Forever in Cape May
Oh shit.
She’d had sex with Pierce.
For a few seconds, she sat still in shock. Then she did something automatic after committing an act that freaked her out.
She told her best friend.
Taylor shook him awake, half hoping her memories were a dream and he’d laugh it off, saying nothing had happened. “Pierce! Wake up, now!”
He grunted and tried to push her away. She shook him hard until his eyelids snapped open. He glared at her like a grouchy bear not wanting to leave his lair in the dead of winter. “What? You said we could sleep in. My head hurts like a bitch.”
“Mine, too, but you need to wake up. I think something terrible happened.” She clutched the sheet to her bare breasts, still hoping this was all a hallucination. “I think we did something. Together.”
“Yeah, drank too many shots. Why are you looking at me so weird?” He propped himself up on an elbow. Slowly, his gaze seemed to clear as he noticed her nakedness. A frown creased his brow.
Maybe it was okay. Maybe he’d have an explanation. Maybe they’d laugh about the whole night, go have breakfast, and get back to normal. Maybe—
“Oh fuck!”
Maybe not.
A mixture of shock, guilt, and something deeper swirled in those sea-green depths as he met her gaze head-on. “Taylor.”
Her name was a plea and a confirmation of her greatest fear. “We had sex last night.”
“I think so,” he said.
Temper flew through her. “You think? Or you know?”
He groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. “I know. There are two empty condom wrappers here.”
“Two!” And then it came back to her. Oh God, the second time. Slow and sweet, she rode him, and he rocked her gently to orgasm. Heat flooded her cheeks, which made her angrier. How could she have done this?
How could they have done this?
She refused to lie naked in bed amid the evidence of their biggest mistake. She jerked off the sheets in rebellion, then yanked on the shorts and T-shirt in record time.
Had he politely averted his gaze? Already, things were starting to crumble. They couldn’t even make a bad joke together.
She turned to face him, safely clothed. “How could we have let this happen? We’ve been drunk before! Hell, we’ve slept in the same bed on and off for years and never had the urge to rip each other’s clothes off!”
“I don’t know.” He threw up his hands in a half plea. “All I remember is you getting upset. I went to comfort you, and I guess we got caught up.”
She glared and stabbed a finger in the air. “Are you trying to blame this on me? I don’t need sex as comfort, dude!”
“I’m not blaming you, Taylor. For God’s sake, I’m just as much to blame. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize! That makes it worse!”
He growled and glared back. “What do you want me to do? I’m pretty damn scrambled myself here, okay? If I took advantage of you and don’t remember, I’ll never forgive myself.”
That did it. She yelled with frustration. “I had two orgasms, you idiot! You didn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to. Oh God, we broke the pact!”
“What pact?”
She began to pace, shaking her head. “The pact we made in college—the pact to never ruin our friendship by having sex! We swore it in blood, and you don’t mess with that juju or things go really, really bad.”
“Oh yeah, I remember.”
A tortured moan spilled from her lips. “How could we have forgotten our vow? Oh, this is a nightmare.”
“Come on, people do blood pacts all the time and break them. That’s what you’re worried about now?”
“Yes.” A strange sense of foreboding washed over her, like a shadow eating up the light. Nothing would ever be the same. The knowledge teased her consciousness. She shivered, rubbing her arms up and down for warmth. “We tested fate and now we pay.”
His laugh echoed in the air. “That’s just superstition. Don’t get all witchy-witchy on me. Listen, we need to take control of this situation. Let’s have some coffee and talk. I think we both need some caffeine and more aspirin.”
She dragged in a shaky breath, trying to calm down. They’d be fine. They’d get past this. Plenty of friends had sex and moved on without a blip. They were strong enough to get through anything. “Okay.”
“Good.” He rolled out of bed and stood naked in front of her. He reached for his pants, and she stared at his hard, tight ass and muscled legs, and suddenly the memory attacked her.
“How can you feel this good?” he whispered over her breasts, his breath teasing her tight nipples.
She reached for more, pulling him tight, her thighs easing open for anything and everything he wanted to do. His familiar body was suddenly new, and she couldn’t get enough, exploring every hard crevice with her hands and mouth. “Need more.”
“Yes. Me, too.” Green eyes burning into hers. “Always more.”
Taylor jumped, suddenly frantic for distance. She couldn’t do this. Couldn’t sit across from him at breakfast and have a rational conversation about how they’d had sex. Not with so many strange emotions bubbling up like a witch’s cauldron.
She had to get out of here.
Pierce headed to the bathroom, and she backed up to the bedroom door. After shoving her feet into the flip-flops she always kept here, she grabbed her purse and phone. They’d talk later, when she was calmer. Better to gain some perspective, so when she faced him, she’d be her old self.
Tying her hair into a quick ponytail, she quietly eased out the front door. On her way home, she shot Pierce a message saying Bella had texted that she needed help with Zoe. Taylor promised she was okay, and they’d talk later. She’d even inserted a funny GIF to make sure he knew she didn’t blame him and that she hadn’t run out of his house in a panic.
In other words, she lied.
She couldn’t tell him the truth. Not yet. Not until she got her shit together.
Pierce read the text a few times before shooting back a casual reply. He even added a few emojis so she wouldn’t think he was upset that she’d run out of his house like he was a cheap one-night stand rather than her best friend.
In other words, he masked the truth.
Because he was scared shitless.