Chapter 9 Round Two
ROUND TWO
Poppy
“What do you mean I’m going out tonight?” I ask Cici incredulously after the bomb she dropped in my lap. Evidently, Braden is picking me up at nine and taking me downtown to the nightclub that Eli and Sebastian own.
“You’re here for a week, and last time, you didn’t do anything but wedding stuff. I thought it would be fun for you to go out in the city.”
“If you were going, it would be. I’m here to visit you and Abby.”
“Abby and I will both be sleeping. Come on, you’ll love it. And Lucy’s going.”
“I didn’t bring anything to wear.” Which is true, but I’ve also never been to a club.
I mean, we have bars in Bozeman, but nothing remotely close to a dance club.
Unless a barnwood floor and country music count.
I suppose we have a couple of places with DJs on the weekends, but the barnwood floor doesn’t magically disappear.
“Nice try, but I’ve got a closet full of clothes that have been gathering dust for months. I’m dressing you up, and you’re going so I can hear all about it in the morning. I haven’t gone dancing in ages,” she says wistfully.
I groan my acceptance, “Fine. But I can just Uber. Braden doesn’t need to pick me up. It’s not a date.”
“It was his idea to take you. He figured you’d want to do something other than hang out at our place every day. I thought you two were getting along,” she says suspiciously.
“That’s one way to put it,” I mutter, realizing too late I said it out loud.
When he dropped me off two days ago, I was so consumed with Abby that I barely paid attention while he was there. Our interaction was minimal other than a quick thank you for the ride before he left. Not that I didn’t notice him watching me the whole time.
“What do you mean? Is he still being rude and coming on to you? I thought he stopped.”
Should I fess up to Cici about what happened? She is my best friend. And now that her life is in order, maybe it’s okay to unload a little. It’s now or never.
Taking a deep breath, I lead into it. “Please don’t be mad for not telling you sooner, but I didn’t want to say anything to distract you at your wedding.”
“What? Just spit it out.”
“Braden and I… we… went to his room during the reception and did it.” I end up rushing the words out.
“Did it? As in, did it, did it? You lost your virginity? With Braden?” She’s screeching at this point.
I nod as I cringe, knowing I should have told her right away, but also extremely relieved not to hide it anymore.
“Holy shit, Poppy! I can’t believe you’re just now telling me. What the hell. How? Oh my God, tell me everything. This is huge.” She’s smiling now, which is a positive sign she’s not angry at me for keeping it from her.
“I don’t know. I guess he just wore me down. We messed around a couple times and he—”
“Wait. What do you mean by messed around? When? Start at the beginning because I’m lost on how he went from a douchebag during the flight to the guy you had sex with at my wedding. You have a lot of explaining to do.”
She listens over the next thirty minutes as I recount everything from the hot tub incident to stolen kisses to finally ending up in bed.
Her interruptions are abundant, with embarrassing questions pulling more and more details from me.
By the time we’re finished, she knows every detail, including how incredible it was.
“Wow, so now what? Are you going to do it again?”
“Are you sure you’re not mad at me? You specifically warned me away, not to mention you had a thing for him at one point.”
“Oh my God, that was ages ago and so lame. I was a baby back then. And no, I’m not mad in the slightest. He’s a charmer, all right, I’ll give him that, and a very good-looking one.
I just can’t believe you went for it. I mean, I thought you had a five-date minimum?
I hope you know he’s not the relationship type. ”
“I do—100%. I think that’s one of the reasons I did it, plus it was with someone I’d never have to see again. That was my thought process, anyway.”
“Smart, except you are seeing him again. And it better not be the last time you visit.” She scrunches her face.
I shake my head and groan. “I know. I wasn’t thinking that far ahead at the moment. I was a little distracted.”
Cici laughs. “Obviously. Well, you could always go for round two. This way, your body count will stay the same.”
“Oh my God, you’re terrible.” Although the minute the words are spoken, my mind considers the possibility.
“Nope, just smart. I say go for it. If you end up at his place tonight, I won’t hold it against you.”
“Cici! Seriously, that’s not happening. Besides, I don’t want anyone else knowing, including Eli.”
“He’s friends with Braden. I wouldn’t be surprised if Braden already told him.” My eyes bug out of my head, but she waves me off and continues. “He won’t care regardless. Eli and I had our fun back in the day. He’d never judge you.”
“Still. It was a one-time thing. It won’t happen again.”
