Page 212 of Hot Cops

Jordan’s brows furrowed. “I have no idea what that means.”

“Before Jarod, I’d never spent the entire night with a guy. It seemed too personal, too much like a relationship.”

Jordan nodded. “But you’ve spent the night with Jarod, so I don’t?—”

“I leave before he wakes up,” Stephanie interjected.

“Every time?”

Stephanie grinned. Her friend—knowing her love of good sex—clearly assumed she’d spent a month’s worth of nights in Jarod’s bed. How could she tell her the queen of casual sex had only gotten laid three times since she’d started seeing Jarod? She nodded. “There haven’t been that many nights.”

“Why not?”

“Jarod didn’t want me to mistake our relationship for lust.”

Jordan grinned widely. “Oh man, he’s had your number right from the start, hasn’t he?”

Stephanie refused to acknowledge the truth of that statement. The thought of Jarod understanding her so well had poked at her like a rock in her shoe for weeks.

“I think that’s incredibly sweet…and romantic,” Jordan said.

Stephanie paused. It was. It really was.

“What am I going to do, Jordan?”

Her friend reached out and grasped her hand, pulling her closer. Leaning across the bar, she spoke the answer softly. “Simple. You’re going to drive to Jarod’s house tonight after work. You’re going to knock on his door and you’re going to tell him you want to be his girlfriend and everything that entails. Then you’re going to spend the night. The whole night.”

“There’s a very good chance he’s going to be pissed off at me.”

“So apologize and maybe throw in a blowjob for good measure. Men are simple creatures led by their cocks. If I recall correctly, you were the one who taught me that useful tidbit.” Jordan had a wicked interior that was often masked by her shy, quiet exterior.

“That’s not bad advice.”

“Of course it’s not. I’m practical to the extreme. It’s a character flaw I’d love to shed.”

Stephanie squeezed her friend’s hand before releasing it. “You don’t need to change a thing. I think you’re perfect the way you are.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a shame you and I aren’t lesbians because apparently the male species doesn’t see me in the same light as you.”

“You just haven’t met the right guy yet.”

Jordan twirled the straw in her juice and tilted her head. “Wow, quite a romantic sentiment coming from you.”

“Yeah. I guess it is.”

“You going to take my advice?” Jordan asked.

Stephanie nodded. It was time she stopped letting her mother’s failures dictate her future. “Yep. I guess it’s time for me to pull on my big-girl panties and try to do some things right for once. You know, I think you may have missed your calling in college. You should have gone for the psych degree.”

“No thanks. I prefer numbers to emotions. Less gray area.”

“Maybe I should have gone in to accounting with you. God knows all those damn psychology courses didn’t do me much good. I’m pretty much a textbook basket case and I still didn’t see it.”

Jordan laughed. “It’s always easier to look at things from the outside in. You’re stuck with the inside-out perspective in this instance. That view is much tougher.”

Stephanie picked up a dishcloth and wiped down the bar. In the past, the idea of entering a committed relationship with someone would have terrified her. Now that she’d turned the corner and accepted her fate, she felt lighter, happier than she’d ever been. Jeez, she was fucking giddy. And she didn’t care. She smiled, continuing to clean.

Look out, Jarod Nolan, here I come.

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