Reese

Underwear. So what if he’s not wearing any. Lots of people go commando. Not me, but to each their own. Yet, a simple missing piece of clothing has turned me into a sex-crazed person. It’s all I can think about right now. I want him–so much that I can’t look away from the object of my desires. Then, I’m walking toward him, confident that he might give me what I want.

His eyes tell me he’ll give it to me, too. All I need to do is give him permission. Conveying what I want with only my eyes, he reads me like an open book. When his lips touch mine, I forget every single reason why this is a bad idea. I don’t think about the fact that this ends tomorrow. I ignore the nagging feeling in my gut that I don’t have time to this, for him, for complicated. I pretend not to hear the voices in my head telling me I’m making a mistake.

For once in my life, I allow myself to be completely consumed by another person.

I allow him to take control of the situation.

I give myself and my body over to him, willingly.

As we lay in bed after, completely out of breath, I smile up at the ceiling in victory. Yes, I slept with my escort, which potentially makes him a prostitute and me a slut, but it was worth it. I enjoyed every minute of the last two hours of my life. This may have started out as a business arrangement, but that wasn’t just business. That was weeks of pent up sexual frustration, on both sides.

How this changes things, I’m not sure. It doesn’t really matter. The reunion starts in a few hours, and after that, we’ll go our separate ways. This doesn’t have to be a big deal. Lots of people have one-night stands. Not me, before today, but other people.

Can we even call this that? It’s the middle of the afternoon.

“What are you thinking about, Jane?” Hunter asks, breaking my concentration. “You went from happy and sated to confused.”

There he goes again, reminding me of who I really am. Jane never would have been with someone like Hunter. She wouldn’t have had the chance. He’s out of her league. Truthfully, he’s out of mine, too. I’m sure he knows that.

“Nothing.”

“Liar.”

“What does it matter?” I reply rudely. “I’m sorry. It’s not important. Can we just forget about it?”

Rolling toward me, he tilts his head toward me. “I can help you forget, again, if you want,” he suggests, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

Oh, Mr. Drake, how I would love that. I just don’t think it would help. Especially if he keeps calling me Jane. I know that’s my name, that he needs to get used to calling me it, but it kills the mood. Every time.

“Come on, Jane. You have to get out of your head. The reunion isn’t for”–he rises up on his elbow to look over my shoulder at the clock–“two more hours.”

I hear every word he’s saying, but I’m distracted by his body. The sheet slid down when he lifted up. He’s completely exposed to me right now, and he doesn’t seem to notice, or he doesn’t care.

Two hours is a lot of time. We could go another round, or two. It’s not like we have to arrive right when it starts. It’ll be going on for hours. There’s plenty of time for me to get ready. Plenty of time to roll around one more time.

“Is that a yes?” he asks, pulling the sheets away from my body and flipping me on top of him. I can feel him growing against my stomach.

How can I say no to him when I want him so much?

“I don’t,” a voice whispers.

“What?” Hunter asks.

Was that my voice? Shit. This could get awkward real quick if he thinks I’m talking to myself.

“I don’t think I can say no to you,” I say, attempting to cover for my mistake.

“Well then,” he starts as he shifts to grab a condom from the table. “Allow me to remind you why you don’t want to say no.”

* * *

We’re only a little over an hour late. If he doesn’t quit kissing my neck and zip up my dress, we’re never going to make it, though.

“We have to go, Hunter. I swear, you are so distracting,” I scold.

“We could skip it. I promise to make it worth your while,” he teases.

“I’m sure you would,” I reply, stepping away from him after I’m sure my dress is fully zipped. “How about I make you a promise instead?”

“This could get interesting.”

“We go to the reunion, make small talk for an hour, and when we come back here, you can have whatever you want from me until we have to leave for the airport tomorrow. Deal?”

A devilish grin appears on his face and I take that as his approval.

“Don’t forget your mask,” I say as I open the door.

“Wait!” he hollers, running over to his bag and rummaging around. “I almost forgot. I bought you something.”

