Dating Games(69)

“Nice to see you, too,” I respond sarcastically. “Where have you been? And why are you just getting in when it’s practically time to leave?”

She smooths her hair behind her ear, avoiding my eyes, which is the Chloe tell that she’s purposefully being evasive. “This isn’t about me. This is about you. How did it go?”

I study her, unable to shake the feeling she’s keeping something from me, but I’ve been itching to see her since Julian dropped me off at her apartment yesterday afternoon. A nice surprise since I expected Reed to drive me again. When she wasn’t home, I had no option but to obsess over every little thing that happened, which resulted in the conclusion that Julian is obviously bipolar. Or, better yet, suffering from multiple personality disorder. What other explanation is there?

“Come on, Evie! Dish!”

“I don’t even know where to begin.” It’s true. It seems like a lifetime’s passed since I stepped into that chauffeured town car and was whisked off to the Hamptons for a weekend of excess and privilege.

“Start with what happened when you got there.”

I sit back in my chair as I stare into the distance, trying to collect my thoughts. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect, how Julian would act around me, considering this is just supposed to be a business relationship. But when I saw him and he saw me…” A blush builds on my cheeks as I recall the adoration in his eyes when they fell on me wearing that two-piece.

“Yeah?”

“There was a spark.”

“But…” She arches a brow, sensing there’s more.

“But every single action, every word made me question his motivation. I constantly got swept up in the moment and believed it was all real, only to be reminded it wasn’t the next minute. The entire weekend, I felt like we were on a see-saw or playing a constant game of tug-of-war. He’d have me so wrapped up in him I’d forget the reason I was there. Then he’d retreat, acting like I had some infectious disease. And at the gala…” I trail off.

“Yeah?”

“It’s just…” I fidget with my hands, still struggling with how to process what happened on the verandah during the fireworks display. Once we left the party, we hadn’t spoken of it. For the rest of the weekend, it was as if it had never happened. At first, I considered it to be a good thing. Now I’m not too sure.

“What is it, Evie?” She places her hand on my knee, her voice filled with compassion. “You know you can tell me anything.”

I blow out a breath, lifting my eyes to meet hers. “Things got a little…heated.” Butterflies flit in my stomach at the memory. “Actually, things got very heated.”

“Heated?” This catches Chloe’s attention. “Heated how?”

I chew on my lower lip, trying to find the right words.

“Come on, Evie!” she all but shrieks. “You’re a sex and dating columnist for crying out loud. This shit is what you do for a living.”

“He touched me,” I blurt out.

She waggles her brows as a slow smile builds on her mouth. “Where? Your arm?”

“You know where,” I scoff, rolling my eyes before swooning from the memory. “God, Chloe…” I squeeze my legs together. Just discussing this leaves my body desperate for more. “It was so wild, so crazy, so out of character for me.” I lower my voice, inching closer to her. “We were on the verandah. It was a little chilly, so he draped his tux jacket over my shoulders. Then he wrapped his arms around me, keeping me warm. One thing led to another and before I could stop the train from derailing, he slipped his hand under the slit of my dress and took me to pleasure town.”

She stares at me, processing my story.

“I wore this dress with a long, flowing skirt. There was so much fabric, it masked what was really going on.”

She waves me off. “I know what you were wearing.”

I blink at her. “You do?”

“Of course. Photos were all over the gossip websites as everyone tried to figure out who the mystery woman on Julian Gage’s arm was. That’s not what I’m questioning.”

“It’s not?” I ask, unsure what to think of my photo being plastered all over the Internet. I knew this would happen, but I’d been living in my fantasy world all weekend. This explains why my mother’s been trying to get in touch with me. She probably saw my picture with someone other than Trevor. I make a mental note to call her and tell her we broke up, considering I no longer have any interest in getting back together with him.

“Pleasure town, Evie?” Chloe bursts into a giggling fit. “Really? That’s what you’re going with? Did you ride his rocket all the way there, too?”

“No! There was no rocket riding. There was no rocket fondling. Hell, I never even caught a glimpse of the launch pad, although I certainly felt it.” I laugh along with Chloe. This is exactly what I needed, a few moments with one of my best friends to make sense out of the weekend.

“But he worked your…command center?”

“Did he ever. The fireworks in the sky were nothing compared to the explosions down below. He knows his way around…ground control.”

“Okay, okay.” Chloe waves her hands in front of her, tears forming in the corner of her eyes as she struggles to breathe. “You need to stop with all these spaceship references or I’ll never be able to watch Apollo 13 again, and you know how much I love Kevin Bacon.”