Page 92 of Before You Fell

My stomach tightens, but I keep my face bored. “No.”

Talia’s eyes light up. “Interesting.”

Sienna snorts. “Aren’t you with Carter?”

Talia waves a hand, as if Carter and his entire existence mean nothing to her. “Barely. And not in any way that would stop me from letting Phoenix Stone ruin my night.”

Sienna laughs. “I’m sure Phoenix would ruin more than just your night.”

“That’s the point.” Talia looks delighted by her own lack of shame. “He looks like he fucks dirty.”

“He does,” I say before I can stop myself.

They both glance in my direction.

Shit.

Talia’s smile turns sharp. “Good to know. Pretty boys who act sweet bore the hell out of me. I want the kind who leaves bruises and calls it manners.”

Their laughter spills around me as I stand here, waiting for Memphis to come back with my drink.

Sienna must see something shift on my face because she bumps her shoulder into mine.

“Here,” she says, opening her little black bag and holding it between us. “This is the party drug making the rounds. The biggest buzz. Everyone’s obsessed.”

I gaze downward. It’s small. Almost harmless-looking.

“You don’t have to,” Sienna says.

The smart thing would be to say no because of what is already in my system. But I reach down and take it before I can change my mind. I put the tiny pill on my tongue.

Memphis comes back with my drink in hand.

Talia spots him before I do.

“Well,” she says, dragging her gaze over him without even pretending to be subtle. “You must be Memphis Cross.”

His smile curves. “Depends on who’s asking.”

“A woman with excellent taste and very few moral objections.”

Sienna laughs into her glass. “Talia collects red flags.”

“I prefer to think of them as souvenirs.” Talia steps closer to Memphis. “I saw your last video. You look like you know how to use your mouth.”

Memphis glances at me for a second before his attention shifts back to Talia, who is easy in a way I was not last night. Open. Willing. No panic hiding under her dress. No ghosts in the bathroom.

“It depends on what you need it for,” he says.

Talia smiles. “I can think of a few things.”

I take the drink from Memphis’s hand before he can decide whether to offer it to me or to forget I am standing here.

The two of them move across the room and disappear down the hallway together. Toward the bathroom, no doubt.

Classy little full-circle moment.

I stand sipping my drink, while Memphis Cross goes off to fuck a woman who knows exactly what she wants