“Hm. If you say so, but I’ll hold off the search party if you don’t come home tonight.”
I hit her with a pillow as she squeals, before we’re laughing together. I feel lighter than I have in weeks, confirming my decision to tell her.
The rest of the afternoon is nice, spending time with Abby and taking a walk outside with her in the stroller.
Lily joined us, so we didn’t go very far since she’s about to pop herself.
It’s so cool that they’re having babies around the same time and that their kids will be cousins growing up next door to each other.
After dinner with Eli, who worked all day, Cici dragged me to her closet to pick out something to wear while Eli kept Abby. He’s an adorable dad. I’m so glad everything worked out for them. Even though he missed most of the pregnancy, he’s made up for it in spades.
The outfits she’s pulling out are making me cringe. She has some seriously sexy clothes, most of which didn’t make an appearance in Bozeman, but apparently, the dress code for this place is next level. I’m kind of excited to experience a real dance club with multiple floors and modern lighting.
Hanging out with Lucy will be fun too. What has me on edge is the sexual tension between Braden and me.
Every innuendo he makes causes my insides to clench in desire, which is his intention, of course, and it’s becoming more of a challenge to hold back.
I’m afraid Cici’s right and that it’s only a matter of time before I give in.
“I don’t think any of these will work. You seem to forget I’m not as endowed upstairs as you are. Plus, my ass is bigger.” I whine to Cici as she piles more choices on the bed.
“We’ll see. Strip, we have a lot to do, and your makeup will take a while.”
Oh boy.
When she’s finally through with me, I barely recognize myself as we stand in front of the full-length mirror in her bathroom.
She didn’t go over the top, but I look more…
mature. And sexy as hell in this dress. If I went out at home like this, I might’ve already found someone.
I seriously need to reevaluate my tactics.
“Braden’s definitely putting the moves on you tonight. I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t make it out of the club before you get down and dirty.” She winks conspiratorially.
“I would never do anything in public.”
“Who said in public? There are plenty of hidden alcoves, especially in the VIP section. I would know since that’s where Eli and I became acquainted. Damn. Those were the days.” She wistfully sighs.
“We’ll be in VIP?” This is sounding cooler by the minute—a day in the life of Cici and her billionaire.
“Of course. All of Eli and Sebastian’s close friends have a standing table anytime they want. Now that everyone’s paired off and having babies, it’s not used as much, but Braden still goes quite a bit.”
“I’m sure he does.” I cringe internally at my petulance.
“Hey, that just means he’s better at pleasing a woman. Aren’t you glad your first time was with someone who knew what he was doing and not fumbling around? You should take advantage of his skills while you can.”
I shrug. “I guess you’re right. It’s just weird. I never saw myself being promiscuous.”
She doubles over laughing. “Poppy, you are the furthest thing from promiscuous. One guy doesn’t make you a slut.
Hell, ten guys won’t. It’s your body, and you can do what you damn well please.
When you settle down, it’ll be that much more special that you’ve chosen one person to share the rest of your life with.
And you’ll bring experience to the table to boot.
So don’t slut shame yourself. You’re young.
Have some fun.” She nudges me with her shoulder, smirking.
And that’s why she’s my best friend, because that’s exactly what I needed to hear. A few more times and it might sink in, but it’ll have to wait, because Eli knocks on the bedroom door.
He cracks it open enough to speak through. “Hey, ladies, are you almost done? Braden got here a while ago and is getting impatient.”
“We’re just finishing up. We’ll be down in a sec. Tell him to hold his horses, beauty rushes for no one,” Cici shouts.
“I’ll pass on the message,” Eli says before shutting the door.
“I’m ready, we can go down,” I say.
“Nah, make him wait. It builds anticipation.”
“I’m not sure that’s wise. He’s already a force to be reckoned with.”
“Exactly, so this’ll seal the deal.”
“Cici, are you trying to get me laid or what?”
“Yes, duh. It’s about time you had some fun. Okay. You need to make a grand entrance. Sashay into the room like this.” She giggles as she walks, swaying her hips side to side exaggeratedly, causing me to join her in laughter.
“Yeah, right. Come on. Let’s get this over with.”
Braden
What the hell is taking so long? I’ve been waiting all day for this, and my patience is wearing thin. Hell, I’ve been waiting all damn week in anticipation of having her in my clutches again. And she will be by the end of the night, I have no doubt. Her body still betrays her denial.