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“And it isn’t like it is solely Laken’s fault. I could have told him to put on a condom. I didn’t because…” I trail off when I realize I sound like the harlot in “Glitter.”
Jenni would never let me off so easily. “Because…?”
I try to think of a respectful way to finalize my reply. When I fail to come up with a valid point, I murmur, “I wanted him to be my first.”
“To take you bare or…?”
I roll my eyes at her insinuation I’m as innocent as my pasty-white skin and ginger locks make out. “Tony—”
“Doesn’t deserve a mention.” She shivers like I dated him when he was bald before saying, “But Laken…” She breathes heavily out her nose and then shivers for a completely different reason than horror. “I think he’s ticking all the right boxes.”
My eyes adopt a look of love when I murmur, “I think so too.”
“Then you have to tell him.”
My words blurt out of my mouth in quick succession. I always talk fast when nervous. “Tell him what? That I—”
She reminds me so much of the teenager I met when she interrupts me. “That youloooovehim.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve only known him for a week.”
My cheeks couldn’t get any redder when a deep, mannish voice joins our conversation. “And?” As Jenni twists her camera to announce our discussion isn’t private—I should have known; our conversations are never private—Noah sits straighter on the couch he’s sharing with Nick and Emily. “A week. A month. A year. It shouldn’t matter. Don’t put value on time.” I swoon along with Emily when he locks his dark eyes with Emily’s translucent pair. “Pay attention to who you feel yourself with the most. The people you feel yourself around the most are your tribe. They’re the support network you’ll seek time and time again when things get rough, and the ones who will keep you going no matter how bad the day.” I remember I’m not the only one who has suffered through the loss of a sibling when he returns his eyes to mine and says, “Issue doubt to the people who instill doubt, but don’t base someone’s value in your life on how long you’ve known them, or you could give up something great.”
“I’m sorry,” Emily butts in, her voice charged with emotions, “I’m gonna need to hump my husband for a couple of minutes. To save everyone being grossed out, meeting adjourned.”
Noah pulls Emily onto his lap, causing her to giggle before the shuffling of feet announces the group has agreed to her offer to defer their meeting.
“If you had told me you were in the middle of a meeting, I would have waited.” That’s a lie. I was dying to decompress, so I would have shared regardless of who was listening. You don’t need better proof of this than the knowledge our conversation started while Knox was still in the room with me.
“Noah told me to take the call,” Jenni says after moving our conversation to the kitchen of the mega-mansion they’re using as a home base for their Europe tour. “And I’m glad because his input was pretty compelling. I’ve known you for…”
“Eleven years,” I fill in when math fails her. She’s more a design and art kind of girl than a math and equations girl.
“And not once have I seen you like this. Your face is glowing. You can’t stop smiling even when you’re complaining. And—”
“I’m not complaining. I am just…”
I’ve got nothing.
It’s for the best since Jenni keeps talking. “Sex is good. But it isn’tthatgood.” She breathes out heavily like she can’t believe she’s about to speak the words she does. “You have to tell him the truth. If it isn’t how you feel, at least let him off the hook for thinking he’s messing with his best friend’s girl. It isn’t like the tension will stop when he knows the truth. You’ll just have some groupies throwing themselves at your bodyguard instead of you.” When I pull a face, she laughs. “Don’t worry. You’ll still get your fair share of male fans’ interest, but you should prepare yourself for the attention Laken will get when he’s linked to you. Some women only want what other women have, and Laken is a hottie.”
“Jen…”
“No one else.” She dispels Nick’s jealousy with three little words before shifting her focus back to my nonexistent relationship. “I’ll stay by my phone in case you need backup.”
“You want me to tell him now?”
“Ah, yeah. We’re not going the suspense route. We’ve done that for a week already. I need to know the outcome like yesterday.” Her claps boom down the line. “So hustle, lady, before this momma gets nagged for morning tea.”
Morning tea? It’s barely dawn.
“All right. I’m going,” I announce when Jenni’s brow gets lost in her hairline. “But you really should watch how many times you scowl. You’re closer to thirty now than twenty. Laugh lines will soon be confused as wrinkles.”
I smile when she gags. “Thanks for the reminder.”
She nods when I say, “I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
