Page 12 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

“You never tiptoed over to one another’s beds in the middle of the night?” Peyton pressed, and Demi and Ruby both laughed hysterically.

“Girl’s got a one-track mind,” Ruby said, shaking her head and thrusting her thumb at Peyton.

I chuckled. I wasn’t going to tell them that he’d slept in my bed every single night for six months.

No one would ever believe that nothing had happened if they knew about it.

But Kingston Pierce had just been there to comfort me.

To scare all the bad guys away.

“Nope. Nothing. I told you that I was a late bloomer in that department. I think with my home life being so up in the air, I was just—a nervous kid, I guess. I never dated or went to dances or any of that stuff back then. I didn’t have my first real boyfriend until college. So, I can assure you, nothing ever happened with King.”

“Well, you sure had all the guys beating your door down in college, didn’t you?” Demi said as she bumped her shoulder into mine. We’d become close friends once we’d gone away to the same school, and I couldn’t imagine my life without her now.

“Well, damn. You had Kingston Pierce under the same roof as you back then. Every girl in town has tried to reel that boy in over the years.” Peyton waggled her brows.

“Well, I’m pretty sure he’s talking to Selena George right now. He said he took her out for drinks and dancing last week, and they had dinner together two nights ago,” I said after I finished chewing. “I think he’s trying to prove a point to me, because a few weeks ago, I’d teased him about having different women in his bed every night.”

“He’s the easiest-going guy on the planet, but he can get defensive when he’s passionate about something.” Demi chuckled, and we all nodded in agreement.

“Yes. If I hear one more time how sensitive his nipples are, I’m going to pierce them in his sleep,” Ruby said with a straight face as we all laughed. “He saw a bee the other day and literally freaked out and ran into the house. But that’s what we love about him, right?”

“He’s adorably charming,” Demi said, with a big smile on her face.

“Yeah, I used to tease him about how irrational he was about bees.” I laughed hard at the memory. “He’s this bigger-than-life, confident guy, but a bee buzzes by, and the fear is real. But then I found out that he was stung as a child and had a bad reaction, so I think it stems from that.”

“River loves it. He taunts him and buzzes in his ear all the time.” Ruby rolled her eyes. “I told him to stop being evil. It’s clearly a genuine fear.”

“That man is so sexy I’d be willing to suck the venom right out of him if he got stung in front of me,” Peyton said, and the table erupted in laughter.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t get stung. I don’t think he’d handle that well.” I reached for my drink just as the door was pulled open, and Jalen walked inside with Demi’s brother, Slade, beside him.

“Ohhhh, Coach Hotty is here. And I’ve got to say, the small shorts work for him,” Peyton whispered, and I tried hard not to laugh. “And can we talk about how hot Slade is these days?”

“We cannot. The last thing I want to hear is you talk about how hot my brother is. Save that for a time I’m not around,” Demi said over her laughter.

“I get that, and I hate to take King’s side on this one, but I’m not sure how I feel about those little shorts.” Ruby raised a brow. “But if you like him, I can live with them.”

“It shows off his thick, muscled thighs,” Peyton said.

“Stop. He’s going to hear you.” I cleared my throat, trying to hide my words as they approached the table.

“Well, aren’t we lucky to run into these beautiful ladies today,” Jalen said, his eyes locking with mine.

I liked him enough to keep saying yes to more dates. But it felt more like a friendship, if I was being honest. We’d made out a couple of times, and it was fine. Not horrible. Not magical.

Not a romance book-worthy kiss, but I also knew that I couldn’t compare everyone I dated to the heroes in the books that I read.

My expectations were probably way too high.

Slade chuckled and snagged a few fries off Demi’s plate. “Hey, I forgot Saturday was your girls’ lunch.”

“Always the fry thief, aren’t you?” she teased.

“Did you both hear that River and Ruby are throwing a barbecue tomorrow? We’d love for you to come.” Peyton clasped her hands together and rested them on the table as Ruby shot her a look.

“Yeah, Romeo told me about it this morning. I’ll try to stop by for sure,” Slade said.

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