Page 12 of Embrace
“What’s really going on between the two of you?” she asked.
I bit my bottom lip, fighting the urge to blurt our relationship from the beginning to the end, along with the fact that Jake might be a first-degree blood relative of mine, and that despite that, my body yearned for his touch.
“But don’t say anything yet,” she said, checking her watch. “Let’s share a cab and get our asses over to Court’s. We’re already late.” Then Zara raised her eyebrows twice quickly. “Unless you already have a date.”
I caught myself at the beginning of rolling my eyes. Shit, Jake was right. If he hadn’t brought it to my attention, I would never have noticed myself doing it.
“Nope, Jake’s in surgery.”
Zara leaned back, stretching the corners of her mouth downward. “Jake, huh?”
I could feel an intense frown scrunching my face.
“Wait, then it’s no more Jake?” she asked.
“Shit,” I said throwing my hands up next to my ears.
“What?” She sounded worried.
“Deodorant. How the hell could I forget to put deodorant on?” I raced to the bathroom.
“You see, I no longer find myself in the state that you’re in,” Zara said as I rolled the deodorant stick under both my armpits.
“Lucky you,” I called as I added a dot of my expensive perfume while I was at it. I had no idea what brand it was. The salesgirl had told me it was popular and smelled divine. I tried it, and she was right. It had a delicious scent as long as I didn’t overdo it. So I added a gentle dot to the other side of my neck.
Zara shouted, “Come on Pen, jeez.”
I took one more look in the mirror and gave myself a thumbs-up.Jake is going to love my tits in this dress.
“Here I come.”
* * *
Even though we wore heels,Zara and I did a fantastic job of power walking to the elevator. As we got in, I knew she couldn’t wait to question me profusely about Jake. Pretty soon, I was going to feel as though I were a witness on the stand, being asked all sorts of objection-worthy questions by the prosecutor. That was why I decided to bombard her with questions before she could start with me.
“So how’s your boyfriend?” I asked her.
“What boyfriend?” Her tone was lackluster.
“The one you were with when we last spoke. He was in the shower, and you were whispering, saying that you were in love with him.”
She scrunched her face. “I said that?”
“Yes, you did. I guess it’s no longer the case?”
The elevator doors opened.
“It’s still the case,” she said, eyes to the floor, as she walked out. “Well, it’s almost the case.” Then she groaned. “Maybe not.”
Something was very wrong with Zara. I was on the verge of taking her by the shoulders, something we did when we wanted to get each other’s full attention, but as soon as we stepped out into the warm night, I was stopped by the sight of a black limousine. The back door was already opened, and Kirk, the driver, was smiling pleasantly with his gaze bouncing between Zara and me.
“Dr. Sparrow would like to make sure you arrive safely at your destination. May I take you there?” he asked.
* * *
In many cases,I never knew what sort of eye candy a man was until one of my girlfriends stared at him as if he were a lollipop. Zara’s gaze constantly flitted over to Kirk, and his did the same, as he often stole looks at her through the rearview mirror. The energy flowing between them was strong, and I almost felt like a third wheel.
The limo was the same one Jake and I had ridden in to the masquerade party. It had a full bar next to the door, stocked mostly with chilled bottled water, but this time there were chocolate-covered strawberries, pralines, and turtles sitting next to a fresh bouquet of roses.
