“Oh my God,” she moans. “So good!” Her tongue darts out and licks up the chocolate, cleaning the mess from her mouth, and the entire time I wish I were doing it for her.
“Here, try it.” She lifts it back up and shoves it toward my mouth. I open wide and take a bite. When she drops it onto the plate, her gaze zeroes in on my lips, and based on the way her eyes are now hooded, I would bet she’s thinking the same thing I was just thinking a second ago—she wants to taste me.
Not giving a shit about anything besides tasting her, I lean in to do just that, but before our mouths touch, my name is called out, breaking the moment. Georgia scrambles off my lap and I stand.
“Hey, I thought it was you,” Fiona says, walking over. She’s dressed in a skimpy bikini and is holding a martini glass in her hand. She must’ve been walking down the beach from one of the bars. She looks the same as she did a year ago. Same fake face, hair, and tits spilling out of her top. Her skin is so tan, it’s almost leathery looking.
“It’s me,” I say, plastering on a fake smile.
“How are you?” she asks, her enhanced lips forming a fake pout. Fuck, everything about her is so damn fake.
“I’m good. At a buddy of mine’s bonfire.”
“That’s fun. I was so sad for you when Victoria divorced you. I always thought you were a good guy, but you know Victoria… So materialistic.”
She rolls her eyes, and I stifle a humorless laugh at the irony of her words. She gained most of her money from marrying a guy three times her age and then getting everything of his when he died.
“I was worried about you, but I’m glad you’re doing good… Oh,” she says, looking around me at Georgia. “Who’s this?”
I glance back and Georgia is nervously shuffling her feet, unsure whether to step forward or run away. “A friend,” I tell her, giving her nothing more.
“Girlfriend?” Fiona asks, false sweetness dripping from her words.
“No,” I tell her truthfully.
“That’s too bad. With Victoria getting married and having a baby, I was hoping you would’ve moved on as well.”
Her words hit me straight in the gut. Not because I’m jealous, but because it conjures up old memories of me begging Victoria to have a baby with me. I wanted nothing more than to start a family. When we first got married, she wanted that too. But then she let the modeling world get inside her head and changed her mind, telling me she didn’t want a child to ruin her perfect body or life. It’s crazy how much someone can change. Who we were in our teens and early twenties is nothing like who we were when we parted ways.
“Such a cute little thing,” she continues.
“So, she’s good, then… Clean?” I shouldn’t care, but it’s hard not to. In some capacity, Victoria was a part of my life for damn near twenty years.
“Is anybody really clean in LA?” Fiona cackles. In other words, she’s still a druggie. My heart goes out for that baby. I’m just glad it’s not me who has to deal with that shit. Her cheating on me turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It saved me from years of heartache.
Which is exactly why I’m single.
I glance at Georgia, who looks uncomfortable as fuck, and sigh, thankful I didn’t kiss her. It would’ve crossed us over a line I’m not prepared to step over. Sure, she’s nothing like Victoria, but she’s young and people change. No matter how sweet she is, I just can’t risk my heart again. Not now… maybe not ever.
“We better get going,” I tell Fiona.
“Okay, good seeing you.” She waves, then traipses over to her friends, who were standing back, drinking and talking, while waiting for her.
“I’m not feeling well,” I mutter to Georgia as we walk back.
She doesn’t say anything and I feel like an ass for my change in mood. But it’s for the best. Nothing can happen between us. We’re friends, and that’s the way it needs to stay.
Georgia
It was like watching someone flip a switch. One minute I was in Chase’s lap, inches away from being kissed by him, and the next, he’s barely acknowledging me as he talks to some fake wanna-be Barbie about how his ex-wife is married with a baby. I watched as his entire demeanor changed. It was as if he completely shut down. Gone was the playful, fun, flirty Chase, and in his place was the closed-off, broken-hearted shell of a man.
I knew he wasn’t available. He’s made it clear so many times when he talks to Alec. He was with his wife for years, gave her all of himself, and when she cheated on him, it destroyed him. In the last year, he’s never been with the same woman more than a few times. I would know since I would see them coming in and out of his room—until he agreed to take it to their place instead. Maybe that’s changed in the last few months, but I would think if he were serious with someone, he would’ve brought her around or, at the very least, mentioned her.