Page 11 of Legal

I darted my eyes away. I didn’t want to look, didn’t want to see his beautiful face or the flawless body that had just given me an indescribable amount of pleasure. I didn’t want any of it. I didn’t care that I was still buzzing. I didn’t care that it was amazing and incredible and mind-blowing.

But Ididcare that I’d just had the best sex of my life under the worst circumstances.

Fuck.

Iwas only halfway through the door when she pounced.

“Ohmigod, what took you so long? Tell me everything right now!” she blurted out, not bothering to take a breath.

I shook my head to clear it. Perry sounded awfully jacked-up for someone who should’ve been lying down with a dark cloth over her eyes. Those cute, fluffy drinks caused some wicked hangovers.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her, stepping the rest of the way inside. I glanced around, not seeing anyone else.Mom and Frank must be in the kitchen.

“Don’t even think about changing the subject.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me into the spare room, my foot tripping over the rug. “And I’m fine, by the way. I kept my promise. Now it’s time to keep yours.”

“Barely,” I said. I didn’t have to carry her last night, but I did have to hold her up as we stumbled back to the car. Unfortunately, she knew exactly what I’d been up to when I came back to the party. She outed me immediately; I must have been glowing or something. But fortunately, she was drunk enough to accept my not wanting to talk about it then.

Perry sank her nails into my shoulders and plopped me down on the couch, sitting beside me. “Don’t you know I’m dying here? Start talking.”

I sighed. “There’s not much to say, Perry. I did something I shouldn’t have. It was a one-time thing, and that’s it.”

She tapped her fingers over her lips. “Uh-huh.”

“You were right. I was overdue, and I guess that made me a little crazy. I was impulsive and rash, and it won’t happen again.”

“With him, or with anyone?”

I pulled a rubber band out of my purse and tied my hair back. “I’m not running off to join the convent, Perry. I just have to be more careful about the appropriateness of the guys I sleep with.”

“Was the sex good?”

I leaned my head on the cushion and let out a long exhale, shivering as if he were touching me all over again. The tingles ran over my skin, and I brushed them off like imaginary bugs. I didn’t want to think about it, much less feel it.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“So what if it was fantastic? It was wrong, and after I realized that, I got my control back. There’s no need to make it into a big deal.” I had to keep chanting that to myself: No big deal. No big deal. Because last night, I was freaking out, and it was a very big deal.

And to top it all off, I never did get my fried eggplant.

“I never asked if it was fantastic; I asked if it was good.”

“Whatever, Perry.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Will you stop saying that?”

Perry planted her face within inches of mine. “You’re telling me that you’re not going to see him again, not even for sex?”

“Of course I’m not. In case you didn’t notice, he’s not exactly in my age bracket. It wouldn’t be responsible to see him again, for any reason.”

“Screw responsibility. Have a little fun, get wild for a change. Holy shit,in case you didn’t notice, he’s fucking gorgeous.”

I raked my hands down my face. Argh. “For one, even if he were suitable for me, we’d have no way to contact each other. Two, I’m sure after the heat of the moment was over, he realized his mistake too. He probably had no idea what he was getting into before the push-up bra came off. Hopefully, I didn’t scar him for life.”

Okay, that last part was a bit of an exaggeration. Maybe. Who knew what was going through his impressionable young mind when he saw my perky-challenged boobs? It’s like buying a cantaloupe from the store and then coming home and pulling a wilted squash out of the bag. That stuff can really mess with your reality.

“God, are you actually listening to yourself?” She smacked me on the forehead, and I narrowed my eyes at her. “One, I could easily get his number from Stu, and as for your stupid-ass number two—”

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