Page 39 of The Very Naughty List

“Okay, if it was worth a middle of the night phone call, it’s gotta be good. So spill it already. I’m awake now!”

She suddenly sounds much perkier than she did a moment ago. I can just imagine her sitting up in bed on the other end of this call, shoving her long bangs out of her face with one hand the way she always does.

I take a deep breath, keeping her in suspense for a moment longer while I gather my thoughts. Then I let the words spill out of me in a rush.

“I kissed each of the Cooper brothers. And not just for pretend. Some of the kisses have definitely been real.”

“What?” Her voice is loud enough that I wince, suddenly more worried that the brothers will overhearherthan me. I quickly turn down the volume on my phone as she says, “The last I heard, you were fake dating them and that’s all it was. But now you’re telling me shit is getting real? Tell me about these kisses! Every single detail.”

I start by telling her about how Nick pressed me up against the car outside Grandma Dee’s house, giving her a play-by-play of exactly what he did and how he did it.

“It was so hot that it took my breath away,” I whisper. “Like, heactuallytook my breath away, Lor. I wasn’t expecting it, and it was so much more intense than I could’ve imagined.”

She gasps as if she’s hanging on the edge of her seat. Something I love about Lorelai is that she’s blunt with her emotions and honest in her reactions. I can always count on my best friend to tell it to me straight, and to have my back no matter what.

“Damn, girl. That’s the firefighter one, right? The one who had the beard in that picture you showed me of them?”

“Yeah, that’s Nick.”

“Holy fuck.” She whistles. “You’ve had a crush on these guys since you were, what, thirteen? I bet you nearly died.”

“Oh, that’s nothing.” I actually manage a laugh, despite the heavy pounding of my heart. “What just happened a little while ago in the hallway topseverything.”

“You got pressed up against another hard surface? Did Nick come back for seconds?”

I roll over onto my other side, pulling one of the pillows down into my little cocoon. “No, not Nick this time. Sebastian. The power went out when we were both in the shower, and?—”

“Hang on a second, you werebothin the shower?”

“Not together.” I shake my head, chuckling quietly. “Separate showers. But we ran into each other in the hallway… naked. I was fumbling around trying to pick up my towel after it slipped, and accidentally I touched his dick.”

“No way! That’s like my nightmare! Or my dream. Depends on the guy.”

She laughs, and I can’t help but grin. Then I bite my lip, closing my eyes as the memory of that loaded moment in the hallways rushes over me.

“Yeah, well. It turns out that a dare I gave him back when I was a teenager about getting piercings—well, let’s just say that it’s something he actually took seriously.”

“You’re kidding!” Lorelai gasps. “He has his cock pierced?”

“More than one piercing. An entire Jacob’s Ladder on the underside of his shaft.”

“What happened after that?”

“He kissed me. And I felt like the world shifted on its axis.”

“Shiiit.” I can practically see Lorelai shaking her head in my mind’s eye. “Why the fuck did I not come with you to Chestnut Hill?”

For a moment, we enjoy the giddiness of our girl talk as I try to keep my enthusiasm to a low whisper over the phone. I’m finding it more and more difficult to contain myself though. Especially now that I’m literally locked in close quarters with all three of them. It’s not like I have anywhere to retreat from temptation anymore.

“I haven’t been out of my room since it happened, and I think I’m just going to stay in here and hide forever,” I admit. “I’m not sure I can look Sebastian in the eye again without wanting to literally throw myself in his bed. At least there won’t be any confusing sexual tension if I stay locked in here all by myself.”

“Yeah, that’s quite a conundrum you’ve got there.” She laughs. “Seriously though, you’d better not.”

“Better not what?”

“You’d better not keep yourself sequestered in your room. Obviously there’s some attraction there, and not just on your end of things. It sounds like the guys are into you too. This isn’t just your high school crush anymore. It sounds pretty damn real to me.”

“Yeah, but Lorelai?—”

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