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“I don’t care what you do,” I say, closing my eyes. It’s past midnight, my body is fully satiated and I’m exhausted. I’m asleep before Conrad can even reply.
* * *
I KNOW CONRAD’S gone before I even open my eyes. I can feel his absence. I roll over and breathe in his lingering scent on my sheets. My lips curl up and my body tingles at the memories of last night. But my smile quickly fades and my stomach drops when I hear Brady’s voice followed by the slam of the front door.
Shit!Now I’m glad Conrad’s gone. I groan and tug my sheets up to hide his shirt. The thought of him walking home topless gets me going all over again.
But Brady knocking on the door is like being dunked in ice water. Hesitantly, I tell him to come in. He arches his brow when he sees that I’ve just woken up. “Christ, Ivy, it’s almost lunchtime. What are you still doing in bed?”
I roll my eyes and stretch. “Since when am I not allowed to sleep in?” That was the best night’s sleep I’d had in months and my body is definitely thanking me for it. I reach for my phone to check the time, surprised to find a text from Conrad.
LUCIFER: Morning, Princess. Didn’t think we were up for sleepovers just yet. Balls in your court. You’ve got my number. Don’t be afraid to use it when you need a… release ;)
Ivy: Smooth. Do I need to pay by the hour, or do I get mates rates?
LUCIFER: I thought we weren’t friends?
Ivy: We’re not.
LUCIFER: Glad we got that sorted. I’ll be seeing you, Princess.
I can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. Did I really just agree to a friends with benefits arrangement with Conrad? What do you call it when you’renotfriends? The only thing I do know is that I don’t completely hate him.
“Who’s that?” Brady asks, indicating my phone as he perches on the edge of my desk. My cheeks flush and I pray my room doesn’t smell like sex.
“No one.”
He raises his brows, a grin splitting his face. “Uh huh, sure. That’s a pretty big smile for no one.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I left my wallet and phone here last night,” he says, holding them up just as both our phones ping with five consecutive messages.
“You’re hopeless.” I laugh, shaking my head.
“Fuck, yeah,” Brady says, checking his phone. He grins and motions to my phone laying on the bed next to me. I pick it up and open the group chat.
HARLEY: Ellie came through with the goods. We’re going to the Byron Bay Music Festival in style, baby!
HARLEY:
WREN: VIP!?! Shut up! How?
“Whoa,” Brady says, lifting his wide eyes to meet mine. “I wonder how she managed to swing that?”
I shrug. I know how, but I can’t tell Brady.
BRADY: That’s unreal! You’re a legend Ellie!
JORDAN: What?! Ronnie, baby, do we really need to go to your Nan’s 100th birthday? JK
RONNIE: Don’t tempt me, babe. I’m so jealous.
WREN: Ives… we’re going to see Forever Summer!!! VIP!!! OMG OMG OMG!!!
I smile. Wren and I have been in love with Forever Summer ever since they burst onto the indie music scene when we were fourteen.
Brady laughs. “Your dreams of being a groupie are coming true.” I roll my eyes as another message comes through. His face darkens as he looks down at the screen. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
