Page 42 of Crave: A Reverse Harem Romance

“I’m fine. We barely got outside when Diesel came and punched him in the face. He let me go, but then the creep started beating on Diesel, so I kind of… hit him over the head with a pipe.”

In addition to her dropped jaw, which was still hanging open, her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She had the expression of a cartoon character.

“Holy… damn. You are kind of a badass.”

I laughed. “Well, I didn’t feel like a badass when I had to explain that to the police. I was pretty nervous about, you know, having cracked a guy’s skull open.”

“But it was self-defense!”

“Yeah, and the cops seemed to see it that way. So all was good, but I’m just saying… it was stressful.” I avoided the crack in the sidewalk as we made our way to the parking lot, I didn’t want my heel to get caught.

“No freaking kidding. You were right, you did have an absolutely insane night.”

And I didn’t even tell her about the oral sex with Diesel. Maybe I shouldn’t…

“Yeah…” was all I said in response. But I was a bad liar, even for a lie of omission, and she immediately knew something was up.

“Wait, did anything else happen?”

“No, not really. Just… I mean, it was no big deal or anything, but I may have fooled around with Diesel a little, too…”

“You had sex?” She gasped.

“No, no… just, you know, a little messing around.”

She was cracking up. “Seriously, who are you and what have you done with Harlow?”

Honestly, I had no idea. I did feel like a totally different person, someone I didn’t even recognize. This night was a far cry from my usual Friday nights of tea and reading.

But I liked this version of myself. She was… better. She was brave, fun, spontaneous. This Harlow knew what she wanted and she went after it. I was proud of myself. And I was truly enjoying my life now, as crazy as it happened to be at the moment.

We were about to reach her car when I heard someone call my name. “Harlow!”

I turned around to see Axel running up behind me.

“Oh, hey,” I said softly.

“Can I maybe talk to you?” he asked.

I looked over at Liza.

“Sure, I’ll just wait in the car,” she said.

“I’m sorry,” Axel began as Liza shut the door behind her. “I just couldn’t let you leave without finding out how you were doing.”

That was sweet, though I’d come to expect nothing less from Axel.

“I’m fine, really. It was a crazy night and I think I’m in a little bit of shock, but… I’ll be okay.”

“Okay… I’m just really worried about you. This was an insane night. I’ve never seen you look so shaken up.”

“It was pretty crazy,” I admitted. “And having to be violent with someone like that? Yeah… I won’t deny I’m feeling kind of a mess right now.”

“Do you maybe want to come back to my place? Not to hook up,” he said quickly. “Just to stay the night, if you don’t want to spend it alone. I promise, no funny business. I just want you to feel safe.”

I had to admit, I melted at the thought. And I didn’t really want to be alone.

But I shouldn’t say yes. I was doing my best to keep my emotional distance from all three of these men. It was only supposed to be about sex. I couldn’t go getting attached. And a night of just sleeping at his house?

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