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Dane smiled broadly. “Depends on your definition of cheating.”
I rolled my eyes. “You guys are all pretty repulsive then, aren’t you.”
“Birds of a feather. Though I will say that I tend not to dabble with teenagers, so your man trumps me in that department of revulsion.”
“Great. What else do you know?”
“Ask me without the attitude. I’m here to do you a favor.”
I put on my fakest, most dazzling pageant smile. “Tell me, Dane. What else do you know?”
His brows pinched. “That was oddly arousing. But to continue, I think you and I are both aware of Jackson’s need to have his ego vigorously stroked at every hour. He did mention a few times that he liked blowing Gabby’s mind since I figure before him, she’d only slept with classmates and frat boys and kids whose balls had barely dropped yet. So if I were you, I wouldn’t assume she had anything to offer that you don’t. All she had was less experience. And with Jackson’s stupid ego, that can sometimes be a plus.”
I blinked, surprised by Dane’s perspective. It actually didn’t sound far off. I knew Jackson was fueled by the admiration of others. All his friends were, but he was among the worst. So it made sense that he’d have slept with a girl who was completely awestruck by his sexual prowess. I considered it all in a silence that Dane eagerly broke.
“In case you need it explicitly said, she probably wasn’t better in the sack.”
I looked up at him, hating the fact that I was curious. “Jackson never said anything about her regarding that?”
“No.” Dane tossed his drink back like water. “But I can assure you that he’s bragged at length about your bedroom talents,” he grinned as a waitress promptly brought him another cocktail. “Which reminds me that I’m all about you getting even with Jackson.”
Yeah. So was he. “Let’s not talk about that right now,” I changed the subject. “I still want to hear about what Jackson’s said about Gabrielle.”
“Lara, I already told you that he liked being treated like a God, not that he found her to be anything special in bed. And from the looks of it, she wasn’t great. I’m sure there are nineteen-year-olds out there who’ve been around and picked up a couple tricks, but I’ll remind you that for most of her life, Gabrielle was a pretty skinny and awkward-looking – “
“Wait.” I blinked, having let myself get swept up in another one of Dane’s wordy replies. There was something in there that piqued my interest but my drink had my reaction delayed. Dane lifted his eyebrows expectantly as I mentally dialed back the conversation. “What do you mean ‘from the looks of it’?”
Dane smirked. “From the looks of the way she just laid there. In the videos they took. Jackson said you saw them already so don’t act like I just dropped some bombshell on you.”
“I’m not. I’m just… surprised that he showed you.”
“Don’t be. Now that Caleb’s engaged to Sloane he’s been pretty effectively neutered, so when Jackson has something sordid to share, I’m his man.”
“Where did you watch it? At my house?” The thought of Dane watching Jackson and Gabrielle’s sex tapes in my living room made me want to scrub my skin off in a hot shower. But as he laughed, he shook his head.
“Uh, no. No, sweetheart. More like on the dirty little phone Jax uses to do things that the lovely Mrs. Kinsley would disapprove of. Like score blow and text teenagers.” Amusement danced in Dane’s eyes as he downed another half of his drink. “And I’m assuming hire ex-cons to break into your apartment. Full disclosure, that tip did come from me. Gotta keep those numbers separate.” He studied the surprise that I could feel twisting my face. “Really, Lara? Come on, sweetheart, you’ve been around us for long enough. You couldn’t have possibly thought that guys like us did business on just one phone.”
Chapter Eleven
Jake
I’m in idi
ot.
Her first text since we returned from the Hamptons came just as I was getting out of the shower. Without thinking, I called her, rushing to get dressed in case I’d have to run out the door. I yanked my jeans up my legs just as the ringing stopped. “Lara, where are you?” I asked before she could say anything first.
“I’m at Broome Street Kitchen. With Sloane.”
I let out a hard breath. Thank Christ.
“I’m outside right now. I wanted to text you to see if we could meet up about something I found out last night… from Dane.” She paused. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I was going to see him. I just didn’t want to know you were worrying somewhere.”
I ran a hand through my wet hair, waiting for my spike in adrenaline to fade. “It’s okay, Lara.” Feeling my pounding heart calm, I sat on the edge of the bed and leaned forward. “Did he try anything on you though?”
Her silence had my shoulders rigid. “He…” she trailed off for a second. “I managed to leave without him touching me but he’s made it clear that he wants to see me again. And of course, he’s not very subtle about the fact that he’d like me to get back at Jackson with him.”
I gave a bitter laugh. “Christ.” If Dane deserved credit for anything, it was the fact that he never tried to hide what a piece of shit he was. “I’m glad you got back safely. There wasn’t a second that I wasn’t thinking about you last night.”