Turning toward me, my hand slips from the door when I see what he has. We didn’t talk about this. In fact, I avoided it because I wasn’t sure how to approach the subject. If anyone asked, I was planning on making up a stupid excuse on the spot.

“Why?” I whisper, my eyes still staring at the open box in his hand.

“What do you mean?” he asks.

“You didn’t need to do this. I had a plan.”

“You suck at lying, Jane. Now you won’t have to. Well, other than, you know…”

His voice trails off as he makes his way over to me. Yeah, other than lying the entire night to every person we talk to. My fake fiancé. Now I can add my fake engagement ring to my list.

Slipping the ring on my finger, Hunter smiles down at me.

“Will you, Jane Sharp, pretend to be engaged to me for the night?”

“I guess so,” I tease, as the ring comes to rest on my hand.

It’s gorgeous. A band of diamonds on either side of one large diamond. I hope he kept his receipt. I’m sure this cost him a lot, and he’s going to want that money back after the weekend is over.

“Ready now?” I ask, pulling my attention away from my hand. I can feel the ring, it’s weight a constant reminder of our lies.

As soon as we’re in the elevator headed down to the lobby, Hunter insists we put our masks on. He helps me with mine and slides his down just as the doors open. Taking my hand in his, we make our way toward the ballroom. Sucking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, I mentally prepare to be slapped in the face with my past.

It’s only for an hour. I can do this. Hunter is here to help me.

“You can still see how beautiful you are even with that mask covering part of your face,” he says as we walk up to the registration table.

“I wish yours didn’t cover so much of your face,” I reply before stepping into line.

“Name please,” a redhead behind the table says without glancing in our direction.

“Re–” Shit! This isn’t going well, and we’ve only just begun.

“Jane Sharp,” Hunter says, stepping beside me, giving my hand a squeeze.

Handing me a sticker that says “Hello! My name is Jane Sharp”, the redhead dismisses us.

“What? I don’t get a sticker? I’m sad,” Hunter jokes as we walk inside.

“How about a drink instead?” I suggest. I know I need one. I’ll probably need a handful by the time we leave here.

“Why don’t you find us seats at a table and I’ll grab you a glass of wine? I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“You’re leaving me alone? Here? With these people?” I stutter, freaking out and not hiding it.

“Us people?” a voice asks, from behind me.

Shit! I’ve already offended someone.

Turning slowly, I get ready to defend myself when I realize who called me out.

“Betsy. It’s so nice to see you,” I say, genuinely happy to see her after so long.

“You, too Jane. What are you up to these days?” she asks, pulling me in for a hug.

Looking over my shoulder to wave at Hunter, I find he didn’t wait to make sure I was okay before heading to the bar.

“Engaged. My fiancé should be back in a minute with drinks.”

Of all people, Betsy is one I wouldn’t need to lie to. We were close our freshman year of high school. She was one of the only people I considered a real friend back then. I never should have ditched her the way I did. When I quit the band, I quit her as well. I let our friendship die even though she did nothing to deserve being treated that way.

“Yeah, I caught a glimpse of him when you walked in. You snagged a sexy man, girl.” It doesn’t sound like she’s holding a grudge, and for that I’m thankful.

“Thanks,” I reply. “He’s great. What are you up to these days?”

“Not much. Got married, had two kids, got divorced. I just went back to school last year to get my nursing degree.”

“That sounds like a lot.”

“It can be overwhelming. That’s why I was so excited this was coming up. It’s a nice break from the day-to-day stress.”

“You were excited for this?” I ask, confused.

“I know high school sucked for both of us, you more than me. It’s not about that. I’m excited for the adult conversation. You must not have kids yet. Talking to a seven-year-old is not as much fun as it sounds.”

It doesn’t sound fun at all, but I’m not going to tell her that.

Sliding up next to me, Hunter hands me a glass of red as I introduce him to Betsy. After a few minutes, she waves at someone behind me and excuses herself.

One conversation down, what looks like a thousand to go. The room is starting to fill up, and so are the tables. Looking around, I spot two open seats at one in the corner with people I don’t recognize. Getting Hunter’s attention, I nod in that direction and he shakes his head, nodding at a different table before pulling me by the hand without giving me an option.

