Page 40 of Switch

Brooke tilts her head, wine glass in hand, and smirks. “Yeah, Bella, let’s talk aboutJax.”

I groan, dragging my hands down my face. “Can we not?”

“Oh, weabsolutelycan,” Bri says, leaning forward like she’s about to hear the juiciest gossip of her life. “You’ve been all distracted lately, and it’s definitely not because of work.”

Brooke gives me a knowing look. “You like him.”

I grab a handful of popcorn and pop a piece into my mouth, buying time. “Obviously, I like him.”

Bri grins. “But?”

I sigh, looking anywhere but at them. “He’s great when he’s around,” I admit. “But then he has to leave. No warning, no explanation—just ‘sorry gotta go babe, club business.’”

Brooke’s smirk fades, her brows pulling together. “That’s happened more than once?”

I nod. “A few times now.”

Bri frowns. “And he never tells you what’s going on?”

“Nope,” I say, tossing another piece of popcorn into my mouth. “Just that it’sclub businessand he’ll see me later.”

Brooke leans back against the couch, swirling her wine. “And how do you feel about that?”

I let out a humorless laugh. “Like shit, honestly.”

Bri tilts her head. “You’re not the type who needs a guy to check in every five minutes.”

“I’mnot,” I say quickly. “I don’t need constant attention, and I knew what I was getting into when I started seeing him. I knew the club came first. But…”

Brooke raises an eyebrow. “But?”

I exhale slowly. “I don’t like how itfeelswhen he leaves.”

Bri stays quiet, waiting for me to continue.

“My mind goes to places it probably shouldn’t,” I admit. “And that just makes me feel worse.”

Brooke watches me for a second before asking, “Has he ever done anything to make you question if he’s messing around with another girl?”

I shake my head. “No. Never.”

Brooke exhales, nodding like that’s what she expected.

“But that doesn’t mean anything,” I say after a beat, my voice quieter. “You know what kind of world he’s in. What kind of women hang around the club. I’m not like them. They’re Cherry Garcia and I’m vanilla.”

Bri leans in, frowning. “What do you mean?”

I sigh, rubbing my temple. “You’veseenthem, Bri. They’re confident, bold, andcomfortablein that world. I don’t know if I am or if I’ll ever be.”

Brooke sets her glass down. “Not being like them doesn’t mean you don’t belong with him.”

I don’t answer right away because, for the first time, I really don’t know.

Bri shifts, suddenly interested. “Actually, funny you mention that. I work with Jenny, you know, Piston’s wife.”

I blink, surprised. “I didn’t know that.”

“She’s really nice and hella funny,” Bri says, picking at a piece of popcorn. “I like her.”

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