Page 176 of Filthy Beautiful
“Then you have your answer. You know what you need to do.”
I said nothing.
“You want me to give you permission to fuck her? That’s it, right? You think because I’m a woman, if I say it’s okay, you’ll feel better about it?”
“Maybe.”
“I mean, if she wants to… she’s a big girl. But youshouldbe mature enough to see into the future in a way she can’t.” She emphasizedshouldin a way I didn’t love—implying that I obviouslywasn’t. “There’s probably nothing wrong with sleeping with her if you both want to. But… what happens in a week or a month from now when you don’t want to anymore and she still does?”
I didn’t answer that.
“Or what happens if Cary finds out?”
I sighed.
“Or what happens ifyouwant to keep screwing her and she changes her mind?” She glanced at me sidelong. “Hey, now. There’s a thought. What if she’s the first girl to break Xander Rush’s heart—?”
“Okay. You’ve made your point.”
She laughed. “Are you scared?”
I glared at her. “Scared of what?”
She studied me for a minute, glancing over at me every time she could as she drove. Silence fell.
“Oh, shit. You like her.”
“Yeah. No shit, Sherlock.”
“Xander. OMG. This isadorable.”
“Stop.”
“The is the cutest thing I’ve ever—”
“Finish that sentence and you’re fired.”
She cackled again, but Jo was a smart girl. She shut her mouth.
When she dropped me off at my place, I said nothing.
“Don’t forget about the auction!!” she shouted at me as I got my bags out of the trunk. “I’ll pick you up!”
I waved at her over my shoulder as I headed up to the door of my building.
Theauction.
How could I forget? I’d been mildly dreading it ever since she’d told me Trey roped her into signing me up for it.
The fuckingbachelorauction.
It was at some swanky fundraising event Trey’s record company sponsored every year, and apparently,Iwas gonna be up for auction. Or at least, a dinner date with me was.
It was next weekend, I was in town, and it wasn’t like I was busy with anything else—like playing in my band—so I couldn’t really say no. It was for some foundation that helped sick kids. Plus, Trey would hunt me down and find a way to charmingly guilt me into feeling like the biggest sack of shit on the planet if I made some excuse not to do it.
I’d been trying to come up with one, but now it was five days away.
Looked like I was doing it.
