“I really miss you,” I tell my mom, a tear dripping from my cheek.
As I think back to all the times she tucked me into bed, a weight presses into the mattress beside me and my body rolls into the hole.
Then I feel a strong arm wrapping under my neck, pulling me closer.
“Tell me you don’t sleep with a gun?” I whisper in the darkness, rocking my ass against his pistol.
Chris edges his groin away from me. “My gun’s downstairs.”
My eyes spring open.
Oh…
FIFTEEN
Harper
It’s noon, and to say I’m hungover right now is an understatement. My brain feels six inches bigger than my skull.
Maria and I are sitting in the busy college bar, and I can’t even look at the greasy burger she’s inhaling. And that’s not an exaggeration. My best friend eats like she’s scared someone is going to steal her food.
“Slow down,” I say, drawing a deep breath through my nose.
“Can’t. So good,” she purrs. “I might get another. With fries this time.” I don’t know how she does it. Maria seems to eat like eight meals a day, but she never gains any weight. “You sure you don’t want anything?”
“Not unless you want to see it again,” I mumble.
Maria laughs. “I can’t believe you spewed your guts all over the silver fox. Who exactly is that guy? And does he have a brother?”
“He’s my dad’s best friend slash business partner slash lunatic. He doesn’t do small talk, so I have no idea if he has any family.”
Images of his stony abs and arms make me shudder.
“He was probably built in a lab,” I say as Maria swallows the last of her burger and wipes the cheese from her lips. “What happened after I left the photo shoot last night?”
She slurps on her second XL milkshake. “Aaron and I made out.”
“What?” I gasp. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. He was all wet with the fire sprinkler. Couldn’t resist.”
Maria waves at a blond guy in a blue shirt, and I have no idea why she’s clicking her fingers.
“Can I get another double cheeseburger with fries?” she asks him, and the guy looks at her like she’s insane. “And another milkshake. Large.”
“I’m not a server,” he tells her.
Maria frowns. “Really? Oh, my bad.”
The confused student shakes his head and glances at me. “Harper, right? Harper Reeves?”
Kill me now.
“We’re not doing autographs today,” Maria says. “I’m her agent. Selfies are acceptable. Ten dollars a photo.”
To my utter disbelief, the handsome freshman digs into his pocket and hands the crisp note to my best friend.
“Phone,” she says, clicking her fingers again. “Chop, chop. Time is money. A-list celebrities are busy people.”
Maria lines up the phone while the guy walks behind me and awkwardly lowers his head next to mine. The flash doesn’t help my headache.
“Thanks,” he says. “So you run Greek Life, huh? And you’re dating Billy McVane?”
“Yeah,” Maria says. “Autographs are twenty doll?-“
“No,” I interrupt. “Billy and I are over. It was just a one-night thing.” That lie was so uncomfortable it feels like it’s lodged in my throat. “And I don’t run Greek Life.”
He grimaces. “Oh. But you won the vote thing, right?”
“By a landslide,” Maria says. “Wasn’t even close. She’s available for dates too. Three hundred dollars a night.”
What the hell has my life become?
“Ignore her,” I tell him. “She hasn’t taken her meds today.”
I snicker when Maria throws a hand to her chest.
“I have no interest in running Greek Life,” I add. “My bodyguard got involved when he had no right to. That’s why people voted.”
The freshman looks so confused, bless him.
“Wes Watson is your…bodyguard?” he asks.
“No,” I say. “My bodyguard is a lunatic. Wes Watson is college royalty. You’ll hear about him. He has a legendary on-off relationship with Christina Fawkes.”
Maria sits forward in her chair and inappropriately prods the freshman’s hip. “Wait, why are you mentioning Wes Watson?”
“Because he’s the guy who set up the Greek Life poll thing,” he says. “College quarterback, right? Ponytail, built like a grizzly bear?”
Maria nods and my mouth falls open.
“Yeah,” he says. “It was definitely him. He was in here on Tuesday telling everyone to vote for Harper Reeves.”
So it wasn’t Chris?
A wave of guilt rolls through my gargling stomach.
I called him a liar and ignored him for three days.
“So if she’s not dating Billy McVane or running Greek Life…” The freshman looks down at Maria. “Can I get my money back?”
“No refunds. Sorry. Strict policy. You can email your complaints to…” My best friend notices my raised eyebrow and pulls out the cash. “Fine. Here. This is why we’re never going to be rich. Too soft.”
The freshman marches off to the bar and Maria sucks on her straw.
“Wes Watson, huh?” she giggles. “Maybe the grizzly bear wants himself a piece of Harper’s ass.”
I grimace. “Whatever. I can’t think about that right now. You said you made out with Aaron?”
“Yeah. I was kissing him when you called him. Then he fessed up to the art project being total BS, so I bit his pervy neck.”
I laugh. “I thought I heard him yelp!”
Maria flashes her teeth. “I bite hard. Just ask Leon.”
“Do you still talk to him?”
“Nah,” she says. “He’s with Jenny Harris now. She’s a total bunny boiler. He’s not allowed to talk to other girls. Especially his ex.”
Sudden thoughts of Chris and the handcuffs I found flash into my mind, and I pick at my fingernail. “Didn’t Leon used to be into…you know?
Stuff.”
“Hang on.” I cringe when Maria leans over the empty table behind her and grabs a half-eaten plate of fries. “Waste not, want not.” She scoffs four at a time. “Stuff?”
I shuffle in my seat. “Yeah. Like…bondage-type stuff. Handcuffs and ball gags and stuff.”
“Ball gags?” she yells, and I want the ground to swallow me. “That’s some hardcore shizzle, girl. Never used those. But whips and handcuffs were a nightly thing.”
“Keep your voice down!” I whisper. “Did you like it? I mean, was it good?”
“Hell yeah! Why?” Her eyes grow wide and she stops chewing. “Is the kinky silver fox into BDSM?”
I shrug. “I’m not sure. Well, I kind of am. Because I foundstuff in his room.”
I think of the way he held me last night and struggle to swallow a smile. And then my cheeks flush when I recall something hard pressing against my butt.
“I just wondered if it was good,” I mutter.
“So let me get this straight,” Maria says, sliding the empty plate away. “The silver fox mafia guy is into bondage? You’ve hit the jackpot there, girl. You have no idea how lucky you are.”
Something behind Maria catches my eye, so I tilt sideways to find Oscar Karlson waving at me.
What the hell? I’ve had a crush on him since the first day of college. My best friend follows my stare and laughs.
“Looks like someone else wants a piece of Harper. I’m going to make a fortune pimping you out. Shall I call him over?”
“No!” I hiss. “He came to my party and made out with Christina.”
Maria frowns. “And? This is college, Harps. Everyone makes out with everyone. You’re famous now and he’s clearly into you. The dude can’t stop staring.”
This has been my dream for over two years.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.