I don’t really care where we sit. My concern is that, with masks on everyone, I won’t be able to see who’s approaching. The table I picked was in a corner. I only had to watch who was coming at me. His table is in the middle of the room. I can’t watch my back.

Taking a seat, Hunter introduces us to the other six people seated at the table. Their names sound familiar but don’t strike a nerve. That probably means I didn’t have a run in with them, or they were nobodies like I was. Either way, he picked a good table.

We all make small talk for a few as the room continues to fill with new bodies. The music that has been softly playing while people were arriving stops as two masked people take the stage.

“Thank you all for coming tonight. It’s been a long time since we’ve all been in the same room together. Ten years to be exact. I’m sure you all have fond memories coming back to you as you reacquaint yourselves with one another. Before we get too far into the night, Mason and I just wanted to thank you all for joining us and to wish you all a great night.”

Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. As soon as she started talking, my body tensed up and my stomach started to churn. If that’s the last time I ever hear it, I wouldn’t be sad.

The one advantage to Tiffanie’s speech is that I now know who to look for. I can avoid her tonight. If nothing else, she won’t be able to get the best of me and I have a shot at leaving unscathed.

Hunter squeezes my hand to show his support and I smile weakly.

“You know what she looks like now,” he whispers in my ear. “You can take control of the situation. All you have to do is walk up to her, say what you need to say, and walk away. You don’t even have to give her a chance to reply.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“I thought this was about proving to her that her words didn’t destroy you.”

“It was. It is. I’m just not sure I can do it. Her voice has me on edge and she was half a room away from me. I can’t imagine what it’ll do to me if she’s standing in front of me.”

As honest as that sounded, it was a complete lie. I know exactly what will happen if we come face to face. I’ll want to run. I’ll crumble into a ball on the floor, just like the old me used to.

“You can do this, Jane. I have faith in you. Have a little faith in me that I won’t let anything happen to you tonight.”

“Promise?” I say, wanting to believe he has the power to keep me safe from the devil herself.

“You have my word.”

Excusing myself to the restroom, I ask Hunter to grab me another glass of wine. I’m going to need some liquid courage if I’m going to make it through this. Even with him by my side, this is going to be the hardest hurdle I’ve ever jumped over.

Hunter’s not at the table when I return. Scanning the room, I find him at the bar, still in line for drinks. He’s talking to a guy without a mask but, from where I’m standing, I can see he’s not paying much attention to him. The guy is at least six inches shorter than Hunter, and he appears to be looking over his head. I attempt to follow his line of sight.

There’s a group of people standing around where Hunter’s attention is directed. I don’t recognize any of them, not that I would be able to with their masks, but I rack my brain trying to remember them for a few minutes anyway. Giving up, I look back toward Hunter to find him staring at me, leaning against the bar. He gestures with his head for me to join him, and I do, taking a seat on the nearest barstool available.

Sliding up behind me, he waves at the bartender, grabbing her attention immediately.

“A glass of red wine and Maker’s Mark on the rocks,” he says with confidence as he wraps his arms around my waist.

As soon as she walks away, he kisses the side of my neck sending a shiver up my spine. My body is already wanting him. If he keeps kissing my neck like that, I’m going to drag him out of here so fast heads will spin.

“Are you okay?” he whispers.

“I’m fine.”

“You know what fine stands for right? Fucked up, insecure, neurotic, and–”

“I know, Hunter. I’m okay. A little on edge and incredibly turned on at the moment, but I’m okay.”

“I know how to solve both those things. Want to get out of here?” he suggests.

Do I? Yes.

Am I going to let him take me back up to our room and have his way with me? More than likely.

There’s something I need to take care of first. I came all this way to prove to her she didn’t destroy me. It’s about time I stand up to her. Plus, with Hunter by my side, I feel like I can do anything.

“Yes, but let’s take care of what we came here to do first. One more lap around the room. She’s not the only one I want to see me for who I am now. If we don’t run into her, I’ll let it go. The past will be in the past.”

Gently kissing me on the cheek, I can feel his smile.