Page 39 of Feels Like the First Time

“I’m going to walk off my pie,” she told the redhead with a friendly smile. “You catch up to me later and fill me in on the crown conspiracy deets, okay? In exchange, I want all the information you can gather on that job of Brad’s.”

Zoe paused and considered. Julie, being the master of gossip, was the best person to ask. But more important, she might have a clue about who had dressed up as Aragorn and given Zoe such a mind-blowing orgasm last night. “I’d also be interested in a list of who dressed up as what. I cut out of the party early and am trying to figure out who came in one particular costume.”

Julie gave her an intrigued look, as though she was going to ask for details. Then Candice’s laugh washed over them like tiny shards of broken glass and, with a little shudder, she nodded. Then, glancing quickly over her shoulder to see if it was safe, she slid out of her chair. She tossed a ten on the table and hurried away.

Watching her go, Zoe’s feelings tangled in confusion. She couldn’t blame the gal for wanting to grab the crown from Candice’s perfectly coifed head. But did Zoe want to end up in the middle of a bitch fight?

Zoe stood to leave, glancing over at Candice holding court. The other woman met her eyes, a sneer curling her bubblegum-pink lips.

Zoe returned the sneer with a cheery finger wave. Bitch fight, smitch fight. She had a new friend and she was going to help her win. Because, despite knowing Julie was using her to get back at Candice, Zoe felt the offer of friendship was real.

A warm feeling of belonging Zoe had never had in school wrapped around her. Damn, she felt good. Free, even. She sauntered out of the restaurant with a grin on her face. Her smile grew bigger as she entered the lobby and saw Brad. Perfect.

She called out his name. Her words were drowned by the chorus of men calling to him, though. A few shoulder slaps and loud greetings later and the group of a half-dozen guys headed for the small lounge.

Zoe considered following, then saw Dex meet them at the lounge door. She frowned. She’d forgotten that while he wasn’t a card-carrying member of the jerk club, he was a fringe visitor.

She considered. Should she follow them? Before she could decide, a tiny voice spoke from somewhere around her elbow.

“Hello, sweetie. How about a cup of tea and some cards?”

Startled, Zoe turned and saw Dex’s grandma. Her automatic smile took on a wicked edge. “Mrs. Drake, I’d love to have tea with you. I need some advice.”

“SO WHAT’S THIS WEEK’S bet? Which babe do I have to do to win?”

Dex silently groaned and wished he could be anywhere but in the lounge with these yahoos. But it had seemed smart to fall right back into the pattern of tagging along. Not for their company—he’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger bunch of jerks—but for information. The only way to know what Brad Young was up to was to be in his inner circle. And since Brad was usually up to no good, and that no good might involve Zoe, Dex had learned long ago to grit his teeth and keep a blank face, both when he heard the crap spewed, and later when he’d secretly ruined the jerks’ plans.“But this time you guys need to make the bet a little sweeter,” Brad continued. “What was it last time? A C-note from each of you?”

“How about the keys to my ’66 Mustang?” AJ Maddox, balding ex-quarterback, challenged.

“You’d never hand those keys over,” Brad said as he popped open another beer.

“I would if you actually get her to go all the way.”

Brad stopped laughing and lowered his beer.

“One hundred bucks from each of you, plus you kick in your keys?” Brad clarified.

“But only if you actually do her. No getting her half-naked then freaking out when your parents show up like you did ten years ago.”

“When the hell did they start going to the drive-in?” Brad muttered, drinking to hide his embarrassment over his last failed attempt at Zoe, and the reason behind it.

Out of practice, a smirk slipped off Dex’s lips before he blanked his expression. That drive-in bust had been one of his triumphs of revenge. Scoring two tickets for Brad’s parents in a faux radio-show prize had been brilliant. They’d ruined Brad’s date with Zoe, which was his plan. What he hadn’t counted on, unfortunately, had been Brad’s humiliation the next week at school. In retaliation, the jerk had dubbed Zoe the girl most likely to die a virgin and made her cry. As much as Dex knew it was Brad’s fault, he’d always felt guilty about his role in hurting Zoe.

Which was just one more thing he wanted to make Brad Young pay for.

“Deal?” AJ asked.

“It’ll be interesting to see if you can handle a gal who carries her own whip,” one guy threw in.

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