If she opened her eyes any wider, they would pop out of her head.
“Me?!”
“Yep. Remember when Colt first showed up? You thought he was my boyfriend, and that kind of set the whole thing in motion.”
“Holy crap! Wait, wait, wait — did I screw you over with that, or are we happy about it?”
“Oh no, definitely happy. Couldn’t have planned it better myself.”
She raised an eyebrow, eyeing me with interest. “Sounds like you do a lot of planning.”
“Sometimes.”
“We’ll circle back to that. For now, I want to know how you pulled off the whole fake dating thing. I mean … What did Colt say? Did he just go along with it?”
I shook my head and launched into what happened with Knox and how I pitched the fake dating to Colt.
“So he said it would be convenient for him to get the jersey chasers off his back? But why’d you want it? I mean, you like him, right? Why not just, ya know … date him for real?”
“Because he’s been avoiding me for years. But I’m turning the fake into real. Trust me, if it were up to me, we’d have been together ages ago.”
“Why would he avoid you? You guys have chemistry that’s off the charts, and he looks at you like you’re the most precious thing in the world. And like he wants to eat you up — in the best possible way.” A shit-eating grin played around her lips, and a blush crept up my cheeks at the memory of last night.
Yeah, I guess he does.
“That’s his story to tell. He had his reasons, and I understand, even though I wish it hadn’t been that way. He only showed up here to help me because his mother basically roped him into it. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what happened.”
“His mother? Tell me more, I’m invested now.” She quirked an eyebrow.
“You have no idea.” I didn’t want to reveal how fucked up I really was, but I told her about my conversation with Alicia and shared some tamer details of the things that happened duringthatvacation.
“Bitch, you’re crazy.” She stared at me for a moment, then flashed a mischievous grin. “I like it.”
A loud laugh broke out of me.
“Wait a minute … if this is fake, at least for now, then what happened last night?”
My cheeks burned, and I pursed my lips.
“Oh my God, something totally happened. Spill!”
“We may have ended up in his hot tub … Um, completely naked.”
“What the fuck! Hot. Did he go down on you since you’re still a virgin?”
I slapped my hands over my burning cheeks and nodded.
“It was a bit awkward at first, and I had to sort of draw him out of his shell, but then all of a sudden, he was a completely different person. He’s so fucking dirty … That mouth?!” I groaned. “I still don’t know how to wrap my head around it.”
“Good for you! He doesn’t really seem kinky at first glance, but still waters run deep. Shit, I need to get laid again.”
“It’s kind of fucked up, but I have this need to see how far that side of him will go.”
“Nothing fucked up about it. You’re both consenting adults, it’s perfectly normal to explore your sexuality. As long as you’re both on board, nothing is really off-limits. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s inappropriate.”
“Sounds like you speak from experience.” I narrowed my eyes on her.
Ella laughed dryly and twirled a strand of her hair, something I’d seen her do before when she was agitated or upset.
