I groaned. "I knew you were gonna say that."
"Oh c'mon," she said. "Give the guy another chance. You know you want to."
"Maybe," I admitted. "But just because I want to, it doesn't mean I should."
"This is what you should do," she said. "Go out with him, do whatever, have a good time. See what happens." Her voice turned serious. "I've known you a long time, Chloe. You haven't had a lot of fun in your life. Maybe it's time to just let go for once, you know?"
Ididknow.
Erika's life had been full of fun. Maybe too much fun, the way it sounded. But look where it had gotten her. If her parents didn't change their minds, she wouldn't be a whole lot better off than I was.
"Maybe," I said.
"Stop saying 'maybe.' Say 'I'm Chloe Malinski, and I'm a sex machine.'"
I laughed. "I'd never, ever say that."
"Then don't just say it. Do it."
"I'll think about it," I said. "But hey, before we go, here's a question."
"What?"
"Remember that photo I texted you the other night?"
"The one of that couple in the back seat? Yeah, I remember. The guy looked exactly like your boss. Same tie and everything."
"Actually," I said, "itwasmy boss."
"No way!"
"No lie," I said. "So anyway, you still got it, right?"
"The picture? Not anymore. I mean, I figured it was just a joke." She hesitated. "It wasn't?"
My heart sank. Here, I'd been counting on Erika to keep it. But had I actually told her to keep it? No. I hadn't. It wasn't her fault it was gone. It was mine.
"Yeah, just a joke," I said.
Too bad the joke was on me.
Chapter 31
Nervously, I paced the living room. It was just after two o'clock on Monday afternoon. Lawton had called me a couple hours earlier to finalize our plans. What those plans were, I had no idea.
All he said was to dress casually and be ready to see something he'd never shown anyone.
I knew exactly what Erika would say. That ruled out his massive cock.
Waiting for him, I wore jeans and a dark V-necked shirt. Not fancy, but nothing I'd be embarrassed to be seen in either.
Right on schedule, a car pulled into the driveway. Watching out the window, I felt my eyebrows furrow. It was a brown sedan with a rusty front bumper and dented hood.
As I watched, Lawton slid out of the driver's seat and started walking toward the front door. Still confused, I grabbed my purse and met him at the half-way point.
"What's that?" I said, glancing over at the car.
"Our ride," he said.
