Page 48 of The Publicity Stunt

Turning, she sighs. "He makes me scream."

"What?"

"More like cries of passion, but this last time, it was damn near a scream. He's really, really good at it."

Tessa fans her face with her hand. "Okay, wow. Um... what all have you done?"

"Are we really talking about this as we're about to meet his entire family? For a holiday?"

"You've gotten on your knees, haven't you?"

"I'm not the only one. And he managed to pull off having me on my knees with him underneath."

Her jaw drops as she blinks rapidly. "You sat on his face?"

"I expected it to be awkward and weird, but everything with him feels so comfortable. And when we're naked, it feels so much better than comfortable."

"How many times have you done it?"

Bri feels like this conversation would have been had in high school if she stayed instead of going on the road. "Every time we've seen each other since Chicago. I don't really keep track of how many times we get intimate because it's more than once each time."

Using her fingers, she counts. "You've had sex at least twenty times?"

Bri enjoys being the one with the stories instead of the one listening and trying to figure out the appeal like she used to. "Define sex."

"How many orgasms have you had?"

"Too many to count. The night before Atlanta, my legs were so sore that I almost couldn't pull off the choreography."

"I officially hate you right now."

She giggles. "If you want a pointless hookup, I know an athlete who'd be willing to help you out with that itch you want scratched. I have to say... definitely better than musicians. In my limited experience."

The car stops, and Tessa bursts out laughing, leaning against the door just as Bobby opens it to let them out. He catches her. "Woah, Tessa. You good?"

"Yeah," she says as she continues to laugh. "I'm fine."

"She might be broken," Bri says as Tessa grabs the wine and the salad.

Looking at the house, she feels the wave of nerves wash over her again. She hopes it's everything she wants it to be.

Bobby walks around and stops her, placing his hand on her bicep. "It'll be fine," he says, reading her mind. "I have a buddy who just left your parents' place. They ain't here."

She stares in surprise as she hears the front door open. "You had someone go by my old house?"

"If they weren't there, we were gonna track them down. If they turned out to be here, we were turning around and leaving," he says.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she hugs him tightly. "Thank you, Bobby."

"Uh, Bri? Your boyfriend's on the front step watching you," Tessa says.

"It's nothing, Bri. You have a good holiday. We won't be too far away," Bobby says.

"What was that?" Tessa asks.

Bri watches Bobby walk to the car and nod before pulling out of the driveway. "The best security guard in the world."

"What'd he do?"

---