Page 18 of Enjoying the Ride

“Yeah,” she confirms, biting her bottom lip.“So, you didn’t evenseeTrek naked?”

“No,” I say with a quick shake of my head, wondering what Kelly could possibly be referring to.“Why?”

Is he super well hung?I ponder.That’d be fun, sure, but not necessarily life changing.Well, except that it’s Trek…

Kelly just giggles.“Girl, there is something special about these men.”

“Like what?”I demand.“What are you talking about?”

“You didn’t evenfeelTrek’s, um, guy part?”

When I just shake my head ‘no’ once more, Kelly giggles wildly.

“Well, then I guess you’ll just have to wait and find out for yourself,” she says, her tone cryptic.“And that’s all I’m going to say about it.”

“What?That’s not fair!”I whine like a baby.“Come on, spill it.”

But Kelly just shakes her head, her expression secretive.“I think you should let Trekshowyou,” she says.“It’ll be way more fun that way.”

I roll my eyes.“I don’t know.I mean, the man seems to like me, but I don’t know if it’s going to any further between us.”

“What makes you say that?”Kelly asks, propping her head on her arm as she studies me.

I grimace.“It’s just that he’s super hot, and he’s probably doing something with all the other girls, too.Or I bet that he’s at least going to try to.It’s not like I’m special or anything.”

Kelly frowns.“You don’t value yourself enough, Pose,” she counters gently.“You don’t know that he’s seeing other women.”

“Well, no, I don’t.But it’s all a little too surreal.I just don’t know what to expect with these men.”I sigh.

My friend shakes her head slowly, her ponytail swinging.

“I suggest that we just take it day by day,” Kelly advises.“You’ll have more time with Trek, so just wait and see where it all goes instead of trying to guess at it.I mean, that’s what I’m doing with Kixson.To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about Kix banging the other pageant contestants.I’ve got everything he needs, so why would he?”

I nod, pretending to be in agreement with her advice.

But really, I know that the more time I spend with Trek, the more I’m going to fall for him.

And there’s no way he could possibly feel that way about me.

7

Posey

Isurreptitiously watch Trek from the corner of my eye.

All of the contestants are gathered in a big conference room at the hotel once more.We’re about to break into one-on-one sessions for interview practice, and it’s the first time I’ve seen Trek since our crazy encounter in the dressing rooms.

Aside from his initial greeting to me, which is was neutral and to the point, Trek hasn’t looked at me once this afternoon.

I sigh and look toward the ceiling-high windows, wishing I was anywhere but here and, at the same time, completely unable to imagine where I might go or what I might do.That’s how confused I am.I let my gaze sweep over the view of the city as my thoughts wander.

The cityscape outside the conference room is stunning.The sun’s already beginning to set, casting a soft, orange glow across the length of the conference room.The light makes the space feel hazy and romantic, an exact reflection of how I am already starting to feel toward Trek, whether I admit it or not.

At least, I’m not going to admit it out loud until I know exactly how he feels about me.

I don’t doubt that the man likes me, or at the very least, is attracted to my curvy figure.That much was made clear during our scandalous bikini fitting the other day.But I don’t know if his attentions are just a part of the whole pageant business, like he claimed back when we were in the dressing room.

“At this point, we’re going to break into individual sessions now,” Narax announces to the girls.I try to pay attention because it must be important.“Unless your name is called, you should wait here.Interview practice will last thirty minutes to an hour, so please be patient.Take the time to practice your question list with one another.”

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