Page 36 of Christmas at Hart's Ridge

“Yes. He’s driving me home.”

Damn right I was. I skated my fingers over the neckline of her leotard, then yanked it down to kiss her breast. She gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Ethan asked sharply.

“N-nothing. Just, um, a deer.”

I found her nipple and sucked hard. She grabbed my hair and tugged. I couldn’t tell if she was telling me to stop or asking for more. But then she grinded herself on my lap and I had my answer. I gave her more.

There was a pause. “Are you sure you don’t need a ride to work?”

That pissed me off, for reasons I couldn’t quantify. I took the phone from her. “I’ve got her, Ethan,” I said, and hung up.

Bethany stared at me. “What—why—”

I shrugged. “The conversation was over.”

“That was rude.”

“You didn’t tell him about us.”

Her eyebrows scrunched together. “Should I have? I mean, what would I even say?”

Well, shit. I didn’t have an answer for that. I got around, everyone knew that. While I never talked details, I didn’t exactly keep it a secret, either. I wasn’t ashamed of myself or the women I slept with. But this was different. Bethany was different. She wasn’t a random hookup.

To be honest, I didn’t knowwhatthis was. But I knew I didn’t like being her dirty little secret.

Bethany was still waiting for an answer. When it became clear that I wouldn’t be able to provide that, she huffed a laugh and rolled her eyes. “Okay, then. When you figure it out, let me know.”

Chapter 13

Bethany

Lukewaiteddownstairsforme while I got ready for work. Knowing he was making small talk with my parents lit a fire under my ass. I peeled off my leggings and leotard and shook out the bobby pins holding the remnants of my bun in place. Thank god my parents had been watching TV when I walked in. I had shouted hello and headed straight for my room, not giving them a chance to see my messy hair and flushed skin.

Because if they had seen me, they would have known exactly what had happened in Luke’s truck. They might be old, but they weren’t stupid. I looked like someone who had been kissed thoroughly and liked it.

Morethan kissed. And I had liked that, too.

I had never given much thought to sex. I was curious, of course, but never consumed. As a teenager, generally considered the horniest age, my body was too preoccupied with ballet to get worked up over a boy. I had imagined kissing Luke, but even in my head I never took it further than that. In New York, I wasn’t even interested in kissing. Ballet was my entire life.

It wasn’t until I came home to Hart’s Ridge and Luke that I started getting curious again. Maybe sex was just another new thing I should try. Like riding a bike or hiking. In the truck, straddling Luke’s lap, my body felt like it was waking up after a long nap. Even now, I was still buzzing from it.

And then there had been that moment. When Luke had asked me if my leotard had snaps. My brain must have been too drugged from kissing to think rationally, because I had been desperate to take it off. And then what? Have sex for the first time…parked by the side of the road in a truck? Was that really how I wanted to lose my virginity?

Honestly? Maybe. Withwhomattered a lot more thanwhere.

But I was going to have to think about that later, because right now I needed to rescue Luke from my parents before they could convince him to fire me.

I went with a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved, fitted black top with a square neckline and cropped hem. After brushing out the tangles Luke had made, I wrapped my hair into a low bun at the nape of my neck. A swipe of mascara and lipstick and I was ready to go. I grabbed my notebook, jotted downmade out in a car, and threw it in my bag.

There were several cars parked in the gravel lot when we arrived. It was going to be a busy night—even more so than a typical Saturday—because the Lady Killers were playing. Ethan had closed the restaurant after lunch so we could have a few hours to set up and get everything ready. We would open at seven and the show started at eight.

Jasmine pounced on me the second I walked in the door. For the next hour, I did everything she asked—which was a lot. I managed to sneak in a few minutes with Goat and gave him a peppermint. He let me pat his head. Progress.

“Red! You need to eat something.”

I looked up from the pile of limes I was slicing to see Luke striding toward me. “What?”

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