Page 27 of In Too Deep

“Well, I’d had an awful lot to drink and–” Rose cursed inwardly. Maia wasn’t a huge drinker, so any story of hers that included excessive amounts of alcohol always ended in disaster. “–I actually ended up staying til close with Cal. He was so sweet. He just sat and listened to me rant. We did shots. So many shots.” Maia turned a little green as if just the memory was enough to make her puke.

“Okay, so you got drunk with Cal. You maybe made out a little. This doesn’t sound so bad?”

Maia winced. “Well, we did kiss. But… look, I know he’s your cousin, but he’s hot, okay? I know that breaches the hoe-code in so many ways, but how could I not notice? Thosearms, Ro...”

Rose blinked, startled. She had never considered that Maia might have been holding back with Cal because she thought Rose might have a problem with it. “You’re an idiot,” Rose said fondly and snorted. “You can date – or ogle – whoever you want, darling.”

Maia’s shoulders slumped with relief and there was more confidence in her voice when she continued on, pressing her fingers to her lips. “But when we started kissing, it just – I don’t know, set something off inside me. I’veneverbeen kissed like that before, Rose. He kissed me like—like he’d been waiting to do it for years and would die if he never got to do it again.”

“That’s… very intense.” Rose couldn’t say she was surprised. It had been pretty obvious to her for a while that Cal was interested in Maia.

“Yeah,” Maia said, nodding solemnly. “It just felt so good, and I like Cal. I just wanted to feel good.”

“What aren’t you telling me, Maia?”

“Cal and I had sex.” The words seemed to tumble out of Maia’s mouth in a rush and Rose gaped at her for a second. She would never judge her. It was just that it was such un-Maia like behavior. “...On the bar.” Maia finished in a small voice, peeking out at Rose through her fingers.

Rose burst out laughing and Maia whipped her head up, her cheeks lightly flushed. “Oh my gosh, this is amazing! On the bar? Damn, you two are wild.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Mad? Why would I be mad?”

“Well, I mean, you do technically own the place, and he’s your cousin, and we had sex on top of the bar–”

“–on the bar!” Rose chortled again. “You’re ridiculous. As if I’d be mad. Maia, we need to celebrate! You had casual sex for the first time ever! On top of abar!”

A smile began to twist Maia’s mouth as she smoothed a hand over her riot of curls. “I mean, I guess it is kind of badass.”

“Kind of? It’s majorly badass! You one upped me – Blake and I only braved the bathroom,” Rose said with a wink, and Maia finally laughed.

“Okay, okay. We’ll celebrate tonight. But not tilwaylater. I need to sleep, and I’m still a little drunk right now.”

Rose laughed again and Maia joined in as they pulled up to the hotel. Sometimes Maia worried even more than Rose did, and that was really saying something. They’d been friends ever since they’d met on a photoshoot that Maia was styling, gone out for drinks, and the rest was history. In the five or so years that Rose had known her, Maia had never been single, and she’d never had casual sex. All her relationships went somewhere. Rose was a little more cautious. While Maia threw herself into love at every opportunity, Rose stuck to the same routine when she was dating guys. The only exception had been… Blake. Though, hate sex couldn’t really be considered dating, she supposed.

“Rose, does it still count as casual sex if I might want to do it again? With Cal?” Maia’s voice echoed in the underground parking as they slammed their car doors and headed to the elevator.

Unsurprised, Rose grinned. “You do whatever you want to do. Cal has had a crush on you forever. Maybe see where it goes.” Rose stuck out her tongue when Maia raised a pointed brow. She knew it was basically the same thing everyone kept telling her about Blake, but it was different! Maia was carefree and trusting and looking for love. Rose could not be further from looking if she’d superglued her eyes shut.

Luckily there weren't any paparazzi around to catch her in her mismatched silky blue sleep bottoms and giant fluffy slippers, paired with her creamy thick cardigan that was actually a little too warm for the weather outside even so early in the morning. Maia had been so upset that she hadn’t even noticed what Rose was wearing in the car, but was now taking the time to look Rose up and down with barely concealed laughter.

“You look like a five-year-old dressed you.”

“It was like four-am! I dressed like anyone pulled from bed at the ass-crack of dawn would!”

Maia let out a snicker and soon they were both rolling up in laughter as they waltzed through the lobby ofThe Hart.

“I cannotwaitto get into bed,” Maia groaned as they got into the elevator.

“It will likely be a lot comfier than the bar atThe Hummingbird,” Rose teased, and Maia swatted at her but grinned, her even white teeth gleaming in the harsh light inside the elevator.

A strange tingle of awareness flooded through her and Rose frowned, feeling like she was forgetting something. “Hey,” she said slowly as she looked around the inside of the elevator while they climbed steadily upwards. “I thought they were keeping someone stationed in here at all times since the access leak.” Access leak was just a slightly less scary way of saying ‘break-in’ and they both knew it, but Maia let it slide.

“Guess they decided it wasn’t necessary anymore.” Maia shrugged as the doorsdingedopen to reveal chaos.

Rose took one step out of the elevator and Maia clung to her arm, stopping her from going too far. Glass crunched under foot and shone in the light from the open elevator as it tangled in the fluff on her slippers. The coffee table she and Maia had picked out lay in pieces on the floor, chunks of wood from the legs splintered and sticking up at odd angles, and more glass glistened on the carpet underneath. Deep gouge marks marred the fabric sofa, and feathers still drifted in the air from the cushions that had been viciously stabbed, like this had all happened only moments ago.

Her breath felt too loud, her hands trembling as her body froze up, stuck between staring at the chaos and getting the hell out of there.