Her smile brightened. “Rhea just gave me the green light to head out for some food with Andy tonight before we all meet at a club later. I wondered if that was okay with you, too.”
It had been something we always did as a trio, making sure we got consent to:
Leave the group for something better.
Make plans with a guy we barely knew.
Make plans when we already had them with our girls.
“Do you trust him?” That was the be all and end all for me. If she wasn’t sure, she wasn’t going. “Gentle reminder that we’ve known him for three days here.”
“I don’t need a lot of time like you do. I trust my gut, and that’s good enough for me.” She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger and looked up to the sky. “The question is, is he safe to go out with me without you guys there?”
“Absolutelynot,” Rhea answered for all of us.
The two of them broke out into laughter, and I laughed, too, but the lingering effects of that one glance from Henry still dominated my entire being, driving me insane.
Speaking of Henry…
“Wait. I’ve no problem with you going out with Andy, but then you said you’d meetallof us at a club later.” I raised a brow. “By all, you mean…”
“You know what I mean, babe.” Bailey smirked. “Now you’ve just gotta stop pretending you don’t want it.”
“Oo, nicely done.” Rhea chuckled, and I finally shot her a look full of daggers I didn’t really mean to shoot. She shrugged in response, completely unfazed. “I’m only saying.”
“Well, don’t. Either of you.”
“Look, Rhea will want to see Jace again, despite her pretending she’s keeping her options open.” Bailey rolled her eyes again and muttered something to herself neither one of us could make out. “So, you two head to a club, Jace and He Who Shall Not be Named will follow you, no doubt, then Andy and I will meet you guys there not long after.”
“Voldermort? Really?” I groaned.
“If I say his name, you’re likely to get excited again.” She gestured to my nipples.
I tried to cover them as subtly as I could. “Ugh. Enough of that. You two can do what or whoever you want while we’re here. I’m totally fine with that as long as you’re safe, but my ‘no men’ rule sticks. I’m going to make it until the end of this holiday without laying a single finger on any man’s… private parts.”
“For the love of God, Bee, will you just call it a cock already?” Rhea grumbled.
They fell into fits of laughter again. Not that I minded this time. It got me out of the conversation, allowing me to throw my head back against the lounger and close my eyes, the groan ofdefeat falling from me at the same time as a rush of adrenaline spiked, causing my heart to race wildly.
No men,I told myself.No touching. No intimacy. Nothing.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t look.
I rolled my head to the side to steal another glance at Henry’s fine body, only to find his chair now empty.
That’s when, for the first time all holiday, a chill of cold air really did pass over me.
