I didn’t sleep with him. As Tess would tell me, it was an amateur move.
In fact, I didn’t do anything more than kiss him and get felt up a little on that club chair in the library room, and I’m okay with that. We danced until our feet hurt, and the idea of going home with someone I hardly know seemed less appealing than it did earlier in the midst of a vodka haze.
I wake up to the sound of my phone notifying me that I have a new text.
Brian: I need to see you again.
Me: Texting me this early isn’t the way to get into my good graces.
My phone rings a second later, and his name flashes across my screen. I clear my throat before I answer. “Hello?”
“You do realize it’s after ten, don’t you?”
“No, I didn’t.”
He laughs. “It’s not early. I wanted to call you four hours ago when I got up, but I decided to be a gentleman.”
“You should’ve waited another hour.”
“You’re grumpy in the morning,” he teases.
“And you’re a little too chipper. What can I do for you?”
“When can I see you again?”
“Any weekday after eleven in the morning.”
He laughs again, and I like the way his laugh warms my chest. “Do you have plans next Saturday?”
“I don’t know.” I’m muttering into my pillow and he’s laughing at me. I’m not normally such a bitch in the mornings, but I may be a little hungover on this particular morning.
“I’m renting a cabana at Mandalay Bay and I want you there.”
I sit up a little straighter and focus on what he’s asking me. A day at the pool at Mandalay sounds like a day in heaven.
“Bring your friends. Beck and Jason haven’t stopped talking about them.”
I laugh. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“I wish I could see you sooner than Saturday, but I need to head out of town this week for work.”
“That’s okay. I’ve got big plans.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
“Sleeping in.”
* * *
I’m having lunch later that afternoon with Tess when I bring up Brian’s proposition. “Would you be interested in hanging out at a cabana at Mandalay Bay next weekend?”
“Hell. Yes. Have you been to the pool there?”
I shake my head.
“It’s only like the best pool in all of Vegas. It has a beach and no shortage of delicious men.”
I roll my eyes. “You should probably know that Brian is the one who asked me, and Becker and Jason will be there, too.”
“So?” She takes a sip of her diet Coke. “We’re just screwing. We’re not official or anything.”
“Wait.” I hold up both hands as if I’m telling her to stop. “What?”
“What?” She looks at me with innocence.
“You slept with Jason?”
“Of course I did. I told you, it’s practically payment for a night out.”
“When? Where? And...what?”
She laughs. “I invited him back to my place. You were busy sticking your tongue down Foxy Fox’s throat saying goodbye.”
“Well, how was it?”
She lifts a shoulder. “Good.”
“That’s it? Usually you have a lot more adjectives.”
“It was amazing, okay? But we’re keeping it casual.”
I can’t tell if that’s by her choice or his, but she doesn’t seem thrilled about it. She changes the subject.
“Noteworthy is playing the Hard Rock Hotel pool Saturday night. It’s sold out but I can probably score a few tickets. You wanna go?”
“Do you think you can get six and we can just go after the cabana?”
She looks a little uncomfortable. “I don’t know.”
“What’s wrong, Tess?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing. I just don’t want to spend the whole day with them and then the night, too.”
“Why not?”
“Because we don’t know them. It’s a lot of time with people we don’t know.”
“We’ll be together. Besides, don’t you sort of know Jason pretty well after last night?”
Her eyes narrow in my direction, and I think I’ve hit a nerve.
* * *
In the political game of seeing someone new, I decide to hold off texting Brian about the Noteworthy show until tomorrow. We decide Saturday night is girls’ night at our house.
With the newest Ryan Reynolds movie pulled up on Netflix and enough nail polish to fill a salon, Jill and I get to work on our nails while we gossip about last night. Jill’s already gushing about next weekend and we haven’t even finalized plans yet.
“I like him, Reese.” She picks up three pink polishes that are all nearly the same color as she tries to choose which one to use.
“You got to know him all of one night.”
“Maybe that was all I needed.” She avoids eye contact as she sets down the polishes, like she’s embarrassed that she has such strong feelings after one night.
Her words hit me hard. All she needed was one night? I brush off the thought. “Do you think you’re ready for something new?”
She lifts a shoulder. “I think so. It’s been six months since Adam.”
“There’s no time limit either way.” I pick up one of the bottles she set down and study it.
“I know. I just want to move forward. I’m sick of being stuck in this weird place where I don’t trust men because one guy cheated on me. I think Becker might be the right guy to move forward with.”
“After one night?”
“We’ll see. He’s cute, he’s smart, and he’s funny. And he’s a good kisser.”
I giggle. “Well he’s got all the bases covered then.”
“What about you?”
It’s my turn to avoid eye contact. “What about me?” I ask, filing a nail that doesn’t need filing just so I have something to focus on.
“How are things with Brian?”
“I’m not sure. One minute I’m ready to burn the sheets with him, and the next I’m pulling myself back.”
“Why?” she presses. She knows the answer, and I hate when the investigative part of her personality forces its way into our talks.
“You know why.”
“Mark?” She says his name quietly, as if it’ll soften the blow of hearing his name.
It doesn’t. “Yeah.” I study my nails, refusing to look in her direction.
I hear the rough scratch of a nail file come from her direction. “It’s only been a week. There’s no need to rush into something else.”
“I keep thinking about this dress I wanted,” I muse.
“A dress? What dress?”
I finally set down my file and blow out a breath. “I lusted after this dress for weeks. Every time I was at the mall, I went to the store to visit it. It was gorgeous, perfect for summer. I thought of every possible event I could wear it to. The price tag was a little heavy, and I was waiting for my next paycheck to splurge on it and treat myself. When I went to get it, my size was sold out. They checked online for me, and they were all gone. None in stock. Discontinued.”
“What does that have to do with Brian?” She sets down her file and picks up one of the pink polishes.
“What if I wait for this great guy until I’m ready and then he’s not there anymore?”
“If he’s the right one, he’ll still be there.”
She’s right, but this conversation has made me realize I don’t have time to waste. I’m not seeing him until next weekend, anyway, but I shoot off the text I’d promised myself I’d save until tomorrow.
Me: Do you, Becker, and Jason have plans Saturday night after the cabana?
Brian: I’ll check. Why?
Me: Noteworthy is playing Hard Rock Hotel. Tess is trying to get tickets.
It takes a few minutes for him to reply, so I assume he’s checking with his friends.
Brian: We’re in. Tell Tess not to worry about getting the tickets. I’ll get them.
Me: It’s sold out.
Brian: I know. I’m on it.
The mysteries continue to build. Money isn’t an object to him and he has access to sold out concerts. Who is this man and why is he so interested in me?