“No, I mean, did you stop destroying yourself? Did you start living a life you could be proud of?”
“Oh.” I run my hand through my hair. “Mostly. A few slip-ups now and again over the years.” I look into her gorgeous blue eyes. “But, yeah. By and large.”
Another long pause.
“Isn’t Thailand one of those countries where they could put you in jail and throw away the key if you get caught with drugs?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“You said you were drunk and high as a kite in Thailand.”
“Oh. Yeah. Well. I thought I was invincible back then. Or maybe I didn’t care if I wasn’t. Actually, it’s funny you say that. I’ve got a pretty hairy story about that night. I’ll tell it to you some time, maybe.”
There’s a long beat.
“Josh, I know what happened to your parents,” she says. “Sarah told me. I’m really sorry.”
I’m stunned. I had no idea Kat knew about my parents. What the fuck? She knows about The Clubandmy parents? Fuck.
“It was a long time ago,” I respond stiffly.
She doesn’t press me, thankfully, but she’s clearly looking at me with sympathy in her eyes. Shit. I don’t have any desire to be the Poor Little Rich Boy in anyone’s eyes, least of all Kat’s.
“No worries,” I add. I squeeze her hand to reassure her and she squeezes back.
Our taxi pulls up in front of our hotel and I help Kat out of the car. She’s pretty wobbly.
“You okay?” I ask, holding her arm.
“I’m fan-fucking-tastic. Just a little car sick, I think. I’ll be fine once I eat something.”
We walk toward the front doors of our mammoth hotel.
“Do you need to put on some dry undies before we eat? My briefs are still wet—I think my dick is getting chafed.”
“Oh, well, we don’t want that,” she says. “Yeah, I could use a change, too. Let’s run up to our rooms and meet at that Americana restaurant on the far side of the casino in fifteen.”
“You aren’t gonna pass out on your bed and not come back down, are you?” I ask.
“Not a chance. I’m the Party Girl, remember? I’m a machine.”
“Atta girl,” I say. “But I’d better walk you up to your room, just to make sure you get there safely.”
“You mean so you can havesexwith me,” she says coyly, batting her eyelashes. “I know your game, Playboy.”
“Kat, I’m not gonna fuck you for the first time at six in the morning after a long-ass night of partying when you’re obviously drunk off your ass and, no offense, look like road kill.”
She scowls at me.
“Oh, wait, scratch all that. I forgot we’re playing the honesty-game here. The truth is I’d totally fuck you, despite all that, for sure—but I’m most definitelynotgonna fuck you ’til you’ve dropped your ridiculous demands.”
She makes a “good luck with that” face.
“Hey, you’re the one who made The Rules, PG. I’m merely enforcing them.”
She pauses, considering something. “Well, how about this? What if we fuck without any kissing?” she asks. “Would that be a loophole?”
I laugh. The woman’s trying to find a loophole from her own bullshit? Clearly, she’s a heartbeat away from caving completely. “You’re not in any shape to negotiate on the bet, PG. You made your demands, and now you have to live with them. The only way out now is to concede. There’s no middle ground.”
