CHAPTER 13 Hidden Pleasure Devices
“Do you have to go?” I asked Nina, who was readjusting her bag’s strap on her shoulder. “Or can you stay for a bit so you can tell me what the hell is going on with Liam?”
She chuckled and looked away, covering her flushed cheeks with her hands.
“Come on. It’s Friday. We don’t have school tomorrow. Or do you have somewhere else to be?”
“I have zero plans for tonight,” she said with a smile, placing her bag and jacket on one of the chairs in the foyer. “And something tells me you won’t let me go until I spill the beans.”
“Exactly.” I laughed but immediately stifled it and covered my mouth, not wanting to disturb William’s sleep. He’d been swamped lately and sometimes didn’t get enough rest, so if he was snoozing, I would let him do so in peace. “Let’s go to my bedroom so we don’t wake him up.”
We both kicked off our shoes and flopped onto my bed.
“So?” I asked, propped up on my elbows.
“Ay, ay, ay.” She chuckled and took a deep, slow breath. “We’re just friends. And we’ve been very respectful of his relationship with Belén. No lines have been crossed, nor will they be.” She took one of the pillows and pressed it against her chest.
“But?” I rested my chin in my hands and lifted my brows expectantly.
“But … he’s got the cutest eyes, the most charming smile, the funniest punchlines, and I don’t know. I think he’s the best, and I wish he were single so I could know what kissing him would feel like.” She looked away dreamily, lost in her thoughts. “Or what he’s like in bed.”
“Nina!”
“What?” She laughed. “I was done with my statement, and then you said but, so I expanded accordingly.”
I laughed too. “No, I get it.” With Liam, it had been friendship at first sight. Or second, if we’re being technical. I hated his guts on my birthday for ratting me out to Tobias about introducing Jordan to Cecile. But he won me over in two seconds once he started calling me Red, even if I pretended I didn’t like him calling me that.
I changed positions to sit cross-legged on the bed. “This sucks so much. I wish he were single too.” I made a sad face, and I meant it. Nina seemed excited about Liam, and something told me he might’ve felt attracted to her too, based on how nervous he became earlier when she arrived. However, I knew how much Liam cared about Belén, and he didn’t seem like the type to cheat.
It was, without a doubt, a tricky situation.
I’d only spoken to Belén on the phone that day while I was in South Africa. She seemed sweet and friendly. But the few snippets I’d gotten from Liam made me think she had a complex personality. And there’s nothing wrong with that, but knowing Liam and how laidback he was, I hoped she didn’t make him go insane.
There was nothing much Nina and Liam could do but remain platonic friends for the time being.
“And are you okay being friends with him?” I asked to make sure. Nina had become one of my closest friends, and my protective instincts had flared up. I didn’t want her to get hurt.
A few seconds of silence filled the room before she finally spoke. “Yeah, I am.” She looked down at the pillow she was holding, picking the tip of a feather and pulling it out. She tossed it away with a sigh. “I’m just … I enjoy talking to him too much, even if it’s about trivial things. He makes me laugh, and I like being there for him when he needs me. But he’s been honest with me from the start, ever since I texted him the first time. He mentioned he was in a weird situation with Belén, but we kept texting, and then a few weeks later, he told me they’d made it official. And we agreed to remain friends.”
“But are you guys hanging out in person too, or?”
“No, we are not.” She shook her head, the corners of her lips tugging a bit down. “I guess that’s why it was weird seeing him today because we’ve texted so much that finally being able to spend some time with him came as a shock. A good shock. For me, at least. It didn’t feel weird or inappropriate. But my first reaction walking in and realizing he was here was concern about how our interaction would feel because you know how you can have great chemistry with someone through texts, and then it flops in person. But that wasn’t the case. He’s … amazing. We had fun today.” Nina met my gaze and smiled a tight-lipped smile.
“Liam’s really special,” I agreed.
“But he’s unavailable and ran after her.”
“He is.” I let out a breath through my mouth. “And he did.”
Nina stayed for a while longer, and all we did was talk, talk, talk, but it got to a point where we couldn’t stop yawning every other minute, so it was time to call it a night.
“I should go,” she said, getting up from the bed with another yawn, making me do it again. Yawning is more contagious than the flu. “Are you still up for that run tomorrow morning?”
With David gone, Aaron had no choice but to join me on my morning runs. But he hated running. He had claimed to have a bad knee to get out of it in the past, but that was a lame excuse to avoid it altogether. He was perfectly fine. Thank goodness, because I wouldn’t have been able to deal if I was asked to run on a treadmill instead. I even suggested he follow me on a bike, but his pride got the best of him, and he opted for his running shoes instead. I didn’t care what he chose to do as long as I was allowed to run at Central Park whenever I felt like it.
“Yeah, for sure. Weather’s gonna be perfect tomorrow morning.” I got up and followed her out. William was dragging himself from the living room with half-shut eyes, rubbing a hand along his tired face. “Hey.”
