Page 68 of Behind the Net

Besides, I’m just starting to play music again. I don’t want to put pressure on myself to make it everything in my life. I just want to love it again.

“Oh, I meant to thank you for the gift,” I tell Hazel, changing the subject and shooting her a cheeky smile. “Did it cross boundaries? Absolutely. Do I care? Not really.”

She tilts her head, frowning. “Huh?”

“The toy.”

“What toy?”

My eyes narrow. “The one you sent me.”

She stares at me. “I didn’t send you anything.”

I blink. “Yes, you did. The Satisfyer.”

She chokes out a laugh. “I didn’t send you that. Although, that’s a great choice. Everyone always goes for the vibrator, but they’re likebzzzzzz!” She makes a noise like a buzz saw. “It’s too much sometimes.”

I stop walking. “You sent it to me.”

“No,” she says slowly. “I didn’t.”

Then—

Oh god. My mouth falls open. He’s the only other person who knows my address. Even the team office still has Hazel’s address on file for me, even though they know I’m living at Jamie’s.

“What’s that look?” Hazel asks.

I’m staring at nothing. My face is the temperature of the sun, and I’m going to die of embarrassment or horniness or shock.

Jamie Streicher sent me a sex toy, and I’ve been using it nonstop while thinking about him.

The image of him standing in the kitchen, staring at me with discomfort as I walked out in a post-orgasm haze, appears in my head. I press my hands against my cheeks. I’m going to die. Any second, my whole being will justpoofinto the air.

“Oh god,” I whisper.

“What?”

“I think Jamie sent it.”

She crows with laughter. “Awesome.”

“No,” I protest, wincing. “Not awesome.”

Her eyes are bright with excitement. “Heliiiiiikesyou.”

“No, he doesn’t.” My voice is weird again. “He doesn’t.”

She gives me a look that says otherwise.

He can’t.You’re my assistant, he said. I glance at Hazel, worry furrowing on my brow. My pulse picks up. “He pretended to be my boyfriend at a party Zach was at and got a boner when I sat on his lap,” I blurt out.

Hazel’s jaw hits the ground but her eyes are smiling. “Tell me everything.”

When I’m finished recounting that night, she shakes her head.

“He wants to fuck you.”

My skin prickles, and I can’t get a full breath. “I don’t know what to do.”

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