Chapter 18
HARPER-RAYN
Ice clinks in my glass as Izzy and I hit the pre-drinks as hard as possible, preparing for one hell of a good night at whatever bar or club she decides to drag me to. Honestly, she’s told me the name of it three times already, and I still haven’t got the slightest idea where we are going.
“Have you ever tried waxing your own cooch?” she muses as she leans in toward my bathroom mirror to apply a second coat of mascara as I struggle to dress myself.
“Uhhh . . . What?”
“Well, have you?” she pushes. “I was reading this book, and on the very first page, the girl was talking about how she tried waxing and tore her whole lip off, and then her brother had to drive her to the emergency room while she was spread-eagle with wax, hair, and half her lip hanging off. It was traumatic, and I just feel you need to be careful with this shit.”
“What kind of pussy traumatizing books are you reading?”
Iz scoffs and laughs. “Hey, that’s tame.
The book I read last week had the girl accidentally use a taser on her vag, thinking she’d picked up one of those little vibrators.
Now that was traumatizing. I had to check through my bottom drawer to make sure I didn’t accidentally put a taser in there.
I don’t want that shit happening to me.”
“Do you even own a taser?”
“No,” she laughs. “But a girl can never be too careful.”
“Cheers to that,” I say, lifting my glass and taking a healthy sip, welcoming the burn of vodka sailing down my throat. Taking the drink with me, I head into my closet for a pair of shoes, but I hesitate over the first pair and grab another. “Which shoes am I supposed to wear with this?”
“Show me,” Iz calls back.
Taking my shoes for a stroll across my small apartment, I hover in the bathroom doorway, holding them up and waiting for Izzy’s approval, because let’s face it, when Izabelle Grace Davenport is around, she must have final approval of every materialistic portion of my life. I won’t have it any other way.
Izzy glances toward the options, her face twisting in disgust. “Are you serious?” she scolds. “You bring me an old pair of sandals that are falling to pieces over a pair of sexy knee-high boots. There is no option. Throw those rank sandals out.”
“Hey. They’re my favorite,” I say, realizing I left my drink in my closet.
“You’re such a liar. There’s a layer of dust caked on them.
The last time you wore them, your mom was still pregnant with you.
” Iz laughs at herself, and honestly, I’m right there with her.
Where the hell does she get this shit from?
“Don’t think for one moment that I haven’t noticed you didn’t answer my question. ”
My mind goes blank, and I try to figure out what the hell she’s talking about. “What question?” I demand, tossing the sandals over my shoulder and backing up to drop my ass on my couch to put my boots on, only I miss and end up on the floor. Maybe I’ve gone a little too hard on the pre-drinks.
“Waxing your own coochie? Don’t tell me you do that.”
I scoff. “No, this coochie has been lasered to silky smooth perfection,” I tell her, certain she already knew that.
“In my younger years, I’ve been known to give the good old Brazilian wax a try, and let me tell you, it was a horrendous disaster every single time.
Zero out of five stars. I do not recommend. ”
Izzy howls with laughter from the bathroom. “Was it a leg propped up on the bathtub kind of situation, or a towel on the ground and a mirror staring right at your bush?”
My cheeks flush, heating with embarrassment, but when it comes to me and Iz, nothing is off limits. “I’m ashamed to say all three.”
“Three?” she laughs, sticking her head out of the bathroom and gaping at me. “I only said two. What’s the third option?”
My phone rings from somewhere in the kitchen, and I drag my ass off the floor, one boot off and one boot on. “Saved by the bell,” I laugh, hurrying to find my phone and cursing myself for not leaving it on the counter like a normal fucking person.
“What? No! What’s the third option?”
I ignore Iz as I dig through drawers and check the pantry before finally looking in the freezer and finding my chilled phone hanging out by the Oreo ice cream. Big & Long Schlong #2 appears on my screen, and I swipe my thumb across the screen, accepting the call.
“Oh heyyyyy,” I drawl, holding the phone away from my face as I search the screen for the little FaceTime button.
“What . . . What the hell are you doing?”
“Turn your camera on, Mr. Big and Long Schlong number two.”
Laith groans. “You know damn well I’m not number two,” he says as his dazzling smile appears on my screen. “Don’t you think it’s about time I get prime position at the top?”
“Ooooh, no can do,” I tease, taking Laith along with me into the bathroom so Izzy can say hi as she continues working on her makeup. “I’m actually thinking of demoting you to number three. Actually, potentially number four. The jury’s still out on that one.”
