She snorted. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t jump straight into Brock’s bed again given the chance.”
Dammit. She had me there. I shouldn’t want to go anywhere near Brock-fucking-Taylor, and yet, the mere mention of his name did unmentionable things to my lady parts. He was off-limits now that I knew who he was. “I wouldn’t give him a second of my time.”
Liar!
“Liar,” she echoed my thoughts.
Not a single person in town hadn’t heard of the Elite. Their infamous pranks and parties were legendary—headline-worthy. They were also on the football team with Carter—teammates. Just another reason to hate my stepbrother.
Of course, the four of them came from old money—the kind that established fucking cities and ruled the world. I’d heard one of them had a father who was a big-time movie producer, but that was as in-depth as my understanding went.
“I can’t believe you had sex with him,” she shrieked, still hung up on the idea of Brock and me together.
Hell, I was still having a hard time believing it. “Jesus, Ains, why don’t you stand on the table and shout for the whole town to here. Josie James had sex with Brock Taylor.”
A deep voice cleared his throat beside me.
Shit. I closed my eyes for a brief moment and dropped my head. FML.
Ainsley sat back in her seat grinning. “I think you just did,” she replied.
My cheeks flamed as I glanced up to see a guy not much older than me with sandy-blond hair smiling at me. He set down two glasses of ice water and a little bowl of lemon wedges. “Can I get you something to drink?” he asked.
I wanted to crawl under the table and die. This guy not only probably went to the Academy but also definitely knew the Elite.Why me?
“We’re good with water,” Ainsley said, shooting him a cheeky grin. “But I think we’re ready to order.” A minute later, our server left to put in our orders, dazzled by my best friend.
Ainsley picked up her water and took a slow sip, condensation already pooling on the glass. “Relax. You act like it’s something to be ashamed of. Do you know how many girls would kill to have a night with one of the Elite? Besides, you could do a lot worse than Brock Taylor. You could have slept with your stepbrother.”
“For fuck’s sake, please. Stop talking about it. I just want to forget it ever happened.” I wanted to forget everything. The feel of his lips. The touch of his hands. The way he moved inside me. His fucking unforgettable face.
I was seriously banking on Brock Taylor not remembering me. At all.
“I don’t want to be one of the millions of girls he screwed,” I explained in a whisper, reclining back in my chair.
“Wow. Millions?” she proclaimed with mock astonishment. “Guy is talented. Besides, I think it is too late for that.”
He was talented all right—fucking gifted—but I didn’t want to get into that. The Range Rover was long gone when our sandwiches arrived. “Don’t make me throw a perfectly good sandwich at your head. You know what I’m saying. How the hell did I get myself into this mess?”
She took a bite of her BLT, chewing on the side of her mouth as she replied, “It seems that Brock isn’t the only one gifted.” She swallowed. “Your specialty happens to be creating drama. It follows you around like a dark cloud.”
“It sure does,” I said as I glanced across the street to the smoothie bar.This has got to be a joke.Brock, along with the other three guys who I assumed were the Elite and two girls I’d never seen before, headed inside.
I couldn’t tear my eyes off him. Brock slid his sunglasses up onto his head, where they nestled in black waves. Were his aqua eyes just as I dreamed, sparkling in the sun like the ocean on a hot-ass day?
“Oh, shit,” Ainsley gasped, noticing what snagged my attention.
And from across the street, those damn dreamy eyes clashed with mine, as if he knew I was staring at him.
My breath halted, waiting to see if he would recognize me. I did nothing, just met his gaze head-on, unable to look away.
The jackass lifted his chin.
I shot him my best fuck-off smile.
That was all the confirmation I needed. Brock hadn’t forgotten.
Damn it. Why did that even matter? Why were my insides fluttering with excitement?