Page 14 of Strip Bare

I raised an eyebrow. Not necessary? None of what he'd just done felt necessary.

"I'm not the one who was jumping away at Cocoa & Rum," he reminded me and I bit my tongue.

"Right." The ruse. Maybe he was attracted to me, I couldn’t believe he’d do what he just had otherwise, but clearly attraction was all it was for him.

"Leo—"

My phone buzzed in my back pocket and I reached for it, looking for any reason to escape and distract myself. I re-zipped my jeans and Kit climbed off my lap, his long legs swinging gracefully as I ran a hand through my hair and put my tee back on. The name on the screen was surprising and not entirely welcome, but I would have met with the devil himself if it meant getting out of that room right then. Kit had fucked me thoroughly and despite the fact that I was the one who'd gotten off, he had been the one in control.

"Where are you going?"

Was the worry in his voice because of what we'd just done? Was he already regretting it?

"Out."

"Leo, I—"

"I'll be back soon. Don't wait up." I made sure there was no bite in my voice, just cool indifference. He'd touched me, kissed me, to help me maintain this lie. To make sure that I wouldn't give us away because I was unused to his casual touches or kisses. Nothing more. If he could do this for me and not let it change anything between us, then I could do the same. Even if it broke me in the process. In the end, I wondered if maybe the truth would have been less painful.

CHAPTER FIVE

"I need some legal advice."

I'd sat down in the booth just a couple of minutes ago after ordering a drink at the bar. I'd slung back two shots before deciding to order a tray as well as a rum and coke. To my surprise, Kat had instantly thrown back a shot with the same desperation I’d had.

"Well, to be clear, I'm not a lawyer yet. So if you killed someone I will turn you in."

Kat rolled her eyes and I took a moment to appreciate how weird this was. Me and Kat. Alone and buzzed in a bar. The Box was relatively busy but combined with the alcohol and my mind trying to replay every moment of Kit going down on me, the buzz of noise was a good distraction.

"I didn't kill anyone. I've... been offered an opportunity."

I narrowed my eyes as she worried her full bottom lip between her teeth. "You realize that sounds shady as hell, right?"

She reached for another shot, shaking her head at me. "God, give me a second to explain instead of jumping down my throat every two seconds Leo."

I clenched my jaw but released my tension with a sigh as she handed me another vodka shot. "Fine, I'll give you what advice I can. But I need something in return." I cleared my throat, looking away awkwardly when she sat forward, green eyes lit up with intrigue.

"What do you want?"

"I want... boy advice."

A giggle exploded out of her and she clapped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry, sorry. Sure. I'll give you boy advice, you give me legal advice. Deal?"

I shook her hand and sat back to survey her. "Tell me."

"You remember Max, right? Jamie's Max?" She looked inclined to babble on so I nodded, waving a hand to tell her to get to the point before she could find a tangent to run. Max had made quite the impression, saving Liv from some drunk idiots and offering Jamie a recording contract to say the least. "Okay, well, in order to open his new studio branch in Sun City, he needs funds right? But he just found out that his parents added a stipulation to his inheritance."

I frowned. It wasn't that uncommon, really I was lucky that the only thing my mother tried to control was my love life and not my entire life. "What was the stipulation?"

"In order to access his inheritance, he needs to get married."

I choked on my sip of rum and coke. What was it she'd said? I've been given an opportunity. "Kat, what does this have to do with you?" I asked, but I was afraid I already knew the answer.

"Look, I'm not like Liv or Bryn, set up for life with a trust fund. I'm not even like Jamie who's got her independence and the apartment..."

"Right," I prompted and she sighed, fiddling with the buttons on her red top.

"Pretty much all of the money I earn here goes to my parents. Until I move out, what's mine is theirs. But I can't move out, because I don't have any money. But I don't have any money because—"

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