Page 19 of Second-Rate Superstar

God, this is so embarrassing.

“He called me a good girl.” My cheeks flamed as I said the words aloud.

Staring at me, Bristol didn’t blink for a solid minute before she burst out laughing. Rolling around on the bed, she gripped her sides. Finally calming down, she said, “Oh God. You really had me going there for a minute.”

I whacked her with a pillow. “It’s not funny!”

“Sorry.” She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. “Give me a minute to pretend to be indignant that the big bad hockey player offended you by calling you a good girl.”

Hugging the pillow to my chest, I said, “Who does that? Sure, fictional guys say it all the time, but flesh-and-blood men? Not a chance.”

Bristol cocked her head. “Sure they do.” She paused, thoughtful for a moment. “I mean, Nix does, but probably because he’s willing to try anything I read in a book.”

I grimaced at her admission. “Oh, Bristol. Please tell me you two aren’t re-enacting scenes frommybooks.”

Averting her gaze, she stood. “Fine. I won’t tell you that.”

“Gross. I may never be able to write another sex scene again if I have to picture you two in the act.” I shuddered at the thought.

Don’t worry. Sexy Hockey Boy will be hard to replace.

Wait, when did he change from Hot Hockey Boy to Sexy Hockey Boy?

Jesus. I was losing my goddamn mind!

Shaking my head to clear it, I said, “Regardless, I’m not interested.”

“Okay.” Bristol nodded. “You can tell him that yourself. He’s waiting for you in the living room.”

My eyes bugged out of my head, and my heart rate shot through the roof as I rose to my feet.

“You let him into thehouse?” I whisper-shouted, uncertain how much of our earlier conversation had floated down the stairs from my open doorway.

“Why not?” She shrugged. “Idon’t have a problem with him. And it’s not like he bites.” Bristol paused, an evil grin lighting up her face. “Or maybe he does. That’s hot as fuck.”

Rubbing both hands down my face, I groaned. “What am I going to do with you?”

She tossed me a wink. “You love me.” Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she gasped.

“What now?” Bristol was never more dangerous than when she got an idea in her head.

“I was just thinking . . . Maybe you could convince him to pop your cherry.”

“Bristol!” I screamed, promptly slamming both hands over my mouth in shock.

Yep, I was a fraud on multiple fronts. I spent my days writing about couples who fell in love while having sex along the way, yet I was still a virgin. Not that anyone would know that from reading my books. I believed that research was key to my craft, so I read my fair share of erotica and watched lots of porn. Most things weren’t realistic, but I gleaned enough to make my scenes believable.

Bristol wasn’t sorry in the least, offering, “Just saying. Would be a hell of a lot better than those bumbling idiots walking around campus with little to no experience. Those hockey boys know what they’re doing.” She waggled her eyebrows. “If you know what I mean.”

I leveled her with a glare. “Subtlety isn’t exactly your strong suit.”

“Sooooo, are you going to greet your guest? Or should I send him up?” She rubbed her hands together gleefully.

“I hate you so much,” I whined.

“You’re the one that caught his attention, babe. Might as well use it to your advantage, whether you bone him or not.”

She had a point. If I didn’t figure out a way to nail down the logistics of the game, I might as well scrap this book. I had a notebook full of ideas, but silly me, I had already promoted this one on my socials and my readers were excited. Pulling the plug now wouldn’t do me any favors. Indie authors relied on word of mouth, so pissing off my fanbase could spell disaster for mycareer.

---