Bet Me Something (Something Series Book 3) (12 page)

I nodded,
conscious that my face was completely crimson. “Did you, uh, need a Tide stain
stick or something? I think I have one in my purse.” No, no, no, those words
did not actually come out of my mouth.

His brow arched.
“I’m good. Are we okay?”

I stood up
unsteadily. “Yeah, we’re fine. I should go to bed.”

Normally, he would’ve
kissed me on the cheek or at least given me a hug; however he didn’t make a
move to do either this time around. Suddenly, I was in a hurry to get behind
closed doors.

“Kenz, wait.
You’re not going to be all weird about this now, are you?”

Irritation
instantly bloomed. “Why do you assume it’s me who’ll act weird? You’re the one
who’s been acting strange ever since the first time.”

“You’re the one
who bet me into it.”

I put my hands
on my hips. “Funny, I don’t remember our bet having a do-over clause. That was
all you.”

“Maybe my ego
didn’t enjoy hearing the kiss was awful, but that doesn’t mean I want you all
emotional about it. Nor does it mean I’m interested in more.”

“You’re such a
jackass.” I stomped down the hall, slumping against the guest bedroom’s door to
the floor once I was inside. I was both confused and angry.

The soft knock
came quickly. “Open up, please.”

“Go away.”

“I’m sorry. I
was a complete asshole. You’re one of the most important people in my life,
Kenz, and if I lost your friendship, I don’t know what I’d do.” He paused.
“That kiss kind of took me off guard, and I reacted badly.”

He made it hard
to stay mad. “It would be easier if you stayed a jackass.”

“Yes, it would, but
you already called me adorable earlier. No takebacks.”

I couldn’t help
but smile. “We’re fine, and I promise: no girly emotions. It was just a kiss.”

“So would you
classify it as your best one ever?”

“Jesus. Your ego
knows no bounds. Maybe I didn’t like it at all.” I decided to be a brat.

“I’m reasonably
sure the wet spot on my leg would beg to differ.”

“Maybe if you
hadn’t rubbed your
non-interested
erection against me like that, we
wouldn’t have had that problem,” I retorted.

The sound of
laughter led away from the door. “Touché, sweetheart. Touché.”

Some of my
friends in college, the ones I’d confided in about being a virgin, used to ask
how I could’ve gone without sex for twenty-two years. I now knew the answer was
simple: I hadn’t known what I was missing.

As I lay
restless in bed after my do-over kiss with Colby, my body was remembering the
way he’d touched me and how it had felt to be rocked against him so intimately.
At least it didn’t seem he’d disappoint in that category. I punched my pillow,
knowing for certain I’d be hurting in the morning for sleep. I wondered if he
was similarly afflicted but realized he most likely had taken care of things
himself. Huh, there was a thought.

I needed a big
glass of wine and a vibrator. I had neither of those two things in my
possession, but I was sure as hell going to remedy the situation once I returned
to LA.

As predicted, I
was exhausted the next morning after a fitful night’s sleep. Maybe it was the kiss
or stressing about the great unknown when it came to the next phase of my life,
but either way, I was feeling restless by the time we boarded Colby’s private
plane. He must’ve sensed my anxiety during the flight as he watched my knee bob
up and down of its own accord while we traveled closer to home, where I’d no
longer be able to ignore reality.

“I meant what I
said before. I’d pay for your school, Kenz.”

My eyes met his,
and I fought the temptation to go for the easy choice by taking either his
offer or my brother’s. “I know, but I’m tired of being dependent on other
people and need to figure out what I can do on my own.”

“You’re
twenty-two and graduated last week. Give yourself a break. So what if your
parents paid your living expenses for your college, and Brian, what, helps you
out from time to time? That’s what families do when they have the means to.”

I bit my lip,
not knowing quite how to phrase my next question without offending him. “Don’t
you sometimes want more?”

“What do you
mean?”

I expelled a
long breath. “I’m not even sure.”

He turned
towards me, giving me his full attention. “Try me.”

“You know how
you said you’ve never seen your brother the way he is with his wife and baby.
Then I witnessed the way Brian and Sasha are together…”

“You want a
relationship now?”

His voice had
held a note of pure terror. “Jeez, stow your panic button. No, that’s not it.
It’s more about the people they were before they got together. Haylee, who’s
only a year older than I am, knew exactly what she wanted with law school.”

He looked
thoughtful. “Some of that is due to her losing both parents so young, I’m
sure.”

“Right, except
it shouldn’t take that for me to learn to be independent.”

“You moved
across the country to attend a school where you didn’t know anyone. I’d argue
that’s pretty independent.”

