Page 35 of Never Let Go

I groaned, burying my face in my free hand, and it was as hot as the tea in the other. “Not everything is about sex, you know.”

“Not everything,” she agreed easily. “Dating, especially in the early stages, is mostly about sex, though. More especially so because you can’t actually have it. Although Chase and I did kiss a couple of times in the dark. It was hot as hell.”

My heart jumped. “You did?”

“Of course, we did.” She giggled. “By the end of the second date, neither of us was very interested in keeping our hands to ourselves anymore. Why?”

“Because, uh…”

“The dress worked!” she squealed. “You felt so good about yourself and so confident that you kissed him, didn’t you? I knew it would work.”

“Ash,” I groaned, finally lifting my face out of my hand. “I’m feeling guilty enough about it already. The rules are there for a reason and—”

“Oh, who cares about the rules? You finally met a guy who made you break them. That’s amazing news, Shelby. It’s huge news, actually. How was it? Did he leave you all hot and bothered?”

I thought back to the ache that had remained in my body long after I’d gotten home and nodded. “Yeah, he did. Very much hot and very much bothered. Like, abnormally so. It was just a kiss, but damn.”

She chuckled. “It’s not abnormal. It’s amazing, is what it is. Are you going to see him again?”

“I hope so, but he said he had something to do, so it would take a few days before he’d be able to go on another date.”

“Did he tell you what he had to do that was so important he couldn’t go on a damn date? I had high hopes for this guy, but now I’m not so sure.”

“He didn’t say and I didn’t ask, but it’s weird how much I trust him. For a minute there, I hoped that he wasn’t seeing someone else and that what he had to do had something to do with her, but the more I think about it, the more I don’t think that’s it. I think it’s just life stuff, you know?”

“Okay,” she said hesitantly. “I won’t doubt him if you’re not. Do you think you’re going to bring him to the wedding?”

“I hope so, but I won’t be able to say until closer to the time. Is that okay?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course, it’s okay.” An excited giggle came out of her. “Only two more blind dates until the big reveal at date number five! I’m going to help you get ready for it.”

I smiled. “You’re going to have to. If we make it that far.”

“Don’t be a hater,” she said excitedly. “If it’s still going so well two dates in, you’re going to make it that far. I’ve got to go, but I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed, hanging up. A thrill ran through me at the prospect of seeing him on our fifth date.

I hadn’t given much thought to what he looked like. Our chemistry was intense enough that I didn’t think it would matter. After we’d kissed, he knew I was no stick figure, so I wasn’t too worried about that either.

After I hung up my phone, I checked the app but there wasn’t a notification waiting and I sighed. All I wanted was to get to our next date, but I’d told him I’d wait and now there was nothing else to do. Getting up, I washed the last of my tea down the drain and headed to my bedroom, fully intent on thinking some more about him once I climbed into my bed.

17

FOSTER

Porter, Kane, and I each held our own bottle of champagne. As the wind howled around us where we stood on my balcony, we aimed the corks away from each other’s faces before I counted us down to popping them.

“Three, two, one…”

“Happy Inheritance Day,” Porter cheered as he stuck his thumbs under the cork and popped it, immediately bringing the bottle to his lips before it could spray out more than just a few drops.

Kane was right there with him, cheering and then sucking down a healthy amount of the champagne before he grinned at me. “You’re rich, bro! What are you going to buy first?”

I chuckled around the sip I’d just taken, shaking my head at him. I swallowed and turned to look at the sun setting over the city. It was cloudy but not so much that I couldn’t see the telltale glow of that orange ball as it sank lower.

Touching rooftops and treetops, it just kept going down regardless of what we were doing or if we were ready for the day to end. I sighed. I wasn’t ready for this day to end just yet.

Just a few hours ago, I’d gotten the notification that my bank account had grown significantly and I’d invited the guys over to celebrate, but it still felt surreal. It had me questioning things I’d never questioned before.