about that grass always being greener.
Moquest staggered into him, clamping a heavy hand on his shoulder. Jay could smell the Jim Beam on his friend’s breath mingling with the scent of Axe. “Having fun?” he shouted in Jay’s ear.
“Sure, why not?”
“Exactly.” Moquest leered at Nicole, who was chattering away with Moquest’s girlfriend, Gina the Stripper. Actually, it was Gina the Ex-Stripper, though it was impossible to tell from her black mini dress with the plunging neckline and her Lucite platforms. Jay wondered what Gina and Nicole could possibly be talking about. He couldn’t imagine it being remotely interesting in any way.
Moquest’s grip turned fierce, and Jay turned to see his friend’s concerned brown eyes focused on him. “You all right?”
Before Jay could respond, Moquest’s gaze flicked across the room to where Kimber stood, surrounded by a knot of men who were likely interested in more than just hanging onto her every word. Her throaty, infectious laugh reached his ears and he looked away, taking an angry gulp of his beer. Why couldn’t she just want him the way he wanted her? Nothing made sense to him.
“Don’t worry.” Moquest clapped him on the back and drew away. “I got some things in store to switch up the atmosphere.” He bit his lip and hummed an unrecognizable tune best suited for porno background music as he danced from foot to foot, waving his hands raise-the-roof style.
Jay arched a brow. “Should I be afraid?”
“No.” A wicked grin spread over Moquest’s face. “You should be stoked. And you will be. I promise.”
One hot red dress, two cups of Moquest’s jungle juice, and more than a few head turns had Kimber feeling pretty damn good. Fuck Dane, and fuck Jay, too, seeing as he couldn’t even deign to say hello to her that evening. Fuck everybody. Why not? As far as she was concerned, the night was all about her. In fact, all nights should now be about her. It was high time.
“So how come I haven’t seen you around before?” asked Bryan, whom she’d been talking to for the past half hour. “I can’t believe Moquest never introduced us.”
“We’ll have to have a word with that boy.” She couldn’t believe Bryan seemed so interested in her; he could be a runner-up in a Jake Gyllenhaal lookalike contest. Where did Moquest ever meet this Adonis? She wasn’t used to guys this gorgeous chatting her up. Then again, she’d been tied up with Dane drama for years, so she’d never really had or been open to the opportunity.
The reminder of the time she’d been without any real happiness and attention sent a bullet of sadness through her chest, but she shook it off. There was no need to think about the past when the magic of the present was so real. She couldn’t change any of it, but anything could happen
Kimber tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and gave Bryan a shy smile, all the while wondering what it would be like to go to bed with him, and not just someday-tonight. Sex had always seemed so sacred to her, something she could only do with someone she loved. She couldn’t believe that sex was something that anyone could just
She could be having sex with someone in a few hours. All she had to do was say so.
And she wanted to say so. She’d wasted years being good, too good. Where had it gotten her? What was the point?
It was time to live it up a bit, but how? How did these things just happen? Despite her desire, she was nervous. Kimber had always preferred relationships to bloom organically. Judging by the past, however, that had had limited success.
Moquest’s girlfriend, who was wearing an outfit straight out of Frederick’s of Hollywood, stepped in the center of the room and clapped her hands overhead. “Okay, everybody, who wants to play a game?”
Everyone in the vicinity turned toward her; she’d delivered her announcement in a way that suggested the game she had in mind wasn’t exactly a friendly round of pinochle.
“I propose,” sang Moquest’s girlfriend, “a favorite pastime you all thought you outgrew.” She held up an empty wine bottle like a sword of victory. “Spin the Bottle, anyone?”
The partygoers whooped in response, as if they were all still teenagers. After wrestling with the nasty reminder of when Dane had taken part in the game, Kimber surrendered to the excitement at the prospect of playing. This could be the exact opportunity she’d been looking for to get closer to Bryan. Considering the way he glanced at her, his thoughts ran parallel to hers.
The guests dropped into seated positions, drawing Kimber’s attention to the few left standing, which included Moquest, who was dancing in a way more resembling humping. Jay stood beside him, slugging his beer with an unreadable expression on his face. His gaze flicked to her and she risked a smile. In response, he polished off what was left the bottle and left the room.
A sudden rush of anger replaced Kimber’s guilt and worry. If Jay wanted to rebuff her at every turn, fine. He was obviously unconcerned about repairing the rift in their friendship. She alone could only do so much, and she wasn’t going to let him ruin what she had a feeling was going to be one of the most important nights of her life.
She smoothed her borrowed dress over her hips as she lowered herself to her knees beside Bryan, who watched her do so with great interest. She sat back on her heels and took a deep breath, giving Bryan an excited grin. He smiled and leaned in, parting his lips as if to speak.
At that moment, Moquest appeared between them, wielding two red cups brimming with jungle juice. “Refreshment, anyone?”
Kimber plucked a cup from Moquest’s hand and took a sip, more grateful than she wanted to admit for the liquid courage. She had a feeling she was going to need it.
Jay inspected his damp face in the bathroom mirror, cringing at how the sick, weak light intensified the dark circles beneath his eyes. He cupped his hands beneath the running faucet and splashed more cool water over his hot skin. Still, he was unable to wash away his visible unease and the memory of Kimber settling next to some toolbox on the floor, both of them giggly and horny and inevitably bound for the bedroom. Apparently, kissing him at the park was the worst thing Kimber could possibly do, but letting drunk, meaty-pawed strangers feel her up in front of other drunk, meaty-pawed strangers was more than acceptable. Fucking wonderful. If this was what Moquest had in mind when he promised Jay a good time, then Moquest was worse than Judas himself. Jay would almost rather be nailed to a cross than witness Kimber tongue-bang someone else. He even welcomed it at this point.
He opened the door and just avoided being plowed down by an impatient brunette, who gave him the stink eye as she locked herself in the bathroom, clutching the crotch of her jeans like a four-year-old. He negotiated the crowd back to the living room, where he saw Nicole getting cozy on the couch with a guy Jay recognized as one of Airy Peak’s new upstairs bartenders. She’d apparently grown disinterested with Jay’s disinterest and moved on. Good for her; that was what smart people did when the ones they loved didn’t love them back. They shrugged and went about their lives like nothing ever made any difference at all.
Despite this observed wisdom put into effect, Jay’s attention turned to the Spin the Bottle game, looking for Kimber. The aforementioned toolbox who’d been eyeing her like a desert mirage all night remained in the circle, but Kimber was noticeably absent. A moment of relief flickered through him, followed by a need to find her. Maybe she drank too much of that piss Moquest made and needed a ride home. Maybe she came to her senses and decided that making out with strangers during grade-school games was ridiculous. Maybe she was outside on the porch with the smokers, lost in her own thoughts and wondering if she should’ve given him a real chance after all.
A shrill, musical chime pierced the party atmosphere, and Gina, Moquest’s woman of the hour, scooped up her smart phone and let out a hoot. “Time’s up. Come out with your hands where we can see them!”
The game participants cheered as the coat closet swung open and out stumbled Kimber, flushed, jewel-eyed, and tittering. Behind her sauntered a guy who, amazingly, appeared to be an even bigger douche than all the other idiots who had been hovering around her like gnats circling brown bananas. He looked so smug it took everything
