Page 39 of Body Shot

The pair I’m wearing today required some study. Pale pink, edged with black lace, they dip low in the back, barely covering my butt crack, but with a narrow black strip of satin that crosses from hip to hip, meeting another strip attached to the lace in a T, with a saucy little bow at the base of my spine. So unlike anything I’ve ever worn before.

It’s a shame I’m the only one who sees them or knows how pretty they are. I can’t stop the crazy thought that Beck should see them. I imagine his eyes moving over me, warm with admiration.

Crazy!

I draw in a long breath and let it out, then finish my food. I had one wild weekend. It was fun and exciting, but it can’t happen again. I have a never-ending task list and serious goals. I jump to my feet. I have time to get a lot more work done before bed.

My cell phone buzzes as I move to my desk. I peer at it and see it’s from Carrie. I answer the call. “Hey, girl.”

“Hiiiiii!” Carrie’s exuberant greeting makes me smile. “How are you, you crazy sex goddess, you?”

I return to the couch and sink down onto it. “Yeah, about that.”

“What?”

“It happened again.”

Dense silence greets my ears. Then Carrie cries, “What do you mean it happened again? When? With someone else? Who? What is happening here?”

“No, not someone else! Jesus. I mean, Beck came over yesterday to uh...” I pause.

“Beck!” Carrie’s screech makes me pull the phone away from my ear. “You saw him again?”

“Yeah. So, Saturday night, he ripped my panties—”

Carrie makes a pained noise. “I really did not need to hear that. But holy hotness.”

“Yeah. So he brought over some new ones—only he brought me ten pairs! And they’re super pretty.”

Carrie whimpers.

“And then somehow with that crazy magic of his, he convinced me to go to the beach. So we walked on the beach, then went to an arcade and he bought me dinner. And then we came back here and . . . “

“Snogged! Omigod, Hayden!”

I have to chuckle. “Snogged? Who says that?”

“I do. You can’t see me, but I’m bouncing up and down. This is so cool!”

“It’s not going to happen again. I have too much work to do to have any kind of relationship. Not that he even hinted that he wants to see me again anyway.” Damn, that makes my chest twang a little. “It just happened, like it did last night. It won’t happen again.”

“Oh.” Carrie’s voice drips disappointment. “Well, okay. At least you had a sexy weekend.” She sighs. “I was calling to tell you I can’t go out this weekend. I wanted to plan something else fun, but I have to go up to L.A. for a photo shoot.”

“Oh, that’s okay.” Truthfully, I’ll be fine working all weekend too.

“But I’ll be back Sunday and we can do something then. Hey, you know what would be cool? A whole spa day.”

Oh my God. A whole day lying around doing nothing would make me crazy, when I have so much to do. But because I love Carrie, I say, “That sounds nice.”

Tuesday evening, I’m surprised to get a call from Will, one of the guys we met at Conquistadors Saturday night. I immediately go speechless and empty-headed.

“I had fun the other night,” Will says. “I was thinking maybe we could get together for a drink, just the two of us, and get to know each other a little better.”

He sounds nice. Confident but not pushy. Easy and natural. I really have no desire to see him again. Somehow explosive chemistry that tempts me into insanity appeals more than . . . nice. But that explosive chemistry isn’t going to happen again with Beck. And how do I know I wouldn’t have it with someone else unless I give it a shot? I have to admit, the pleasure I experienced was addictive. I want more of it. Why not go out with another guy and see what happens?

“Okay,” I say, knowing I’ve probably hesitated long enough to be rude. So I add, “I’d like that.”

“Great. Thursday work for you?”

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