She had a point, but it was hard to accept. I couldn’t just turn off my feelings for him, no matter how much I wanted to.
Payton dropped me off at home, promising to be back for me in the morning. She had the whole day planned out before the main event. We went to a spa. Spray tans, mani-pedis . . . anything we could do to make sure we looked as good as possible while naked, her treat. Then we went shopping.
It didn’t matter what we wore to the club. We could have shown up in sweats, but there was an unwritten rule among the ladies that you make an effort. Something you’d wear if you were going out on a hot date or to a club opening. Payton pushed me to try a shimmering, low-cut silver dress that clung to my curves, and then pulled out her credit card.
“No, Payton–”
“Shut up. I’d pay ten grand to sleep with you in that dress.”
An eerie calm washed over me at dinner, and as I geared up to leave all my inhibitions behind, I started with my words.
“I need to know why you care so much about this,” I asked Payton. “Why it’s important to you.”
Her blue eyes searched my face. “I like it. I want you to like what I like.”
I’d never known her to lie to me. “I need to know your real reason.”
“I’ll tell you, I swear.” She gave me a sad smile. “But I can’t tell you until after.”
That only increased my curiosity and skepticism. “Why? Are you getting some sort of commission off of me?”
“There is a bonus, but trust me, it has nothing to do with it.”
We each had one drink. I would have liked some more liquid courage, but respected the rules of my contract. I couldn’t afford not to. Time went too fast and too slow, and as it got closer to ten o’clock, I became restless and giddy. The dirty girl buried inside me was excited.
Payton drove her sleek car to the club, parking two blocks down. One of the advantages of arriving with
her meant I was on time. Early, which was helpful because just across the street from the deceptively vacant-looking building that housed the club, a lanky man waited for me. I felt like I’d just done a somersault.
“What the fuck is he doing here?” Payton hissed. Her eyes narrowed. “Why did you tell him where?”
“I couldn’t help it,” I confessed. “He asked me.”
She stared at me expectantly. “Well? Go listen to him tell you why you shouldn’t do this. How you should continue to wait for him to get bored with his girlfriend. I’ll be here,” she said, pointing to her feet, “when you’re ready to finally move on.”
I swallowed hard and shuffled across the deserted street. Concern was painted across Blake’s face. God, I’d been so stupid telling him. Seeing him now destroyed the shred of excitement I’d been clinging to and replaced it with paralyzing dread.
“Hey.” His voice was grave. “I’m asking you not to go in there.”
“Please don’t make this harder than it already is.”
I’d never seen him look like he did now. He was an even mixture of desperation and fear, and I ached for him.
“Don’t do this to us,” he whispered.
I froze. “Us?”
“It’ll destroy any chance for us to be together, Evie. Please,” he begged.
“Wait, what?”
“I love you.” He reached out for me, tried to pull me close, but all I could hear were Payton’s words echoing. I wanted to believe him, but it had rolled off his lips strained and forced.
“What about Amy?” I asked when his arms circled my waist.
“I know, it’s complicated.”
A spark of anger ignited a fire deep inside me. “It’s really not that complicated. You can’t love two people at once.”