Page 27 of Count On Me

“Sorry I don’t think we’ll find one of those in here today. Better luck next time,” I tell her with a giggle. She feigns disappointment and mutters, ‘damn.’

I giggle again and note how nice it feels to be out and laughing with my bestie. She always makes me smile and forgetthe shit I’m going through. But she also gets me into situations I don’t know how to handle—like what I should be doing about my predicament with my other bestie.

“Can we get back to business, please? What should I do? It’s been over an hour since he texted me. Am I ignoring it?”

I watch as Angie shakes her head whilst taking a sip of her wine. “Nope. You’re going to respond. But not with a text, with a selfie. Come on. And bring your drink.” She stands up and I follow suit, confused and a little scared as we head to the bathroom.

“Why are we going into the ladies?” I ask her and watch as she looks over her shoulder and grins at me.

“You’ll see.” Her sing-song voice floats into my ears and I sigh, knowing it’s easier to go along with it than fight it. Once Angie makes her mind up, she cannot be swayed.

Pushing through the heavy door, I scope out the surroundings. It's a really nice bathroom. Big decadent floor-length mirrors cover the majority of the walls. I notice there are no sinks and frown at Angie when she cackles at my confusion. She swings another door open to reveal a mini bathroom behind it.

“Are you freaking kidding me? The stalls have sinks and mirrors in them? You can reapply your makeup in private? That’s genius.”

She nods at me and then tilts her head as she takes in my appearance. I swing my gaze to the left and look at what she’s looking at in the mirror. My curls have gone a little flat, but the leggings are clinging to my curves and make my arse look perky. The top I chose skims over the little pooch in my tummy that, no matter how many sit ups I do, just won’t go away, and is cut just low enough to show some serious cleavage. The alcohol has made my cheeks pink, but instead of looking like an embarrassed kid, I look like a woman with a healthy complexion.I look back at Angie and shrug my shoulders at her and she laughs.

She walks over to me, places her drink in my spare hand, and starts faffing about with my hair. She flips it, twists it, poofs it, and when I look back at myself, my curls are reinvigorated and bouncy.

I stare in wonder at her. “How the hell…?”

She smirks, brings her fingers up to her mouth and blows on them like they’re a smoking gun. Replacing her drink in my hand with a phone, she tells me to snap a picture.

I shyly bring the phone up and suddenly my confidence is gone and the insecure mess I was as a teenager takes over. “I can’t, Angie. I don’t know how to pose or anything.” The pink tint that was gently gracing my cheeks has become emblazoned across my face and is now a scorching red.

“Stop it, right now! You’re beautiful and you’re about to drive young Jaxson mad. Copy me. Just don’t get me in the shot. Okay? It's an obligatory bathroom selfie. It has to be done.”

Angie stands next to me and mimics my stance as I take a few deep breaths. She crosses her right leg in front of her left and I copy her. She brings her wine glass up to her lips and stares sexily into the mirror. I do the same, except I miss the straw and take a picture with my tongue hanging out trying to get hold of the damn thing.

Angie’s cackle makes me blow out a frustrated breath. “I have to see that,” she says as she snatches the phone out of my hand.

“Hey!” I start to protest, but give up and peer over her shoulder as she pulls up the photos. I must’ve kept my finger on the button as there are about ten pictures documenting my epic fail with the stupid straw.

I jump again when she screeches, “Oh my god!”

I’m scrambling to grab the phone from her as she keeps it just out of my reach and deletes a few of the photos. Finally, shespins the phone so I can see the screen and I’m shocked by what I see.

Staring back at me is a beautiful seductress, oozing confidence and sex appeal. If I didn’t recognise the outfit and hair, and know I just took that picture, I wouldn’t believe it was me. I look fucking stunning. And sexy. The tip of my tongue is just visible as I look into the mirror through my lashes. My curves are on full display as the lights in the bathroom highlight the swell of my breasts and the dip in my waist.

“You’re sending that to him. If that doesn’t make his dick hard and his mind soft then I don’t know what will.” She swivels the phone back so it’s facing her and types out a reply to Jaxson.

Me

Having a great time. Don’t worry about me, Jax. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a big girl now… attach bathroom photo.

Anxiety rips through me as I wait for his response. The bubbles appear in the corner letting me know he’s typing and when his response comes through I squeal.

Jaxson

Fuck yeah you are, Edie. You sure you don’t wanna meet me, like right now?

Instead of replying, Angie takes the phone from me, flips the camera mode and tells me to smile. She aims the camera at the mirror and we take a few selfies together.

“A reminder of the night Jaxson Brady nearly lost his mind.” She switches the phone on silent and hands it back to me.

Guilt washes over me for playing these games with him. But instead of wallowing in that guilt, I square my shoulders off, suck in a deep breath, and follow Angie back out into the bar. And try to ignore the vibrating in my pocket.

17

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