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How am I going to call Harrison now? And I really want to call him.
My emotions are all over the place, and once we’re moving again, I lean against Curtis and fall asleep.
* * *
“Do you want to talk about it?” Curtis asks as he flops down next to me on our two-seater sofa. “We’ve had a day to processeverything,and I’m worried about you. You’re too quiet. Did something weird happen?” he asks, concern lacing his words.
“You know the guy I told you about? The one who got away. My go-to masturbation fantasy guy.”
“Your brother’s hot friend?”
“Yeah. Well, he was my bidder,” I say, taking a sip of wine. We’d splurged as soon as we got home. Went to our local supermarket and bought all the good stuff, moderately expensive wine, three tubs of Ben and Jerry’s, and the makings for a kick-ass charcuterie board including cashew nuts. Now we are stuffed and apparently talking about the auction.
“That’s crazy.”
“I know. And what makes it worse … he was better than I fantasized. Better than Vibrating Vince,” I whine into my glass.
“No way, I thought Vince was your forever vibrator. No one could compete,” he says, laughing, and I think about my nickname for Harrison.
“He’s a champ,” I say, finishing off my glass, and leaning forward to get a refill.
“Easy there, cowboy. You’re going to regret that glass in the morning,” Curtis warns.
“Yes, Dad,” I quip, looking at him as I take a sip from my newly-filled glass.
“There’s my girl. I’ll take your bitchy morning face if the wine helps you get back to yourself.” Grabbing a handful of cashews, he asks, “Do you want to see him again?”
And that is the million-dollar question, with the simplest answer—I do. I’m just not sure how to do that. What to say after everything I said before we left.
“Do you want to see Jared again?” I ask Curtis, needing to change the focus of our conversation. I’m not the only friend being tight-lipped about our auction experience.
“I do,” he says and he turns the cutest shade of scarlet I’ve ever seen.
“You like him!” I tease, punching his arm playfully. “I do too,” I say, and Curtis whips his head toward me with his eyebrows raised.
“We stayed at the table until after your bidding, remember. I wanted to be there to support you.” Curtis nods, and I continue, “He ordered us drinks, and he was nice, told me to send him my resume. He was handsome too, if you like them a little older …”
“It was better than I thought it would be, but it’s got me questioning my sexuality. I was just curious, you know. So, when we decided to do the bidding, I thought this was the perfect way to experience it. No strings. No feelings hurt. No seeing the other person on campus and feeling bad if I didn’t like being with another guy.” Curtis looks at the TV without seeing the reruns ofThe X-Files.“But I really, really liked it. Liked being with him …” he pauses, finishing his own glass.
“If you really like him, why don’t we both go get our guys?”
It might be the wine talking, it might be my heart … all I know is that if I can, I want to be with Harrison again. So instead of wallowing in self-pity at not meeting him in a more traditional way, I’m going to chase what I want … a chance at being Harrison James’ girlfriend.
CHAPTER15
The black opal is mocking me. I’m using the precious gemstone as a paperweight. I’d put it on the bookshelf behind my desk first, but changed my mind after I kept swiveling my chair to look at it, and moved it to my desk instead.
And now the iridescent red, yellow, and blue tones in the gem remind me of Elle—her sparkling eyes, her golden blonde hair, and her fiery personality, all encased in a stone smaller than a baseball and more expensive than Jared’s car.
“Your four-thirty is here, Mister James,” my secretary announces over the intercom.
Jesus, I hope this meeting isn’t going to take long. I’ve reached my people quota for the day. All I want to do is head home and drown my memories ofheraway.
“Send them in, Miss Steele,” I say, getting up from my desk, ready to start my final meeting for the day.
A soft knock sounds before a dream enters—Elle Cartwright.
Her hair is up, showcasing her slim neck and strong jawline, but she’s wearing a tailored ruby-red suit with heels. Fuck me, she is sexy.
