Love, Lies, and Deception(9)
She winked and nudged me in the side with her elbow. “I don’t kiss and tell, babe. I’ll be staying over at Justin’s tonight so you’ll have the place all to yourself if you feel more comfortable bringing him down here. His place or our place, either way you need to get some action.”
Hoping to get off the subject of sex, I downed the last of my wine and spoke quickly, “We’ll see. I’m sure I’ll figure it out later, but right now I need to make my brownies before I run out of time.”
Getting up from the couch, I headed back into the kitchen and poured myself another glass of wine. Emily eyed me warily from the couch. “Are you gonna be okay? You mentioned something earlier about Kristian acting weird. What do you think his problem is?”
I wish I knew. Sighing, I leaned over on the counter and rested on my elbows. “I don’t know. When I told him about my date with Alec he got all weird on me.”
Emily furrowed her brows in contemplation. “Hmm … do you think he’s jealous or something? You two have been friends for years, and he’s never given the impression that he wants more, or at least I never thought he did.” Pausing, she gazed at me wide-eyed and shrieked, “Hey, did something happen between you two in Fiji that I don’t know about? Did you guys have sex? You two spent an awful lot of time together alone there.”
“No,” I blurted out quickly. “Our relationship isn’t like that. I swear nothing happened.”
She studied me for a second hoping her scrutinizing stare would make me buckle, but there was nothing to tell … nothing happened between Kristian and me.
When she wasn’t going to get another answer she shrugged and muttered, “Well, maybe he’s having issues with his girlfriend. Why don’t you ask him?”
“Yeah, that’s possible. I’ll ask him the next time I see him. Hopefully, she’s still coming to graduation. I know he misses her.”
“Okay, so enough about Kristian,” Emily said, waving her hands impatiently. She bounced up and down excitedly and came to stand beside me in the kitchen. “Not that I don’t adore our friend, but I don’t want him and his moodiness ruining the night. What are you going to wear for your date? Are you gonna sleep with Alec tonight?”
“No,” I shrieked. “You know I have a policy against one night stands. Besides, he might want to be just friends.” Emily shook her head in disbelief. I continued before she could cut in, “I do, however, want to wear my favorite pink top. It’s sexy, yet subtle.”
Emily rolled her eyes and grinned. “You’re no fun, you know that? However, I do think you’ll look stunning in your pink top. Make sure you wear that lacy cami underneath it. I like the way it looks when your top hangs off your shoulders.”
“Thanks, Em, I appreciate that,” I uttered wholeheartedly. She always knew what to say to make me happy.
“No problem, babe. Now get to fixing your brownies. You don’t want to be late.” She pointed to the counter by the oven. “I’ve laid all of the ingredients out for you. Make sure you do double so we can have our own, too.”
Laughing, I nodded and pulled out a huge bowl and the measuring cups out of the kitchen cabinet. “Will do, darling. You know I can’t make brownies and not make double.”
Emily kissed me on the cheek. “You’re the best, Rissa. If you need anything tonight just give me a call, okay?”
Smiling, I waved her off. “I’ll be fine. You have nothing to worry about. I’m the responsible one, remember?”
Playfully, she snarled at me and turned to make her way down the hall to her room. The moment she entered, it didn’t take her long to get the radio pumping. I poured myself another glass of wine and whipped up the brownie batter—hoping I didn’t leave out any ingredients—before placing it in the pans and shoving them in the oven.
Feeling a little tipsy, I danced to the music and swayed around the kitchen until the time came for me to take the brownies out. Why was I the responsible one? I wondered. Emily had her fair share of fun and still managed to make good grades. Why can’t I do it, too?
After downing my third glass of wine, my mind was set; my insides were screaming for me to be bold, to take what I wanted. I made my way to my room and flung open my closet doors. Pushing my usual T-shirts to the side, I brought my more seductive, weekend wardrobe to the forefront.
Taking off my T-shirt and full coverage bra, I replaced them with one of my sexy push-up ones from Victoria’s Secret and my favorite low cut pink top. After straightening my long brown hair to get rid of the wavy pieces, I added a little more makeup to my green eyes to draw them out and to make them pop. I usually didn’t wear a lot of makeup, but this was a special occasion.
I was feeling good, except maybe just a tad bit tipsy, but if anything were going to happen tonight I’d be ready.
I knocked on Alec’s door precisely at seven o’clock. I debated on if I should show up a few minutes late to make him stew, but thought better of it. Games were not something I liked to play in relationships, and I wasn’t going to start.
Alec opened the door dressed in loose fitting jeans slung low on his hips, and a form fitting blue T-shirt that matched his electric blue eyes. His shirt was tight against his biceps, and instantly my gaze focused on them, wishing I could feel the strength of them closing around me. His smile was appreciative as his gaze lingered down over my body, and it made it hard not to grin triumphantly at his approval.