AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He was.” I smirk. “When I peeked into the bathroom, he was indulging in a little self-care in the shower.”
“Fuck...” Harriet fans herself. “That must have been a marvelous sight.”
“Did you give him a hand?” Marius waggles his brows.
“No.” I bring my drink back to my mouth, keeping it in place as I answer, “I gave myself a hand.”
I study my friend’s shocked expressions from over my glass.
“Are you telling me…” Harriet begins.
I place my nearly empty drink back on the table. “He got himself off. I got myself off. As we both watched each other. Then I left.”
“Holy shit,” Harriet exhales. “That’s hot, babe.”
“And last night?” Marius prods.
“We ran into each other in the kitchen. And let’s just say things were going really good until Creed heard footsteps.” I give Marius a pointed stare. “Cock blocker,” I joke.
“This is better than most of the lame stuff I read in my romance novels,” Harriet muses. “Which settles it. I need you to keep fucking him so I can get better material.”
“And also, because you deserve to be happy,” Marius adds.
“Even if it’s fleeting?”
“Do you remember your reason for wanting to lose your v-card?” Marius asks.
“That was your idea,” I remind him.
“That may be so, but you acted on my idea. Why? Why did you ask Creed to sleep with you in the first place?”
I heave a sigh. “Because I wanted to make one decision for myself.”
“Exactly. You made the choice to lose your virginity, and with Creed. So what's stopping you from continuing to choose him?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I nod toward Jameson. “I’m supposed to be in love with someone else. Carrying on with Creed isn’t fair to anyone, especially him. It was only supposed to be one night anyway. Nothing more. That way we didn’t have to involve feelings.”
“From the way I’ve seen him look at you,” Harriet chimes in, “you two are far past the point of not involving feelings.”
“And the same goes for the way I’ve seen you look at him,” Marius continues. “You obviously can’t keep your hands off each other.”
“I can’t disagree with that.”
“Do you really want to deprive yourself of something that makes you happy because you know there’s an expiration date? Take this mimosa, for example.” He lifts his empty glass. “I started drinking it fully aware I’d eventually reach the bottom of the glass, thus causing the happiness this delicious nectar gives me to wither and die. But I still poured it.”
“That's not the same thing. You could always make another one. I can’t make another Creed.”
“You know what I’m trying to say,” he argues. “The royal household loves taking away anything remotely resembling joy. Don’t let them. Why punish yourself in the present for what the future holds? Live in the moment. Who knows? Maybe in the end, you’ll not just experience some great sex, but also an amazing love.”
I narrow my gaze. “I have no desire to fall in love. I can’t. Not when I’m essentially betrothed to another man.”
“Believe me,” Harriet says. “You can try to resist all you want, but the heart has a mind of its own. Love happens whether or not we want it to. No amount of refusal or denial will change that.”
I part my lips to argue against their crazy idea that I should not only continue sleeping with Creed, but also keep my heart open to the possibility of something more than purely physical.
No words come, though.
Instead, I allow myself to entertain the fantasy, regardless of how impossible it is.
