by Brent, Amy
But in the back of my mind, a little voice kept whispering that I’d get to feel him again, and the smile that crossed my face at the prospect riddled my gut with guilt.
Logan
“I think this is the first time you’ve ever beat me to a bar,” Hunter said.
“I’ve been here for an hour.”
“Oh, shit. Then something’s obviously on your mind. What gives? Why have you been sitting her for an hour by yourself?”
“For starters, Camilla and I broke up.”
“So you talked with her.”
I eyed Hunter, and he held up his hands.
“Sorry. Bad time to joke. What happened? Who ended it?”
“I did.”
“Why?”
I drew in a deep breath through my nose before I took a sip of my whiskey sour. “You know that promotion she got at work?”
“Oh shit. There wasn’t a promotion.”
“Oh no, there was, but the raise that supposedly came with it wasn’t as high as Camilla had thought it would be. So she started sleeping with her boss to get a higher pay raise.”
“She what now?”
“Yeah.”
“Repeat that one last time, because I could’ve sworn you said Camilla was sleeping with her boss for fucking money.”
“You want to know the shitty part?”
“That isn’t the shitty part?”
“She thought I’d be okay with it.”
“You’re not serious. Oh boy.”
“I am. I’m being completely serious. When I spun out on her, she looked at me in shock and said, ‘It didn’t mean anything. Why are you so upset? I didn’t think you’d be upset.’”
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m really not.”
“That woman thought you’d be okay with her sleeping with her damn boss for a better raise? Because it didn’t mean anything?”
“Yeah, she really did. That was why she’d been so distant, telling me she was working when she wasn’t. That’s why she’s had her nose stuck in her phone for weeks on end. She’s been fucking around with her boss to try to get a better damn raise.”
“Then it’s a good thing you ended it with her. Can you imagine the men she’s slept with while you two were together that you don’t know about?”
“Don’t say shit like that.”
“No, I’m serious. You aren’t dating her now, so I can say it. Camilla’s hot and all, but she’s a little on the free side. Free with her life and free with her body.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. I ended things and moved on.”
“Good for you. Wait. You moved on? When did all this take place?”
“Last weekend.”
“And you’ve already moved on?”
I took another long pull of my drink as the night with Ava crashed into my mind.
“In a fit of anger, I signed up for this agency called Save the Date.”
“I’ve heard of them. Aren’t they some sort of company for losing virginity or something?” Hunter asked.
“It’s a dating website geared toward people who—well, don’t date, don’t get intimate with people. They pair people who are experienced in the world with people who are inexperienced, teachers and pupils.”
“Sounds like a sex scheme. I can dig it.”
“It’s not a—fucking hell, Hunter. Can you tuck it in for a second?” I asked.
“What? You’re the one who signed up for some service to teach some innocent little girl how to swallow your cock down.”
I groaned and closed my eyes as I dropped my head back into the cushion of the booth we sat in.
“Look, did you get yourself a bit of fun?” he asked.
“I’m not telling you anything until you stop dumbing everything down to nothing but sex,” I said.
“Did you do something other than sex?” he asked.
I sighed before I shook my head.
“There’s something else to this, isn’t there? This isn’t just a ‘hey, I signed up and taught a sweet girl how to fuck’ kind of story, is it?”
I shook my head before I downed the last of my drink.
“What happened?”
“You can’t tell a soul,” I said.
“Don’t tell me Camilla was the one who showed up for this little hoedown.”
“Worse.”
“Worse than Camilla showing up? What the hell?”
“Yeah.”
“Who was it? Who did this agency pair you with?”
“Ava,” I said.
Hunter’s face dropped. I slid my glass to the edge of the booth. It was quickly replaced by another, and I chugged it back before the waitress even walked away from the table. So many memories from that night. How decadent her pussy tasted. How tight her walls flexed around me. How sweet her sounds were. How absolutely filthy that virgin mouth of hers had been.
“Ava,” Hunter said.
“Yep.”
“Camilla’s best friend, Ava.”
“Uh-huh.”
“The one who hates me, Ava?”
“That’s the one,” I said.
“She’s the one who showed up for the date. She was the virgin you nailed.”
“In the crassest possible form, yes,” I said.
“Holy shit. You banged your ex-girlfriend’s best friend.”
“Hunter.”
“That’s, like, every dude’s dream.”
I groaned. “Hunter.”
“How was it?”
“What do you mean how was it?”
“How was having sex with Ava?”
“It was—” I allowed a shiver of delight to run up my spine as the waitress set another drink in front of me. “It was the best fucking sex I’ve ever had in my life,” I said.
“But she was a virgin,” Hunter said.
“Yeah. I know. And it was the best thing I’ve ever experienced.”
“Sounds like we found my best friend a new kink,” he said, grinning.
“No. It wasn’t even like that. It was all of it: her outfit, her voice, her body, her skin, her smell.”