It was sweet of
him to defend me. “I accomplished that with Brian and you helping me move. And
then my parents paid for my apartment, my car, and all my furnishings.”

He frowned. “So,
I moved out to Los Angeles and started a business with my family’s money.”

“Yeah, but you
started a business. A company you envisioned, researched and which, with your
hard work, has become successful. It’s something you should be really proud of.
I guess I want the same.”

“What can I do?”

I shrugged. “I’m
not sure, but whatever I figure out, hopefully you can be supportive?”

He tugged on my
hair playfully. “Of course I will.”

***

After we landed at
LAX, Colby dropped me off at my apartment before he headed home. I wasn’t
especially attached to my garden-style one-bedroom, but after moving out of the
dorms two years ago, I’d become accustomed to my own space with my very own
stuff.

First thing I
did was make a trip to the nearby 7-11 for junk food because when I got anxious
or started feeling blue, I could literally eat my weight in Hostess products.
Adulting could totally include Ho Hos. Unfortunately it also needed to involve
a nice long run if I was to alleviate the caloric guilt over my junk food
inhalation.

After donning my
running attire and headphones, I took off, making my way through the UCLA
campus and back. It was hot, although unlike Vegas, the heat here didn’t burn
my eyes. Arriving back at my place, I was ready for a long shower and a
well-deserved dinner of peanut butter Captain Crunch. Before undressing, I
checked my phone and frowned at the three missed calls from Colby. After I
dialed him back, he picked up on the first ring.

“Where were
you?”

“Running. Why?”

He let out an
audible breath. “I was worried because you didn’t answer your phone.”

I was stunned.
“Uh, we’ve never talked daily, and I just returned from spending the last five
days with you.”

“So, maybe I got
used to talking to you every night and got concerned when you didn’t answer. I
could tell on the plane you were nervous about coming back here and trying to
figure out what to do.”

I’d grown
accustomed to spending all of my time with him lately, too. “I should probably
tell you the same thing I told Brian, then, which is I’m a big girl. As much as
having people worry about me is sometimes nice, I think it’s time for me to do
the grown-up thing. Maybe tomorrow, though, because tonight I’m having Captain
Crunch for dinner.”

He chuckled.
“Any ideas thus far?”

I decided to
throw out a notion I’d been kicking around while I was running. “I was thinking
about traveling at the end of the summer.”

“You mean go on
vacation?”

“I’m not sure,
but I feel like I need space.”

“Space?” He
paused before asking, “This isn’t because of our kiss, is it?”

If it was, I wouldn’t
admit it to him—ever. “Contrary to your belief, the world does not revolve
around you.”

He laughed at my
ego shot. “It does from my point of view.”

“It’s more about
trying to figure out what it is I want from life. I need to Eat. Pray. Love or
some shit like that.

“What the hell
are you talking about?”

“The book:
Eat.
Pray. Love.
Obviously I have no problem with the eating part, and the rest
is about finding yourself. This woman in the book, after a divorce, traveled to
three places in the world and—”

“I’m going to stop
you there to say there’s no way you’re wandering around the globe by yourself.”

“Know how to get
a twenty-something-year-old woman to do the exact opposite of what you want her
to do?”

“How?

“Tell her she
can’t do something. We only end up seeing it as a challenge.” Unless it came
from my mother, in which case I couldn’t seem to manage that mindset.

He chuckled.
“Duly noted.”

“You said you’d
be supportive.”

“Well, if it’s a
vacation you need, we could plan one. We can go to one of my hotels in Cabo or Cancun
or travel to Europe, if you prefer. I can’t take off right now with the baby
getting here and helping Josh with some of the business, but I could make time
at the end of the summer for a couple of weeks.”

Holy mixed
signals Batman. “I don’t have a clue how to respond to that.”

“Then think
about it.”

“Okay.” And
since we were unable to spend five hours apart without talking and evidently
planning vacations together, I decided to go with it. “What do you think about
coming over for dinner tomorrow night? I’m craving lasagna and need someone to
help eat it.”

He hesitated.
“I, uh, have a thing, but if you don’t have any plans for Friday night, we
could do dinner then?”

“Is it a date?
Your thing tomorrow night?” My mind, which had been complacent in not knowing
the truth for many years, now needed to hear it.

He sighed
audibly. “It’s an engagement that includes a date, yes. Are you okay with
hearing that?”

Not really, but
I hated even more to remain purposefully oblivious. “Yeah, and do me a favor:
don’t tiptoe around your plans anymore. The days of you having to act sensitive
because I was a little girl with a crush are appreciated but no longer
necessary. A real friend shouldn’t have to hide the fact he has a date.”

