Page 48 of Tempt Me

“Celebrate?”

“That this ridiculous thing is over. Here, catch.” The red dress floated up in an arc over the screen, and I caught it.

It smelled like her floral perfume, and it was all I could do not to bury my face in it. Carefully, I slipped it onto a hanger and clicked it onto the rack.

She emerged wearing the trousers and blazer she’d worn before. “Celebratory dinner? My treat.”

“Um, sure.” Although it was foolish of me to torture myself by spending even more time with her, I couldn’t resist.

She snorted. “Don’t sound so excited about it.”

“I’m excited,” I protested. “Where do you want to go?”

“Mind if we do takeout at my place? I’m ready to get out of these heels and wash my face.”

Good lord.

15

That evening,I sprawled on Jamila’s sofa. Decimated Chinese food containers were scattered across the coffee table, and Quill.i.am nosed a crinkly cat ball inside his habitat. A classic episode ofStar Trekplayed on the television.

She froze Patrick Stewart on the screen, zapping my false sense of security.

“So…you’re into me.” She sat on the floor, her back against her sofa. Tonight’s leggings were a soft pink that reminded me uncomfortably of the peek I’d gotten at her panties.

I put both feet on the floor and looked toward Quill. He pointed his tiny pink nose in the air, listening.

“I think you know I am,” I said testily.

“Interesting.”

“You’ve said that.” I still didn’t know what it meant.

“Is that why you’re helping me with PR?”

“No!” I rotated to face her. “I’m helping you because you need help. Liking you…that’s separate.”

“Did you start liking me when you came to work at Jamilow?”

“Why do you get to ask all the questions? Maybe I have questions.”

“Maybe you do. But I think we both know how this works, baby girl.”

I looked down at my lap. Of course I knew how it worked. Jamila was always in charge. It was one of the things that revved my engine.

“How long?” Her voice was soft, but the compulsion in it was steel.

“Since I was, like, fourteen. Actually, that was only when I realized I liked you the same way I liked Harry Styles. It probably started earlier than that.”

“Wait. You haven’t actually dated Harry Styles, have you?”

“O.M.G., I wish. Though I’d hate to date someone with better hair than me.”

“No worries there.” She ran a hand across her short curls. I wished I could lean over and follow her hand with mine to show her how much I liked it.

“That long?” She stared at me with her dark eyes. The light from the television highlighted her cheekbones.

“Yeah, I figured out then that I was bi. I thought it was just an inconvenient part of my personality, though. One I could ignore. So I’ve only ever dated guys. Because of Mother.” I crinkled my nose.

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