“Uh-uh.”
“What?” I asked.
“Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Don’t make Ava some sort of rebound girl where you get hooked until you fuck it out of your system. That’s not good territory to be in, especially since she’s Camilla’s best friend.”
“I’m not doing anything like that.”
“So then you’re not going to see her again.”
“Well, we did have lunch.”
“Damn it, Logan.”
“I wanted to see how she was! Make sure she was okay. Losing your virginity is a serious thing, especially for a girl. I wanted to make sure she had a good time and didn’t feel weird about anything.”
“But you’re not seeing her again.”
“Well—”
“Fucking hell, Logan. What?” he asked.
“The agency contacted me a couple hours ago and said they lost our paperwork.”
“What the hell does that even mean?”
“Save the Date is a company just like any other company, and they have a board of investors they have to please. They have to keep paperwork, charts, data reports, and statistics just like any other company. So there are surveys both parties fill out and invoices for the scenario that are filed away and all sorts of things like that.”
“Uh-huh. So, that was a shit ton of stuff I don’t care about. What does this have to do with you and Ava?”
“They lost our paperwork and need us to replay the scenario.”
“They what now?”
“Yeah. They’re setting everything up for Saturday. I got the confirmation an hour or so ago that they talked to Ava and she was on board,” I said.
“So you’re going to bang your ex-girlfriend’s best friend again on the premise of business.”
“Yeah,” I said breathlessly.
“This is�
�it’s just—”
I braced myself for his reaction, but then a smile ripped across his face.
“This is fucking awesome, Logan.”
“What?” I asked.
“Are you kidding me? You get a second chance with a woman whose virginity you took. You get a second chance at this awesome sex you had while getting over your ex and doing the one thing all guys want to do!”
“It’s not about her being Camilla’s best friend, Hunter.”
“But it adds a layer of forbidden love that’s hard to shake, doesn’t it?”
I bit down on the inside of my cheek and shook my head. I had no idea how to feel about any of this. Hunter was being an absolute pig about everything when all I wanted to do was try to sort through my thoughts with him.
When the agency had called me and told me about what had happened, my knee-jerk reaction had been to say no, hell no even. I didn’t need to be seeing Ava again, especially not in that context. I was already struggling to get our first encounter out of my mind. I didn’t need a second one on my plate.
I had missed the call, though, and only heard all that through the message they left. When the agency got back in touch with me and told me Ava had agreed to the weekend, I couldn't resist. I couldn't turn down another encounter with her luscious curves and her sweet voice and her filthy countenance.
I was treading in dangerous waters, and if I wasn’t careful, the waves would swallow me whole.
“So, give me details,” Hunter said.
“What details?” I asked.
“What are you guys going to be doing? Is this, like, a planned date? Or are you guys going to do the exact same thing you did last time?”
“I don’t know. Ava’s in control of all that through the agency. All they do is send me a time and a place to meet her.”
“This is a thing I need to sign up for.”
“They specifically screen applicants and weed out both men and women who are only there for sex.”
“What? That doesn’t make sense. The whole point of the company is sex.”
“No. The whole point of the company is education. According to their website, only 43 percent of their dates end in actual sex. The rest of it is the teacher guiding the pupil through other things, like how to flirt, how to get a man or woman’s attention, or how to hold a pleasant conversation over a first date.”
“Sounds like a snooze-fest.”
“Hence why you wouldn’t be a good applicant,” I said.
“I think you guys should try something new.”
“And like I said, Ava’s in control of all that. I just show up at the designated place at the designated time.”
“And follow her lead?” he asked as he wiggled his eyebrows.
“Why did I call you again?”
“Because you love me and can’t live your life without me.”
“That’s right. Because you’re a pig I shouldn't confide in about my love life.”
“I would be hurt, but I love bacon,” he said, grinning.
I chuckled and shook my head as I settled back into the booth.
“Just don’t do it,” Hunter said.
“Don’t do what?”
“Don’t fall for this chick.”
“I’m not falling for Ava.”
“I know you’re not falling for her now, but don’t do it in the future. Do this date thing, use it as a platform to get over Camilla, and then get on with your life. No use in muddying the waters any more than they already are.”
“How can you be such trash when it comes to sex and then give guidance like some drunken oracle on top of a hillside?” I asked.
“On a real note for a second? I could be a drunken oracle.”
We shared a laugh before things fell serious again.
“I joke around a lot, Logan. You know that. I always have. But falling in love with your ex’s best friend isn’t a good idea. There’s girl code and guy code and all sorts of code stopping you from that venture. If the sex is great and it helps you cope with the bullshit Camilla put you through, then go for it. But don’t make excuses for a repeat venture. Do this, get this company their paperwork, and then get on to teaching other pupils or whatever it is you’re doing with your spare time.”
