“It’s just sex. It’s not a big deal.” Great, mind-blowing sex and then some. I sighed again, wistful at the memory of him taking liberties with my body. Though sore, I craved him again. When would this end? He was a drug I couldn’t get enough of. It seemed the more I had of him, the more the addiction worsened.
Blair wasn’t convinced, calling my bluff. “Who are you trying to kid, babe? It’s a great deal to you. As for Jared, that fucker really has to get it together, or we’ll kidnap you two and stick you both in a room until you guys figure it all out.”
I snickered, amused at the idea. “Yeah, he’ll go bonkers if he’s away from the company for too long.”
Blair’s dark impish eyes sparkled. “Sounds like a fun idea.” She was wicked through and through. God help the man who dared to tame her. My best friend was not one to give up without a fight. She’d go down, guns blazing and all.
Vivienne toyed with her wine glass, throwing us stares as though we’d lost our senses. “Sounds fun until Jared calls the NSA on your crazy ass and then what? I don’t think being Gisele’s friend would get you off the hook.”
“Nah,” Blair rebutted. “Jared and I are great friends. That man knows I’m the person to call when he needs someone on his team in regards with Gi.”
They had definitely gotten on with Jared at my father’s funeral. That had its benefits as well as disadvantages. Hopefully, there wouldn’t come a time when they’d gang up on me. It surely would irritate me to no end.
“I fairly believe you’re pretty chill with him due to the fact that he might introduce you to hunky eligible bachelors. With his kind of influence and power, I’m sure his roster is quite full.”
She rolled her eyes, exasperated. “It’s called networking, genius. You should try it some time.”
Blair’s condescending tone didn’t go unnoticed. Vivienne wasn’t having it. “Must you always be so bitchy?” she derisively addressed the unapologetic brunette. “You finished your period last week, so there’s no excuse for this meanness. After Joao, you’ve been on everyone’s last nerve. Go get laid before you fucking explode from all that pent-up rage.”
Out of the three of us, Vivienne was the most sensitive one, and yet Blair thrilled at provoking our friend at the most inopportune time. But Vivienne sure knew how to put Blair in her place.
Unpredictably, instead of lashing back at Vivienne’s cutting words, Blair just settled it by muttering something under her breath. An apology, it sure wasn’t.
Those two bickered like two old maids. One would think they’d get over it as we got older. But no, they go at it almost each time we were together. The same thing happened at my father’s funeral. They harped on everything. My birthday celebration wasn’t an exception. Sometimes, I wondered how these two survived without me as their referee. They’d most likely have murdered each other over a tedious subject, like who was wearing what color at a party. Given that our styles in clothing were alike, we had to plan ahead of schedule so that no one ended up being anyone’s second-rate doppelganger.
“You two need to zip it. Save it for Sunday brunch, okay. You guys can have a ball insulting each other then. But for the time being, I beg of you, shut it down.”
“Case closed,” Blair uttered, unruffled.
Vivienne shrugged. “I second that,” she stated before drinking the rest of her wine.
Eyes flickering between the two, a satisfied smile graced my lips. “See, silence is fucking golden, isn’t it? Now, it’s not a crime not to bicker for a week. You guys should really try it. It might be nice for a change. Gentle on my nerves and ears, too.”
They both stared at me as if I’d lost my damn mind. Okay, I guess a truce lasting a week was just too much to ask. Never mind, then.
“You know, I’m curious, Gi…” Vivienne glanced at me eagerly. “Tonight, when you did the nasty, did the sex make it or break it? How was he, I mean. Is he just as amazing as they said he was? Did he blow your mind?” she grilled further.
Disclosing Jared’s sexual expertise had been vague. I didn’t like to kiss and tell. However, I managed to disclose the important bits, but I was not one to truly spill everything. I believed in preserving one’s bedroom privacy when it came to intimacy. But since Yovanna had announced to the world how Jared was the best sex of her life, Vivienne’s idle curiosity was understandable.
“He is…um…very passionate.” The man lit me up inside. Even now, I still could feel him within my body. He’d marked me. No man could match him. “It really is the polar opposite of Jack’s, without question. And I admit, as stupid as this sounds, it’s worth it—he’s worth it. Every single time. I can’t let him go…not now…not after tonight.” Airing out my heart’s burden and how I intended to go on carrying on a torch for him made them fleetingly glance at one another. From the knowing looks they’d just shared, I could already grasp their minds swirling with pros and cons.
“And Wyatt? Where does he stand in any of this?” It was Vivienne who voiced out her concern at my tangled web of a love life…if one could call it such.
Before I managed to answer, Blair interrupted me.
“My brother’s been fixated on you. I knew he was a disgusting tool when I found him jacking off to a picture of you two years ago, so he stands nowhere, Vivienne. Just as he should.” Blair’s discovery of her randy big brother jacking off to my photograph absolutely traumatized her. No words needed. Her priceless expression said it all.
I choked on my saliva. “What the fuck, Blair! Give us a warning next time. Shit, man.” I couldn’t breathe. I was dying from laughter. The picture flashing in my head was too hysterical. None of us could ever look at Wyatt the same again.
All three of us shared a good chuckle. It was nice to have a laugh again. I’d forgotten how it felt. So, for a short reprieve, the hollowness in my heart lightened its weight, letting me breathe a little freely from overburden.
When we settled down, their interrogation was far from over. Blair, though she liked Jared, still had reservations about my overclinginess. She deemed it unhealthy. As for Vivienne, she was too curious about my odd bond with my fake husband.
“Is Jared planning on working things out with you? Did you just discuss it even?” Vivienne quietly asked as I casually smiled at the passersby going back and forth into the garden and back inside the house.
Without glancing at them, I shook my head, feeling the weight of darkness settle on my chest once again. “We did discuss it, and no, he’s not planning on anything with me—well, apart from running away from me as far as he could possibly imagine, I guess.”
She let out a hissing sound, peeved. “So…the whole sex thing tonight…Is it just a once a year birthday thing, then? I don’t fucking get why, Gi. Why the fuck are you holding on to a man who has no interest in being with you? Sure, he loves to fuck you once in a blue moon, but where is he now? He’s most likely back with that Rose chick. He’s back in her bed. So why the hell are you holding on again?”