Stone Cold Fox (75)

Yep. That would work.

I hopped off the counter and pulled my phone out from my handbag to save the recording. To listen to it later and furiously masturbate, sure. But also for safekeeping should I need it. Dave raised his eyebrows, either put off or intrigued by my basic espionage maneuver. I decided to assuage his potential nerves.

“Relax,” I assured him. “It’s an insurance policy. You are clearly coming on to me, which would displease Collin and the rest. I don’t know you from Adam. How can I be sure you wouldn’t turn this around on me?”

“I respect that.” He really did seem impressed, even though it’s a relatively basic method of blackmail. He must not have watched much television.

“So you understand that I need to be able to trust you if we’re going to proceed—”

“To the bedroom?” he interrupted me, the tomcat.

“I haven’t decided yet. Not much of a loyal friend, are we?” I was teasing Dave, but his expression changed after I said that. He was serious. About to get on a soapbox, chest puffed out like a gorilla. A ridiculously sexy gorilla.

“Hey, I know you’re new here, but let me tell you something. Our so-called group doesn’t know anything about loyalty, you understand? Why do you think I’m hardly around? This is time-honored crap and old-money shit. It has nothing to do with loyalty and everything to do with the fact that we’ve always been so obsessed with our own success that we never made any effort to socialize outside of the friends we were given from childhood by our fucked-up loaded parents, who went through the same exact cycle in their own stupid lives.”

Oh God. He felt so sorry for himself. What a clown. A ridiculously sexy clown.

“Except for you, Mr. Citizen of the World? Because you’re different? ‘Not like other girls,’ right?” I laughed at him, but he was serious. Poor little rich boy.

“Bea, I don’t have any friends either. Not real ones.”

“Well, maybe we’re going to be friends, Dave.”

“Nah,” Dave said, practically growling, shaking his head from side to side as he came close to me again, hands on my waist, then his mouth to my ear. “Friends don’t fuck.”





CHAPTER


    16



I IMAGINED THAT we would have banged with gusto, like wild animals. Very bad, but very good. Lip. Smacking. Good. God, why was I such a glutton for punishment? The proximity to him was nearly more than I could stand, but stand it I would. Such a shame. It would have been so satisfying. I could not remember the last time I’d experienced true pleasure. Sex was nearly always performative for me. Collin’s quest to find my clitoris was hit-or-miss most of the time, and even when he managed to hit due to his dogged persistence, it was quite methodical. Like being treated for hysteria by a doctor in the 1800s. Very manual. Very matter-of-fact. With Collin, it was typically “check the box, then roll over and look at your phone” sex.

Dave, on the other hand? I knew he’d be an unhinged beast with no inhibitions whatsoever. The kind of guy that throws you over his shoulder, ready to lay you down real good, in a way that makes you feel light as a feather. The kind of man that makes for an absolutely terrible boyfriend, you’d never bring him home for Thanksgiving, but you’d still want to gobble his ass up on the regular. Dave was the type of man that could get you into rimming, for God’s sake, and yes, I would have with Dave, no hesitation.

But it would be uncouth to say the least, so I got a full grip and got the hell out of there.

“Sorry, I have to go,” I told him, laying it on thick with a full fan kick off the counter.

“The fuck?” he practically laughed.

“Thanks for showing me the place. It’s great.” I smiled at him, slinking toward the door. Down, boy.

“Bea, come on,” he said, his voice returning to a sexy growl. “You never indulge in anything you actually want, do you? And I know you want me.”

“Meanwhile, you indulge in everything.” I rolled my eyes at him.

“Well, sure.” He grinned. “Life’s for living, baby.” He looked really hot and I thought again about jumping his bones, but no. NO. I didn’t want to go any further down the rabbit hole. That was enough fire play for the day. I wasn’t like her. I couldn’t be like her. And I knew exactly how to yank myself out of it.

“I want to know how you know about East Eighty-First Street.”

“What are you talking about?” Dave looked very perplexed.

“I know all about how you got us on the list for my bachelorette party. Hawkes, is it?”

“Bea, I don’t know anyone called Hawkes and I don’t know anything about your party.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Hey,” he said firmly. “I didn’t have anything to do with that.” I raised an eyebrow at him. He took a deep breath. See? I knew it. “All right, fine,” he continued. “I’ll be very honest with you.”

“Out with it,” I demanded, ready to cut him loose after he came clean.

“I know what’s on East Eighty-First Street, okay? I know about it. I went once a long time ago and it’s definitely not my scene. And furthermore, I wouldn’t send a bunch of girls who are old friends of my family there for a fucking night out. That’s too sick, even for me. What happened?”