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It was mid-November so it was too cold outside not to wear a coat. We shed our jackets at the front then found a vacant booth. We ordered our drinks and got to talking.
“How’s the hotel?” she asked. “Gustavo still got a tampon up his ass?”
“Yeah, a bit. Technically, the hotels aren’t even his—they belong to my mother.”
“Asshole.”
I was annoyed by the situation, but I did think Gustavo was a good guy. “My mother agrees…that’s what the problem is. Until I have a strong husband, I’ll never have any real responsibilities there.”
“She needs to build a time machine and go back to 1734.”
I laughed when I imagined my mother getting into some contraption that actually transported her to a different time period. Her morals were so archaic that I didn’t understand where she got them. Was it really by choice?
“So, on a scale of one to ten, how good is this guy in bed?”
“Wow…”
“What?” she asked. “I’m your best friend. I can ask.”
I stirred my vodka cranberry and stared down at my swirling ice just to have something to do.
“Girl,” she pressed. “Just give me a number, one to ten.”
I took a long drink before I put down the glass. “Eleven.”
“Ooh.” She leaned forward and clapped her hands against the table. “Does he have a brother? Tell me he has a brother. A cousin will do.”
“You know…I don’t know.”
“You don’t know what?”
“If he has a brother. I’ve never asked.”
Esme furrowed her eyebrows. “Wow…you really don’t talk, huh? All you do is screw.”
“That’s how I like it.”
“How do you know he really is faithful?” she asked. “Since you hardly know him.”
I shrugged. “I guess I don’t know. I just think we’re screwing so much that I doubt he’s looking for sex elsewhere. And this is a short-term fling. It’s not that hard to be committed to someone for a month or whatever.”
“What are you going to do when it’s over?” she asked. “Where are you going to find another eleven?”
My lungs deflated from all the air I had been holding. “I don’t think I ever will.”
“God, that’s depressing.”
“Yeah…” When I slept with someone else, I knew I would be disappointed. “So, do you see anyone you like?” I took the attention off of me and my amazing sex life. Maybe Esme was inspired to find her eleven out there. I hadn’t even glanced at the other people in the bar because it didn’t matter who was there. I wasn’t going home with anyone, so I didn’t even want a free drink.
“Ooh…he’s gorgeous.”
“Which one?”
“He’s in the back, sitting with a bunch of guys. Some are older, which is weird. But he’s the one with the chocolate-colored eyes and that sexy shadow on his face.” She nodded to the other side of the bar, which was about a hundred feet away.
My eyes zeroed in on a face I instantly recognized. Hades was there, having drinks with an eclectic group of men. Some were middle-aged; some were even old. He seemed to be the youngest guy there, looking sexy in a leather jacket with a gray V-neck underneath. At least he wasn’t here alone or with Damien, picking up women. He seemed to be doing business of some kind.
“That’s the sexiest guy I’ve ever seen. He’s drinking scotch… I like a man who knows how to drink. I think I’ll bring him a double to break the ice.”
It was so awkward that I didn’t want to tell her the truth. “Actually…that’s him.”
Esme looked back at me, her eyes filled with confusion. “Who?”
“Eleven…”
“Oh my god, shut your ass.”
“Nope, I can’t.”
“That’s the guy you’re sleeping with?” She raised her palm in the air. “Girl, good for you.”
I chuckled before I gave her a high five. Of course, Esme wasn’t embarrassed by the situation. She had the confidence to bounce back no matter what. “Yeah, he’s easy on the eyes.”
“I can tell he earned that score. Look at those shoulders.”
“They look better when he’s naked.”
She chuckled. “You’re so dirty. What’s he doing with all those dudes?”
“Probably working.”
“What does he do?”
“Runs a bank or something.”
“So, he’s rich?” she asked in surprise.
“Yeah. Pretty loaded.” Based on his house, his car, and the fact that he owned a restaurant…he was doing pretty well.
“Well, now is the perfect chance for you to see if he would keep his word.”
“What do you mean?”
“I doubt he’s seen us from way over there. He looks preoccupied. What if I hit on him and see what happens?”
Testing him had never crossed my mind. “I don’t know… It doesn’t really matter what he does.”
“Doesn’t matter?” she asked incredulously. “You’re screwing that guy bareback.”
“Yeah, but most men cheat on their wives, so we’re constantly exposed. He seems like a guy who would take care of himself if he wasn’t committed.”
She gave me the weirdest look. “You weren’t kidding when you said he meant nothing to you.”
