Page 62 of Deal Takers

“Lorraine, quit stalling.”

Damn it.

I sigh. “What do you want to know?”

“When did this happen?Howdid it happen?”

“We kind of made an agreement the night he walked me home from Kelly’s.”

“What kindof agreement?” she asks.

“Like a friends-with-benefits type of thing. No feelings, no complications, andno telling anyoneelse about it.”

Devyn smirks. “Well, that rule’s out the window.”

“You can’t say anything to anyone, Dev,” I plead. “Not even Riley.”

“Rainey…I can’t lie to him.”

“You don’t need to lie,” I insist. “Just don’t bring it up.Please, Devyn.”

Her face softens. “Fine.For now. But you need to give me an honest answer in return.”

“An answer to what?”

“Do youreallythink you can do this without feelings? Or complications for that matter?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “But I’m trying. I had a few casual relationships in college that worked out just fine.”

Her eyes are screaming,are you stupid?“This isn’t the same, and you know that, Lorraine. You’ve known Brody for years. And he’s Drew and Riley’s best friend.”

“What’s your point?”

“Mypointis that I know you understand how complicated this can get. Therefore, you wouldn’t jump into something like this blindly. If you only wanted sex, you would’ve found someone else.Anyone else. You can say ‘no feelings’ all you want, but we both know Brody’s already has had some feelings brewing for a long time. I don’t want to see either one of you get hurt.”

“Brody and I are both consenting adults,” I say. “If things start getting too intense, we’ll call it off and pretend like it never happened.”

“Lorra—”

I hold up my hand to cut her off. “No, Devyn, really. I know what I’m doing. Just please let it go. Not everyone is destined for a happily-ever-after like you and Rye.”

She smiles at the mention of his name. “Just promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“If youdoneed to talk to someone, please come to me.”

I pull her into a side hug. “I promise.”

“Okay, then I just have one more question.” I motion for her to continue. “How’s the sex?”

My body temperature rises just thinking about it. “Incredible.I’ve never been with someone who makes me feel so wanton andwanted. And holy shit, the man has skills, Devyn. Major. Skills.”

She grins from ear to ear and holds her arms up in a touchdown pose. “I knew it!”

“You knewwhat?”

“That you and Brody would be hot in bed.”

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