Page 20 of Body Shot

Carrie blinks. “You’re not that drunk, are you? You do know what happened?”

“Yes, yes, I know . . . but I mean, I don’t know why. Or how . . . how I let myself be so . . .”

“Slutty?”

My mouth drops open.

“You know I’m kidding.” Carrie rolls her eyes. “Having sex doesn’t make you a slut.” She narrows her eyes. “You don’tfeelslutty, do you?”

I consider that. “No. I’m more confused. I don’t do crazy, rash things like that. I’m all about the lists and the plans.”

“True. Holy hell. Well, we can talk more about this later, back at your place.”

We return to the bar. Carrie flirts a little more with Brian and Will, drawing me into the conversation. Excruciatingly aware of Beck behind the bar, I force myself to join in, smiling at the two guys.

We stay another hour or so, then exchange phone numbers with the guys. As I enter a number into my phone, the back of my neck tingles and I look up to see Beck staring at me, his eyebrows pulled down tight over his eyes, his mouth a thin line. I give him a “what?” look, then smile, wave and turn away.

Carrie and I make our way out of the bar and turn down Grand Avenue to walk back to my place. The cool evening air brushes over my skin as we walk, and I lift my face to the breeze.

“Okay, now I want all the details. Did you seriously go back there with that hot bartender and bang him?”

I gulp. “I did.”

“I can’t believe that! I’m so jealous.”

“Jealous?” I shoot my friend an incredulous glance.

“He’s gorgeous! And sexy. And he’s so smart about tequila.”

“Yes, yes, those are all things I noticed too.”

Carrie laughs and links her arm through mine. “So he was good, huh?”

“Oh yeah. I can’t even . . . it’s like . . . some kind of chemical reaction. He just makes me feel . . . all kinds of feelings.” It’s terrifying but…amazing.

“Well, I didn’t expect this when I made these plans, but I think it’s awesome that you did something so spontaneous.”

“I don’t know. It makes me feel very uneasy.”

“It’s fine, Hayden. I mean . . . wait, you used protection, right?”

“Yes!”

“Okay, then, what’s the harm? I mean, I know nothing is ever a hundred percent foolproof, but you’re not likely pregnant, and not likely to get an STI, and you weren’t struck by lightning for having sex out of wedlock, so what’s the problem?”

I sigh. “Your points have merit.”

“Thank you.”

“What about you and those guys? I can’t tell if you like one more than the other.”

“They’re both nice.” Carrie shrugs. “There was no explosion of chemistry and spontaneous fucking, as with you and Beck, though.”

I choke on a laugh.

“Who knows,” Carrie continues. “I might go out with one of them. Or both of them.”

Carrie spends the night on my couch since she doesn’t want to drive home after drinking all that tequila, which is totally fine and not the first time that’s ever happened.

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