His smile was
evident in his reply. “Okay, deal. I’ll see you Friday, then?”

“Sure, sounds
good.”

***

By the next
afternoon, I’d finished cleaning my one-bedroom apartment thoroughly after
having gone for a long run and realized it was getting late in the day. I’d
done both activities in the hopes I could push aside thoughts of Colby taking a
date out tonight, but it wasn’t working. Did he ever have a night out with a
woman that didn’t involve sex? The odds didn’t stack in my favor. And what did
I have planned at the moment? I resolved that it would not be another
Hostess-filled night capped off with Captain Crunch. Nope. I had a mission.

After putting on
some makeup and cute clothes, I drove to the grocery store, where I bought a
nice bottle of Pinot Noir. The second half of the wine-vibrator expedition,
however, involved using Google maps to locate my next destination.

Two minutes
inside Pleasure Palace made me realize the purchase decision involving a
vibrator was a lot more complicated than I could’ve ever imagined. Looking at
the large assortment on the wall, I was at a complete loss for words. Big,
small, flesh colored, red-white-and-blue with—huh, were those sparkles? I was
looking closer at one, in particular, when the sales person came up beside me.

“Ah, that’s the
Star-Spangled Bang-Her edition,” she offered.

She’d said it so
matter-of-factly that I had to bite my lip to keep from giggling. “Uh huh. Do
you have any recommendations?” That was a normal thing to ask, right?

“Depends on what
you’re looking for. Clitoral stimulation, vaginal, both, or double penetration?
If your partner is a woman, we have quite a few strap-on varieties. Or if your
man enjoys it up the a—”

“Okay, I get the
picture.” And, boy, did I. Suddenly, I was in a hurry. I should’ve ordered
online or gone with a girlfriend after drinks instead of standing here trying
to get images out of my head of the Star-Spangled Bang-Her doing a patriotic
duty on anyone. “Um, how about clitoral stimulation that’s somewhat discreet?”
Then I could shove it in my bag and be out of here.

“Sure. Over
here.” She picked out an egg-shaped one, and I quickly took it to the register.
Just like that, I was the proud owner of a baby vibrator. Putting my new-found
purchase in my purse, I stepped out onto the sidewalk and began to walk towards
where I’d parked a block away.

Lifting my face
towards the sun, which would set in a couple of hours, I thought about how much
I loved Southern California. I took a deep breath, enjoying the warm night
until the scream broke me out of the moment. As if in slow motion in a
nightmare sequence, there was a car heading straight for me on the sidewalk. It
was the last thing I remembered.

***

As I lay there
fighting the pain and nausea, trying to figure out where I was and what had
happened, I recalled standing on the sidewalk and then the car coming towards
me. It had appeared out of nowhere. One moment it was on the road, the next it
had jumped the curb and veered right at me. Considering the amount of pain I
was in, it was a good guess I’d survived.

Opening my eyes,
I glanced around the small room in which I found myself. There were machines to
my left, and when I lifted up my hand, I realized I was hooked up to an IV
pole. To the right was a window which revealed the outside world and the fact
it was nighttime. Turning towards of the sound of footsteps coming in through
the door, I saw an older gentleman with gray hair and glasses in a white
doctor’s jacket.

“Excellent,
you’re awake. Can you tell me your name, miss?”

I licked my dry
lips. “Yeah. It’s McKenzie Lane.”

He smiled
kindly. “Good. Ms. Lane, I’m Doctor Winters. You were brought in via ambulance
to the ER here at Cedars-Sinai Hospital about three hours ago. You were hit by
a vehicle on the sidewalk and injured. Nothing is life-threatening, but you’ve sustained
a couple of cracked ribs, a fractured wrist, broken ankle, and some deep
lacerations on your legs.”

Flashes came
back to me of the chaos and people gathering around me. Of the fuzzy ambulance
ride and then doctors working on me like a pit crew for a race car after
arriving in the ER.

“We had to do
surgery on your ankle, but the break was clean. The metal plate we screwed in
will help it heal faster, and we’ll cast your wrist now that you’re awake. I
don’t have a lot of information about the driver, but you’re one of three who
came in here.”

“Did everyone
make it?” The tears welled up thinking about how lucky I’d been.

“Yes, as far as
I know. I’m confident the police will be here first thing in the morning to
take your statement. They’ll be able to provide more information then. In the
meantime, you’ll need to stay at least tonight. We need to do a CT scan in
order to be on the safe side about any possible head injuries. Do you have a
headache currently?”