Page 202 of The Bluffing Game

I stand there and watch as she heads inside, then walk up slowly behind her. My lips still tingle from the kiss. It was a mistake to kiss her like that because I know once is never going to be enough, and even though I have rules, I am going to break every single one of them just for another chance to kiss and touch her again.

And I have to stop messaging her as Bradley. I don’t want to keep up the lie, no matter how much fun it has been chatting with her.

Chapter 19

SAGE

“Girls, I want to thank you so much for coming with me this evening,” Izzy says in a soft voice as we stand outside of the bar. “I know this might be kind of crazy, but I really need to see for myself what’s going on.”

I look over at Rosie, who offers me a warm smile, and Lucia grabs Izzy’s hand.

“Hey, we’re here for you, girl. I hope that whatever you find out tonight, you make the right decision.”

Izzy nods. “I can’t believe I’ve gone to this new low of spying on my boyfriend, but if he’s still seeing Kendra, that’s it. It’s over. He knows I’m not okay with this open relationship. He knows I don’t want him to see other people. He can’t have his cake and eat it too.”

“Yeah,” I say. “It was messed up when he told you he didn’t want you on the dating app. I mean, you guys are either monogamous or you’re not. If he’s continuing to see people while telling you that you can’t, well, that’s not cool.”

Izzy swallows hard and takes a deep breath. “I’m scared of what I’m going to see.”

“We got you, girl,” Rosie says. “I’ve never spied on a man before though. This should be interesting.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m horrible, aren’t I? I’m spying on my boyfriend. Should we leave?”

Lucia raises her voice. “Girl, we all look amazing tonight. We’re going to go in there, and we’re going to have fun, no matter what.”

Izzy nods. “You’re right. I’m going to be strong. I can do this.”

“Plus, I have my own news to tell you guys,” I say, swallowing hard, looking guiltily at all of them.

I don’t really want to tell them about the kiss that Dalton and I shared, but I can no longer keep it to myself. I’m so confused and conflicted, and even though Lucia is his sister and Rosie knows I’m looking for a billionaire, I need to tell someone. And these are my friends. I know I can trust them.

“Oh my gosh, what’s going on?” Izzy asks, her eyes widening.

“Not yet. Let’s go inside and grab some drinks, and then I’ll tell you everything.”

We walk into the bar, and immediately, I notice it’s crowded and dark and very loud. Lucia and Izzy look around, and then Lucia finds a booth in the corner.

“This is a good spot,” she says as we head over to the back booth. “We’ll be able to see people as they come in and check out the room, and unless someone’s looking at the back, they’re not going to notice us.”

“You mean, if Colton checks out the back?” Izzy says, swallowing.

“Yeah, I don’t care if he sees us,” Lucia says. “In fact, I hope he sees us because if he’s here with Kendra, I will⁠—”

“No, you won’t,” Izzy cuts her off. “If he’s here with Kendra, trust me, I’m going to say something to him.”

“Really?” I question her.

All of us look at her in surprise.

“I know I’ve been acting like a bit of a fool, like one of those women who puts up with shit just because she’s desperate to be in a relationship. But trust me, after the last conversation I had with him, I’m over his bullshit. He has been gaslighting me long enough, and seeing you girls being so strong and putting yourselves out there … well, why am I going to stay with a loser? Plus, he sucks.”

“Yeah, he does,” Rosie says.

We take a seat, and Lucia grabs the menu.

“Okay, they do have waitresses here and servers, but it’s going to be a lot faster if I just go up to the bar and grab the drinks.”

“I’ll come with you.” I jump up. “Do you guys know what you want?”