Page 22 of Final Serenade

My pleasant buzz was turning into a splitting headache and I didn’t like it a single bit. I didn’t want to feel like a sack of potatoes during my round of sex.

Jax: I’ll be there in thirty minutes.

Relief washed over me. Half an hour wasn’t too bad. I had every intention to stay in the restroom until Jax got here, but ten minutes later, there came an insistent knock on the door.

“Hey, are you gonna be long?” a puny female voice called. “I really need to pee.” She sounded desperate.

“Just a second.” I checked myself in the mirror one last time. Not that my looks mattered at this point. Jax probably wouldn’t care about my lip gloss or the color of my eyeshadow. Last time I checked, orgasms and makeup didn’t go hand in hand.

I had a one-track mind that craved meaningless sex. Oh, the things alcohol did to my brain. No wonder I never drank.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled the bathroom door open. The girl standing in front of me had a scarf wrapped around her body for a dress. She looked familiar. Strawberry blond hair, fake lashes, butterfly lips. I’d seen her earlier at The Regency wearing a different, more conservativeoutfit. Her shoulder was propped against the wall for support and her eyes stared at me unblinkingly.

I floundered out of the bathroom and offered her a smile. “All yours, sweetie.” My vision was crap, so my legs miscalculated and we collided. Her purse slipped and fell, sending lipstick, tampons, and a flash drive rolling across the floor.

“I’m sorry.” I kneeled to help.

“Don’t worry about it,” she purred. “I got it.” The scarf slipped off her breast. She wasn’t wearing a bra.

“You might want to…umm”—my hand reached for the fabric to place it over her nipple—“fix this.”

“Oh…” A giggle left her mouth as she tossed the contents back into her purse. “For sure.”

Poor gal. I had to help her get to her feet again. I also thought of offering her a sandwich. I knew I was skinny, but she was something else. “Are you going to be okay?” I double-checked.

“I’m good. Thanks.” Clutching her purse to her chest, she stumbled into the bathroom and closed the door.

I stood in the hallway for a bit, listening to the sound of her voice muffled by the noise of running water. The entire building felt as if it was spinning and I desperately needed to get out of here.

In the living room, people were acting like savages and I almost regretted not returning to the room where I’d left Frankie and Dante.

A text from Jax came in shortly after. He was waiting for me downstairs in a black convertible. I slipped into the passenger side and scrambled for the seatbelt. Clouds of heavy fog filled my head.

“Hey, stranger,” Jax said, hands resting on the steering wheel.

“Hey.” My body ached from being subjected to tons of walking and mean couches. “Thank you for doing this.”

“No problem.” Jax nodded and reset the GPS app on his phone. “Where am I taking you?”

“Home.” I rattled off my address and fastened my seatbelt.

“Looks like you had fun.”

“Sorta.” I wanted to tell him I’d interviewed Frankie Blade, but then I remembered about the confidentiality agreement.

“You didn’t?”

“Yes and no.” I tried to imagine us kissing, but my mind didn’t want to go there anymore. Jax’s lips weren’t Frankie’s, and the fact that I kept on thinking about the man I could never have while sitting next to another perfectly available inked hottie frustrated the hell out of me.

We drove off in silence that went on for what seemed like forever. My knee cried, then my body was suddenly weak and didn’t want sex anymore.

Instead, it wanted a hot shower and a soft bed.

“Why’d you take so long to text me back?” Jax broke the silence first.

We were on the freeway, wind messing up my hair, and an early Soundgarden song pouring from the speakers soothed my wounded heart.

I wasn’t sure how to answer the question without hurting Jax’s feelings. He wasn’t on my priorities list, yet I’d dragged him out to Westside to drive my drunk ass home. And I’d planned on using his body. Although this part of my devious plan was no longer happening. My libido had apparently gone to sleep.

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