“I swear I’m dying.” I sighed dramatically, completely feeling sorry for myself.
“I feel like my head is going to explode off my shoulders,” she said, and moaned with exhaustion swamping her voice. “What the hell happened last night?”
“I’ll tell you what happened, you fucked me raw,” Ky said, gloating in the background.
“Eden, you little sex machine.” I laughed loudly.
“Oh my God, hang on, I’m going outside. I can’t stay in bed with Ky looking like he does. He gets this look about him after we’ve had sex all night, and I just want to destroy him.”
“Eden Rivers, I am shocked by this display of crazy sex,” I said and smiled as she giggled.
“What can I say? Ky Crawford unleashes craziness in me.”
I sat up in bed and tried to deal with the spinning in my head. My stomach growled as I placed my feet on the ground and stood on shaky legs. “I could inhale an iced coffee and bacon and eggs right now.”
“Let’s meet at the diner in an hour. I’ll call Tori to see where she is. I think she went home with Josh.” The excitement in her voice wasn’t lost on me.
Of course she did.
“See you in an hour,” I said.
After spending an exorbitant amount of time in the shower, I was now running late. I rushed around my room, desperately trying to make myself feel human again. All it took was a cute sundress, my white flip flops, and a spritz of my favorite perfume for me to feel halfway there. I locked the door behind me, and practically ran to the elevator to make it downstairs in time.
Even though I was running late, Eden and Tori were nowhere to be found. I crossed the diner that was packed to near capacity, waved to Josh’s Aunt Carole, and headed for our usual table in the back. Deciding to waste time on Facebook while I waited, I pulled my phone from my bag, and surprise slapped me in the face when I found Josh’s name splashed across the screen. But it was his words that rendered me speechless.
You owe me $20.
You have got to be kidding me. If I owed him twenty dollars that would mean he didn’t . . . there was no way he didn’t have sex. Josh and sex went together like chocolate and strawberries, like strippers and dollar bills—one thing always led to the other.
Me: Send me evidence right now.
Josh: Seriously?
Me: I don’t joke about $20
Josh: Fine. Picture message received.
With eager eyes, I observed the photo he sent. One of his bed, and the other of an empty trash can. Why the hell had he sent me a photo of his trash can?
Me: Trash can? I don’t get it.
Josh: No condom in there Ashy.
Oh my god.
Me: You are disgusting
Josh: And horny because I didn’t have sex.
I started to tap in a reply, just as I heard Eden and Tori coming. Upon lifting my gaze from the screen, I found them laughing and moving through the cafe. Eden looked surprisingly refreshed, considering she was meant to be suffering, not only an alcohol hangover, but also a sex hangover. Tori, however, was another story. She looked exhausted, like she had been up all night with little to no sleep. Josh’s message instantly hit me. Would he lie to me about something like that? I decided to continue playing this game and prod him further for information.
Me: Tori looks pretty exhausted for someone who didn’t have sex.
He replied immediately.
Josh: She didn’t have sex with me.
Eden and Tori slid in across from me. We ordered breakfast, and I got my much-needed iced coffee. As the caffeine hit my exhausted body, I felt myself starting to feel human again. Eden decided that she had a lot more to divulge about her night ravishing Ky, and when she was done, Tori took the cue and thought it was her turn to own up. I wasn’t sure why I was so set on the fact that she had sex with Josh. It was like I had a disgusting need to prove him wrong.
“So I can talk about Josh, right? Like you two won’t be freaked out?” she asked in a tone that was brimming with eagerness to share whatever she had on him.
“Don’t hold back on my account,” I replied with a shrug of my shoulders.
“Yay. Okay, so last night we were flirting pretty wildly. I’ve never met a man who could make me wet by just speaking. He asked me if I wanted to go back to his place and, of course, I said yes.”
I started working on my eggs, shoveling them into my mouth to stop myself from asking questions. In my head, I was already spending the twenty dollars that I would be getting from Josh. Maybe I could put it toward the new lipstick I wanted.
“So we went up to his place, and holy hell he has the best fingers and mouth of any man I’ve been with. I blew him, and I know for a fact I gave him the best two orgasms of his life.”
Joshua Crawford, you lying little shit!
I smirked as I dug into my eggs, and ate every last bit on my plate. Suddenly, the idea of hurrying up and going to Josh’s apartment to claim victory became my first thought.
“How about you, Ashlyn? How are you managing with the whole no-sex thing, seeing as how your gorgeous aussie is on the other side of the world?”
I choked on the last forkful of eggs at Tori’s question. Shit. After somehow avoiding all talk of Lachlan since I returned, it would, of course, be Tori to bring him up. Eden watched me expectantly, waiting for me to answer about my supposedly wonderful boyfriend in Australia. The boyfriend who wasn’t ever really my boyfriend. What an absolute fuck up.
“I own a vibrator. It serves me well,” I said with a smile, hoping she would take my response without further questioning.
“When is he coming back to the states?” she asked, and I groaned inwardly.
“Honestly, I have no clue. I guess when his schedule permits.”
She nodded, and then fell into conversation with Eden. Thankfully, she deemed my responses adequate, and that was the last of talk of Lachlan.
“Well, babes. I need to head to the airport. It was amazing seeing you both, and I’m sure I’ll be back for another taste of Josh Crawford soon.” She shot me a wink, and I offered her a tight smile. Maybe I’d increase my bet to fifty dollars next time.
Ten minutes after Tori left, the bell over the door rang and Ky and Josh walked in. Josh smirked when our gazes collided and, with smugness, I returned it. I’d be wiping that smug look off his face in a matter of minutes.
“Ladies,” Josh said with an arrogant smile when they reached us. “Ashy, I hope you’ve got my twenty dollars.”
I narrowed my eyes at him and scoffed. He looked completely refreshed, eyes clear, stubble sitting delightfully on his jaw, and utterly satisfied. I moved across the leather seat as he sat down next to me.
“You’re getting zero dollars.”
“The bet was twenty dollars,” he exclaimed, his brow rising in question.
“I want cake. Babe, let’s go get some,” Eden announced from across the table, completely oblivious to Josh and me.
Ky and Eden left the table, and I yelped as Josh placed his arm under my leg and around my waist, twisting me in my seat until I was facing him.
“Now what’s this talk about getting zero dollars. I didn’t have sex last night, so I deserve a lot more than twenty fucking dollars.”
“Sex meant all types of sex, and that includes getting a blow job and having two orgasms. It also meant not giving a girl a finger bangin’.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I heard all about last night. You’re busted,” I said with a laugh. The look on his face was priceless. It went from shock, to frustration, to amusement in the blink of an eye.
“Hang on a minute. Tori said I finger fucked her and she gave me two orgasms by blowing me?”
“Damn straight she did,” I stated matter-of-factly, and felt myself claiming victory.