His jaw drops, and as Izzy’s brows furrow, I realize I’ve said too much.
She knows all about my thrilling few days with the alluring Knight Slater, but I haven’t said a word about the man who appeared in my bedroom, demanding I play a twisted game of hide and seek that ended with me coming hard on his thick fingers.
“Four?” Laith sputters. “How the—just how many dicks have you been riding? I know it’s been a little while since I blew your mind last, but shit, tiger. I think my feelings are hurt.”
“Your feelings?” Izzy mutters beside me. “As far as I was aware, there’s only one new dick bouncing around Harper’s face, and here I am finding out there could be two.”
“Oh shut up,” I laugh. “There is only one new dick in the picture. I just meant that it’s so fantastically massive that it would be criminal for it not to take out both first and second place.”
“I . . . I’m still offended,” Laith mutters. “In the very least, I should be holding on to third. You haven’t even thought about Big and Long Schlong number one in years. I think he should be the one demoted. Not me. After all, I’m the one putting in all the work.”
Izzy scoffs. “From what I’ve heard, you’re going to have to up your game. You’ve been slacking, and while your new loyalty card remains unpunched, someone else has been taking our girl to pound town.”
“Let him,” Laith scoffs. “She always comes running back when she realizes nobody does it better than me.”
Forgetting I’m on camera, my face twists, knowing that while Laith is certainly a high achiever, he could never compare to how it was with Knight. Even how it was with my stalker in my bedroom. It was certainly strange, but there’s no denying just how intense it was.
“What the hell was that look for?” Laith demands, a hint of panic surging through his stare. “Don’t tell me this new guy puts it down better than I do.”
I cringe again, and Laith looks horrified. “No. That’s not possible. Nobody gives it to you like I do.” Laith pauses a moment, shaking his head as though he can’t possibly believe what he’s hearing. “I need to sit down.”
“You’ll always be my . . . second favorite.”
“What was that pause?” he demands. “Why’d you pause like that? What’s there to think about? Is there . . . Is there another favorite above me and this new guy?”
“No. Not above the new guy,” I clarify.
“Oh sure,” he scoffs. “So just potentially above me then?”
A laugh bubbles up my throat, and I watch as Laith strides through his apartment, taking me into the kitchen where he helps himself to a drink, all while shaking his head.
“You’re buzzed, aren’t you?” he questions, and that playful tone in his voice shifts to something a little more serious, prompting me to walk back out to the living room where we can have just a scrap of privacy.
“Sure am,” I tell him, more than feeling myself right now.
“This new guy,” he says, a slight edge to his tone, but something I can’t quite place. Jealousy maybe? “Is it anything serious? Do we need to pump the brakes for a minute? I don’t want to overstep if you’re starting something good.”
A soft smile pulls at my lips, loving the way he cares about what’s best for me.
“I love you, Laith. You know that, right?” I tell him.
“But to be honest, with this new guy, it’s complicated.
If anything, it’s probably just fun. It can’t progress into anything more than that, even if there might be real feelings there.
I just—” I cut myself off and let out a heavy sigh. “We still good?”
“Always good, tiger,” he murmurs. “Let me know when you figure it out. I’d hate to lose you in that way, but I want everything for you.”
“Right back at ya,” I say as a dorky smile pulls across my lips.
Laith messes around with something off camera, and a moment later, I see a little card appear on the screen.
“I suppose getting this printed was pointless,” he says as I lean in a little closer to make out what’s on the card, only to find the words Dick-Me-Down Loyalty Card at the top, and ten perfect squares below.
“You didn’t?” I gasp, laughing.
“Of course I did.”
A howling laugh tears out of me, and I shake my head, more than impressed with his dedication to the cause. “Don’t get rid of that too soon,” I tell him. “Who knows how long it’ll be before I’m knocking on your door again.”
Laith grins. “Oh, I know you’ll be back,” he says, making a show of putting the loyalty card right back into his wallet to keep safe. “But listen, tiger. If a heart needs to be broken, make sure it’s not yours.”
“My heart’s not capable of breaking. You know that.”
He rolls his eyes. “I’ll let you go. Don’t be a stranger. And don’t write yourself off tonight. Be safe.”
“Hey,” I rush out before he goes. “Have you ever thought that maybe you and I, one day in the future—”