* * *
I arrive home to find Amberley slobbing out on my sofa. She’s had a key a little while now but rarely uses it.
“Oh, thank god!” She jumps up. “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to call you!”
“With my family.” I check my phone as multiple messages and missed calls ping through. “No signal.”
“You looked wiped.”
“Feel it.” I yawn.
“Oh.” She pouts. “I was going to ask if you wanted to hit the town. I’m feeling the need to dance the week away.”
“I don't know. I’m shattered.” I flop down on the sofa, and she joins me, pulling me in for a hug.
“How about you grab a shower, and I make you a coffee, and if you still feel tired, we can slob out?” I’m pretty certain we will stay in. I nod and opt to stay put for a few minutes, too comfy to move.
“Parents okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just James. He kept twisting things, and my parents got stressed. I don’t know why he does it.” I sigh. I’ve even confronted him before, and he laughed, telling me I had finally become the woman he expected, as I was concocting something up that wasn’t even there. Since then, I’ve given up. I haven’t the time for games, and I barely see him, so it’s not much of a concern for me.
“Maybe he’s unhappy, and seeing how free-spirited you are pisses him off.” He is hiding something, that I know.
“I’m hardly a free spirit,” I scoff. I’ve never confided in her about my ex or his father. I didn’t want to see her pity. I was a victim to it back home. Here, I can be anyone but that person again.
“Freer than him. He has met every expectation your parents put on him, and you just walked away. I think he is jealous. My sister is the same. She is always trying to prove she is better than me.” I never really thought of it that way.
“Sorry, I didn’t know that.” Amberley shrugs, and I pull her in for a hug before I head for a shower. “Make it a strong coffee!” I holler from the bathroom.
An hour later, we are sitting on stools at a cocktail bar. I'm glad I decided to come out, despite still feeling tired. My mood has lifted, and Amberley and I are three tequila shots down. We’ve laughed about work, shared stories, and she has just revealed a sexcapade incident that had us both nearly falling out of our seats.
“Blurgh, whose idea was shots?” She scrunches her face up, shuddering.
“Yours.” I giggle, having a sterner stomach.
“Shots are the devil.”
“I love tequila,” I chirp.
“That's because you’re weird. You probably like being flogged too, or some kinky shit like that,” she casually says, and I burst out laughing.
“I’ve never been flogged in my life!” I splutter, my eyes tearing up as I titter in my seat.
“Bet you would though.” She giggles, and I go red at the thought of giving in to Cain’s request.
“Anyway, you can’t talk. I can't believe you slept with your boyfriend's brother.” I snort, still finding it funny.
“He was a twin. I didn’t know!” she defends. “Anyway, Hugo should have fessed up instead of fucking me blind. I knew then it wasn’t Darren—he never could make me come,” she garbles, already laughing hysterically. I spill my drink as I laugh at the thought.
“What a way to find out!”
“Best way.” She smirks. “Shall we move on? I'm ready to dance.”
Much to my dismay, we arrive outside Perry’s club, and Amberley coaxes me inside. “Honestly, I can’t think of anything worse than clubbing where our boss frequents,” I mutter in her ear. I don’t confess that I'm scared he will be here or that I secretly want him to be.
“If he was anything but a hot, rich sex god, I’d agree.” My eyes snap wide. Does she fancy Cain? “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Do you have feelings for Cain?” I stutter.