“I know. You’re right.”
“I’m happy for you, man, but I don’t want to see you get hurt or create a situation you can’t get yourself out of.”
“You mean you won’t come bailing me out when I fuck up?” I asked.
“Only if you want someone laughing in your face and reminding you I told you so.”
“Eh, I’ll take it.”
“Then a toast,” Hunter said.
I held my glass in the air, and he clinked his beer bottle against it.
“To getting over shitty exes with their best friends. May we find the line and draw it before the line draws us.”
“What the fuck does that even mean?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but it sounded good. Here, here!” he exclaimed.
“Here, here,” I said, laughing.
But I knew I was in trouble once Hunter started talking about other things and I couldn’t pay attention. The more I tried to focus, the more I thought about Ava, and the more I thought about her, the more anxious I got about Saturday night.
I couldn't wait to see her, and that was not good.
Ava
I smoothed my hands over another dress I’d purchased for my evening. This time I’d opted for something a little darker, a little more telling of this new step in my life. I’d found a great dark green dress that fit my curves and went high up my neck, no sleeves. It was a fitted style that fell just below my knees, and I wore dark green heels to match. My crystal jewelry sparkled with the colors of the rainbow, lending a lightness to my features that allowed the dark smoky eye I’d taken an hour to perfect seem appropriate. I almost didn’t recognize myself with my hair twisted up on top of my head and my body elongated by the silhouette of the fabric.
Part of me still wasn’t sure why I’d chosen this dress to begin with.
It wasn’t my normal style. My clothes were more fluid, more breathable. I never stuck to one color for an entire ensemble, and I usually tried to vary colors and give my wardrobe variety. I told myself it was for the rules of our encounter: sexy dress, matching heels, nice lingerie. But this time felt different. This time I knew what was coming.
And I was looking forward to it.
That made me nervous. I shouldn’t have been looking forward to screwing around with my best friend’s ex again. Nor should I have found myself happy at the prospect that the company had lost my paperwork. But I didn’t have anything to lose. It wasn’t costing either of us a dime to do it again, it was helping the company—which meant more business for my employer. And I got to explore Logan again, something I’d been thinking about ever since our lunch date.
Had it been a date?
Our lunch meeting.
Still, I kept the business arrangement at the forefront of my mind. Camilla still hadn’t talked to me about her breakup with Logan, and it had been a week since it had happened. I’d gotten her on the phone twice this week, but our conversations had been less than five minutes long. I couldn’t get her to have dinner with me or get drinks. I couldn’t get her to do anything with me. And maybe it was because of what had happened between her and Logan. Maybe she thought that if we hung out, she’d have to spill everything.
She should’ve known me better than that, but her not talking to me about things made this situation with Logan even more complicated—which was why keeping the mindset of a business arrangement was more suitable. No emotions, no outward commitment, and no guilt.
For the most part.
I looked at my cell phone and turned on the screen. I’d texted Camilla yesterday to see if she wanted to hang out, and even though my message had been read, she hadn’t responded. It hurt that she didn’t want to talk with me and didn’t want to be around me. She’d bee
n my best friend for many years, and the fact that something was driving a wedge between us made me hurt in a way I never had before. I thought we were better friends than that. I thought she loved me more than that. We’d been through so much together and weathered so much life together that I thought she’d feel comfortable coming to me with anything.
Apparently not.
I grabbed my cell phone and slipped it into my clutch purse—yet another thing I would have normally never purchased. I had no idea when I was ever going to wear this outfit again. But tonight, I’d wear the hell out of it. I smoothed on a neutral lip gloss to make my lips shimmer without detracting from my smoky eyes, then headed for the hotel. I had decided to keep the same setup: a romantic overnight getaway with rose petals, a jetted tub, room service, and a comfortable night’s rest.
Because I had to admit, waking up to Logan that next morning had been a thrill I hadn’t expected, which was why I had left as quickly as I possibly could.
I drove myself to the hotel and parked my car, then headed to the front desk. I gave the woman my name and she produced a key, then winked at me before I headed for the elevator. I tried not to feel too weird about it, though it was odd that a random woman knew what I would be doing all night. I looked at the room number and grinned. It was even the same room. I giggled as I stepped into the elevator and rode up to the floor, shuffling on my heels. Was Logan already there? Or would I beat him like I had the first time? Wait, would he bail on me? Maybe I would get there and he wouldn't show up.
I was a ball of nerves by the time the elevator doors opened. I quickly shuffled down the hallway and jammed the key into the door, then shoved my shoulder into it. I squealed as I went careening to the ground, my purse falling to the floor and spilling all its contents.
Before I could face plant on the carpet with my purse, a pair of strong arms wrapped around me.
“Whoa there, Ava. Slow down.”
I gripped tightly to Logan as the door closed behind me.
“Come here. Let me help,” he said.
