Page 122 of Pretend Girlfriend

“Nonsense! Anything for family.”

Family. She was acting like I was family. Guilt flooded my body and made me want to run into my room and slam the door.

“That’s incredibly sweet of you,” I said. “But what if Landon and I break up? Not that I expect us to, of course! But I’m afraid that if you get me a job like this, and we ever do break up, you…”

She smiled sympathetically. “Oh, honey. I want to help you because it’s the right thing to do. Us women need to support each other. The men certainly aren’t going to help us get ahead, are they?”

“Well…”

“You two could break up tomorrow and I would still help you get a clerkship,” she reiterated. “You helped make the wedding special, and I will always remember you for that, no matter what happens.”

“That’s… really sweet of you to say,” I said, although this wasn’t helping assuage my guilt.

“Besides, if you two ever break up, I’ll probably take your side!” she added with a laugh. Then she leaned close and said, “Marisa is sweet. But I always pictured my daughter-in-law being more like you.”

She gave me a hug, then said, “By the time we get back to Chicago, I’ll have something lined up for you. So relax and enjoy the rest of your vacation!”

I watched her go, feeling a strange mixture of guilt and giddiness. A clerkship? It was the life preserver I desperately needed right now. And even if I didn’t necessarily believe that she would take my side if—when—Landon and I broke up, it was at least something.

Our room was empty. Landon must have been down by the pool hanging out with the others. I took a long shower to get the smell of sex off me, then crawled into bed.

I’d had my first threesome. I’d tried anal, to a small degree, and enjoyed it more than I expected. And now instead of a corporate job at DefTec, I was potentially going to be clerking for a judge.

It was like all of my luck had changed in the blink of an eye.

I fell asleep immediately, and slept more soundly than I ever had in my life. I suspected that the weed had something to do with that. It also gave me extremely vivid dreams. Or more like memories mixed with dreams. I was back in Theo’s room, wedged between the two of them as they moved back and forth, steadily making love to me.

It somehow felt more passionate in the dream, and more erotic, if that were even possible. Theo was the one taking me from behind while I rode Austin, plunging his hard length into my ass all the way to the hilt. And while there had been a tiny amount of discomfort when we’d done it for real, in the dream there was no pain at all. Just an overwhelming pleasure, almost too intense to handle.

I woke up hornier than I had ever felt in my life, and immediately reached down to touch myself. But I stopped as I realized my current circumstances.

I was in bed. That was normal. But I was being spooned by a warm, hard, strong body. His legs were tangled with mine, and an arm was draped over my chest. It was Landon. The pillow barrier was gone.

It was my fault, I immediately realized. I was on Landon’s side of the bed, with a big open space in front of me where I was supposed to be sleeping. I must have migrated over here in my sleep.

Just like when something similar had happened a few days ago, I savored the way we felt together. This was nice. It was comforting. How much of that feeling was genuine, and how much was spilling over from my erotic dream?

Now the tough part: figuring out what to do about it. As nice as this felt now, it would be awkward when he woke up. The best course of action was to quickly slip away from his grasp and leave the bed. By the time he woke, he wouldn’t realize we’d been spooning.

“It’s okay,” he suddenly whispered into my hair. “Don’t be embarrassed.”

I felt my entire body tense. Well, shit. So much for that plan.

“I woke up a few minutes ago,” he explained quietly. “You were all the way over here, cuddling against me. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get out of bed without you waking up and feeling embarrassed.”

“Too late,” I said.

His broad chest vibrated against my back with silent laughter.

“Break apart on three,” I said. “One, two, three.”

Landon lifted his arm, and I rolled one rotation over until I was facing him with a few inches between us. His eyes were heavy from sleep, his dark hair messy from the pillow. A single beam of sunlight was streaming in the window, illuminating half of his cheek.

He looked so beautiful in that moment. Perfect in every way.

“You felt good,” I revealed. I hadn’t intended to say it, but the words just slipped out.

“So did you,” he replied.

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