“Hey.” William stood behind me, kissed the top of my head, and rested his chin there, wrapping a lazy arm around my shoulders. “You girls had fun?”
“We did,” Nina replied with a smile. She leaned slightly to the side and narrowed her eyes at the wall behind us. “So are you still running on trial version? Or why is the boyfriend wall still empty?”
I coughed to disguise the laughter.
“Yeah, I’ve only got a few days left on the trial before having to make a final decision,” I said, but William pinched my waist. Nina knew William’s portrait would be delivered soon and was just messing with him, which I thought was brilliant.
“It’s a touchy subject for me.” William pulled me closer to him.
“No, it is not.” It really wasn’t. He was being silly. But I knew he hated seeing Nathan’s portrait there whenever he got a glimpse of it in the past.
Arching my neck, I pressed a quick kiss on his cheek before releasing myself from his grasp to get the door for Nina.
“Don’t worry,” Nina said to him. “You’re my favorite boyfriend of hers so far.”
“Good to know.” William rolled his adorable sleepy eyes at her. “Off you go.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” I said, leaning against the side of the open door. “Text me.”
“I will.” She waved us goodbye and walked away. “Good night.”
“Good night.” William and I said in unison, and I shut the door once Nina stepped into the elevator.
William grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him.
“You’re exhausted, aren’t you.” I cupped his face and squeezed his cheeks, making his mouth pucker. “Do you want to stay over so I can scratch your scalp until you fall asleep?”
“You would do that?”
“I always do.” I laughed under my breath and ran my arms around his waist.
“Do you have any ibuprofen though?” he asked. “I feel like I’m about to get a headache.”
“Oh, no.” I unlatched myself from him and walked away toward the kitchen. “I do. There’s a small bottle in my left nightstand drawer. I’ll be right back with a glass of water!”
I poured two glasses of water and rushed back to my bedroom. But when I walked back to my room, I froze.
“What’s this?” William asked with a smirk, holding my vibrator in his hand. It was a discreet clit stimulator Lily insisted I should get for myself when I broke up with Nathan. I’d never used anything of the sort before I got it, but it turned out to be pretty handy.
“Snoop.” I walked toward him and set the glasses on the nightstand. “Give me.” I held out my hand to grab the device, but he lifted it out of my reach.
“You won’t be needing this anymore. You have me.”
“Give it”—I jumped on the bed to gain some height advantage—“back.” My legs wrapped around his waist, and I kept trying to get it off his hands, like a koala on a mission.
He laughed, cleverly dodging my futile attack, pulling me with him onto the bed. We were both out of breath from the previous struggle. “I’m confiscating this.”
“No, you are not.” I laughed an exasperated laugh. “That thing cost a hundred and sixty bucks.”
“Well, I’ll get you off for free anytime.” He slid a teasing hand between my legs but pulled it away after a quick squeeze and rested it on the curve of my hips.
“I’ll want to use it whenever you travel for work.” I combed a strand of hair off his forehead with my fingers. “Maybe we can play with it … from a distance.”
He tilted his head with curiosity. “Okay, you’ve convinced me.” William took a long, steadying breath. Him leaving for long periods of time was something we didn’t want to talk about. Not yet. We’d been enjoying our time together in New York while he was in between jobs, but he had an upcoming project in Vancouver that would require him to be away for six weeks, and I was going to miss him like hell. “But if I catch you using this without my permission, there will be consequences, ?lskling.” He ran his fingers through my hair and rested his hand behind my neck.
“Yes, sir.” I leaned in and kissed him while stealthily moving my hand to snatch the vibrator away from his grasp. After breaking off the kiss, I lifted myself from the bed to put it back inside my nightstand drawer. “And take two of these.” I poured two pills into my hand and offered them to him with a glass of water.
William sat up and did as he was told. He downed the entire glass and set it back on my nightstand before disappearing into his room through the magic wall, claiming to be right back after he brushed his teeth.
I did the same and changed into my pajamas. And when I stepped out of my bathroom, William was already lying on the left side of my bed. His side of the bed. My heart warmed inside my chest.
Silently, I climbed next to him and massaged his scalp as promised. He closed his eyes and fell asleep within a few minutes. I kissed his forehead and reached out for my phone.
My dad was going to be furious, but I would’ve chosen peace if he hadn’t initiated the unnecessary conflict that stemmed from his controlling ways.
Me: Thanks for the heads up, but I won’t need to move out. Turns out William’s the buyer. What a small world! So I’ll
continue to live here since he’ll be leasing it to me. I won’t
be needing your credit cards anymore, so you can go
ahead and cancel them.
Me: Oh, and we’ll have someone remove the surveillance camera outside my apartment door sometime during the week. I’ll ask Aaron to return it to you. I’ll keep the
panic buttons because despite what you think, I’m a
reasonable woman.
I hit send with a heavy sigh, knowing it was time to cut the umbilical cord.