yourself?” Kendall plucked two polish colors from the rainbow lineup she’d been examining on the coffee table. “Blushing Harlot or Tourmaline Sky?”

Kristen snorted. “Since when does a harlot blush?”

“Well, damn. That’s my color.” Kendall replaced the bright blue into the cosmetics tray, then shook the frosty pink bottle she’d chosen. “I’m nothing if not a bundle of contradictions.”

Blushing Harlot. Nonsex. Kendall’s gaze shot to mine the instant our hilarious conversation about nonsluts and wannabe hussies slammed into my brain. We both inhaled deeply, lips pressing into firm lines as we fought laughter that threatened to bubble up.

When I narrowed my eyes a fraction, she gave me a nearly imperceptible nod. I shot her one back. Yep. Our twisted sexual sense of humor belonged just between the two of us.

“And I didn’t run by myself.”

Hannah emerged from the kitchen, cradling four strawberry daiquiris in her arms.

I grabbed one of the glasses from her. “I went with Darren.”

Annnd…there goes my mind to other things.

“Sex on a stick!” Hannah and Kendall shouted in unison.

“Jinx!” They pointed at each other.

“Double Jinx!” Kendall and Hannah froze, watching their red drinks slosh in their glasses with their animated excitement. Then everyone burst out laughing.

“What is ‘sex on a stick,’ anyway?” Kristen swept a final brushstroke over her pinky toenail, then leaned back, arching her brows. “How can it be an actual guy? Isn’t sex…on a stick?”

Hannah nearly choked on her daiquiri, coughing out more laughter.

I had no idea why I’d ever called him that; I’d first voiced it to Hannah months ago at Loading Zone. Probably because the description had sounded delicious at the time. And Darren? Definitely delicious—delectable…decadent. Darren got all the best D words.

And now, because I was with my girls—I played along for fun. “You know, all the best things are on a stick.”

Kendall nodded. “Fudgsicles.”

“Deep-fried Twinkies,” I added.

Kristen gave a slight tilt of her head left then right, in the way she usually did when considering something, then her expression brightened. “Cake pops!”

“That’s so wrong.” Hannah dropped onto the opposite wingchair with an offended expression and planted her daiquiri glass down onto Kristen’s end table with an echoing clang. Hannah used to own a bakery, Sweet Dreams, until she sold it to her two star employees. Now she made designer cakes for Invitation Only’s parties, in addition to spending her time starting up a riverside restaurant with Cade.

Hannah sighed, shaking her head. “Cake is not meant to be a single bite, like a donut hole or a chocolate truffle. And some genius made cake pops round. Real imaginative.”

“No.” I maneuvered an aching calf onto my opposite knee, then dug my kneecap into the tight muscle with a groan. “Darren isn’t a boring single bite. He’s like an enormous lollypop. Your mouth waters and you can’t wait to try and tackle it. Even though you aren’t sure how to. Do you take long licks? Or do you suck?”

“Suck. Definitely suck.” Kendall got this dreamy faraway look.

I landed a soft punch on her shoulder. “Hey. No fantasizing about my man candy.”

She held her hands up in surrender, one still clinging to the stem of her glass. “I’m speaking in generalities.”

On a long sigh, I dropped my head back onto the couch cushion, then stared at the ceiling. “Well, Darren is no longer sex on a stick.”

“Why not?” Kendall glanced my way when I didn’t immediately answer.

Tell the truth?

Why not? Who else was I supposed to bounce my problems off of?

I took a deep breath. “Because according to Darren, I ‘deserve better than a one-night f*ck.’”

“You do.” Hannah gave me a serious look.

My chest felt heavy. None of them knew my story: why I kept guys at arm’s length, the reason I’d quarantined them strictly into sexy-heartbreaker-but-one-night-stand territory.

But our fun girls’ night didn’t need to be bogged down with my issues. So I veered far away from the serious therapy talk. “Yeah, well sometimes a girl wants only a taste of man candy.”

For years, it’d been all I wanted. Only now that I’d gotten tangled up with Darren? I’d begun to want a whole lot more from him than a taste. I swallowed hard, refusing to think about something I couldn’t fully define.

“But for now, we’re just friends. He’s helping me train.”

“For what?” Kristen glanced up, pausing her top-coating at midtoenail.

“Well, originally, it started as a 5K. Now? I’m gearing up for a trail run race.”