Foreplay (The Ivy Chronicles #1)(41)

She caught it with a laugh. “Well, give us something then.”

“Suffice it to say, a much more experienced woman sits before you.”

She blew out a heavy breath. “Fine. You’re not going to give us anything juicy. Can you at least tell us whether you’re going to see him again, or do you feel suitably educated now?”

It was like her question triggered my need to run. I rose from my chair and moved to gather some fresh clothes. I had to be at work in an hour. “Um. Not sure.” I sorted through my selection of khaki work pants, averting my eyes.

“You don’t know?” A hint of concern tinged Georgia’s voice. “Don’t tell me he gave you the brush-off this morning. What a jerk.”

I rolled my shoulders in an awkward shrug. “Ah, he might have still been sleeping when I slipped out.”

“What?” Em’s voice came out a squeak. “No way. He’s waking to an empty bed?”

I faced my friends again, my clothes and shower caddy in hand. “Yeah.” Even I detected the uncertainty in my voice.

Georgia and Emerson shared a look.

“Was that wrong?” I whispered.

“A bit harsh, Pepper.” This from the girl who never spent the night with a guy—or let him spend the night.

“Why?” I looked at them searchingly, my stomach churning uneasily.

“Not even a good-bye?” Georgia asked.

“Wow,” Emerson murmured. “Didn’t take you for a use-’im-and-lose-’im kind of girl.”

My face flushed hot. “It wasn’t like that.”

Georgia looked at me in sympathy. “That’s what he’s going to think when he wakes up.”

I bit my lip, the acid stirring in my stomach boiling over. “I just didn’t want to face him. And no”—my gaze shot to Emerson—“not because last night was bad. I was just embarrassed, I guess.”

“It’ll be fine. He’s a guy. Probably won’t think twice,” Emerson assured me, and that actually annoyed me a little. I was a walking contradiction. I didn’t want him to feel slighted, but I didn’t like the idea that he might not care that I had vanished from his bed, either. Ugh. This was confusing as hell.

Shaking my head, I headed for the door. “I have to shower for work.”

“Hey, even if he is insulted it’s a nice change. Let the guy feel abused for once,” Emerson called out.

“Thanks,” I tossed over my shoulder, wondering what had become of me. When had I turned into a girl who shacked up with a hot bartender and then bailed on him before he woke up? It felt tawdry. Too much like the past that I was running from.





Chapter 14

It was almost one in the morning when the Campbells got home and paid me for the evening. Driving down that lonely rural road, I couldn’t help thinking about Reece. Especially as I passed the spot where my car had choked and died on me. Where we first met.

My phone rang where it sat in my cup holder. A quick glance revealed it was Emerson. I answered it, keeping one hand carefully on the steering wheel. Immediately, the loud noise of music and blaring voices greeted me.

“Hello?” I said loudly.

“Are you done yet?” Her voice came back just as loudly in my ear, her tone exasperated. “You work too much, girl.”

This from the girl who never had to work. I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. I’m on my way home.”

“Meet us out! I’m with Suzanne.”

“Nah, that’s okay. I’m headed home.”

“Party poop! You-know-who is here.”

My chest squeezed at the singsong taunt. “It’s okay. I’m tired.”

“So lame! C’mon. Don’t you want to go another round with him? He looks really hot . . . and you should see this skank falling all over herself to get his attention right now. You need to get up here and claim your man!”

I didn’t bother explaining that he wasn’t my man. Clearly Em had tossed back a few too many tonight. I doubted she would even register the words. “Is Suzanne driving you?”

“Yes, Mom. And she’s dry as a whistle. Got her ID confiscated last week by a bouncer at Freemont’s.” She started laughing at this. I heard Suzanne in the background call her a name.

“Be good,” I called. “I’m hanging up now.”

Emerson started making booing sounds. Smiling, I hung up. I was still smiling as I entered the city limits. The smile started to slip as Em’s words played over in my head. All I could see in my mind was Reece, serving drinks while girls fawned over him. Suddenly I wasn’t driving toward home anymore.

With no clear objective in mind, I was headed toward Mulvaney’s.

Mulvaney’s was crowded as usual, but a lot of people were already leaving, spilling out the doors into the dark, cold night. I glanced at my phone, confirming that it was just thirty minutes until closing. They’d probably already announced last call. I knew it was kind of pointless arriving this late, but I was here. Out of place in my oversized university sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers. A far cry from the girls freezing their asses off in their itty-bitty outfits.

I wore my hair back in a loose braid. My face was makeup free, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t here to get picked up or impress anyone. And yet I didn’t pretend I was here for Emerson, either. I loved the girl, but I wasn’t up for partying with her and Suzanne. I just wanted to see him. I didn’t need him to see me. Actually I didn’t want him to notice me at all. Seeing him was some kind of deep, compulsory desire that I had to feed.