Eruption (The Hunted Series Book 3) (2 page)

Saturday

"Well that wasn't awkward at all," Rob said as he
leaned down and hugged me.

"So everyone did hear?" I asked. I had talked to
almost everyone and escaped to the kitchen to catch my breath. I wasn't as good
at parties as James was. Networking wasn't something I was good at. And I had
just embarrassed myself in front of all my friends and a few people I'd
probably consider more of acquaintances. They'd probably remain acquaintances
now.

"That you were about to give James head to extract
information from him? Oh, yeah, everyone heard that," he said as he let me
out of his embrace and handed me a drink.

I laughed. "Well, no one's mentioned it but you. Not
everyone has as dirty of a mind as you."

"Or you." He winked at me. "How was lunch with
my parents?"

"They canceled again."

"You're kidding. They're really holding out."

"Holding out for what?"

"James to change his mind, I guess."

Right.
My biggest fear was that they'd just start
throwing women at James that were way more suitable to be their daughter in
law. I looked down at the drink Rob had given me. "What is this?"

"Trust me, you'll like it."

"You're not roofieing me, are you?"

He laughed. "The girl my brother is about to marry? I
would never."

"I never believe anything you say, you know."

"That's how I prefer it. But it's just a sex on the
beach. If you'd prefer the actual thing, I think we could arrange that,
though."

"I'll take the drink. Are you still enjoying living on
campus?" I took a sip of my drink. It was sweet, but very strong.

"Of course. That's a ridiculous question. I'm living the
dream."

"Taking advantage of innocent young women?"

"What, like you?" He smiled at me. "Shagging
your professor wasn't so innocent, Penny."

"Is Rob harassing you again?" Bee said and leaned
against the kitchen counter next to me.

Rob laughed and looked down at his watch. "Is it time
for me to move on to you already?"

"You can focus on Penny tonight," Bee said.
"It's her big day. Congrats, again," she said and squeezed my arm.

"Thanks, Bee."

"And congrats on the new job too. James just told us
about it."

"Did he?" I looked over at James. He was sitting on
the couch next to Mason. As if he could feel my stare, he turned away from
Mason and smiled at me. He raised his left eyebrow and lifted his glass slightly.
Mason laughed beside him and gestured for Rob to join them.

"I've been summoned," Rob said. "I'll let you
two ladies talk. I'll be back when you're done that drink, Penny. You won't
even be able to resist me." He walked over to the couch and plopped himself
between Mason and James.

I looked down at the drink. He was joking right? "On a
scale of one to ten, how likely is it that this drink has a roofie in it?"

Bee laughed. "Like fifty."

"That's what I thought." I pushed it aside and
grabbed a glass of champagne off a tray that a waiter was walking around with.
"Okay, so I have a question for you. What's it like working with
Mason?"

Bee smiled. "Wonderful."

"Really? It doesn't make it hard to keep your work and
personal life separate?"

Her cheeks turned slightly red. "We don't really keep it
that separate."

I laughed. "I'm guessing the blurred line doesn't mean
you go over reports in bed at night?"

"Not exactly. We share an office, though. What do you
expect?"

"Right. But it's not going to be like that if I work
with James. Or, for him, I guess is a better way to put it." Bee and Mason
were an amazing power couple. They had grown their advertising firm to seven
figures within just a couple months after their launch. Now it was one of the
top agencies in the city. And even though they worked a lot, they still looked
at each other in that way that made your heart melt.

"I doubt he's going to make it feel like you're working
for him. And either way, it'll look great on your resume. You still have
different last names, you can take advantage of that. Use it as a stepping
stone. And your next employer doesn't have to be any the wiser when you use
James as a reference."

I laughed. "I'm pretty sure he's sabotaging me from
getting any other jobs."

"I'm sure that isn't true."

"You have no idea." I took a sip of my champagne.

Bee laughed. "I think he and Mason are pretty similar.
They're both used to getting whatever they want. I'm not sure they understand
the word no."

I laughed. "Shh, they're coming over here."

Bee smiled as Mason wrapped his arms around her. "What
are you two talking about?"

"How stubborn you are," Bee said. "What were
you two talking about?"

"James' bachelor party," Mason said. "Rob and
I have so many good ideas."

"Trust me," Bee said and grabbed my arm. "You
do not want Mason planning James' bachelor party."

I laughed even though she didn't look like she was kidding.
"I'd rather him plan it than Rob. Whenever Rob and James get together they
always do something stupid."

"You have nothing to worry about," James said and
wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I'm not having a bachelor
party."

"Of course you are," Mason said. "I already
bought the tickets. It's going to be awesome."

Bee frowned. "Where exactly are you guys going?"

"I can't say," Mason said. "It's a
surprise."

Bee shook her head.

"We're not going anywhere," James said. "Don't
worry about it."

"You should have a bachelor party," I said and
looked up at him. "Isn't that like a rite of passage?"

"Yeah, but I've already had one."

Every now and then I let myself forget about his past. I
downed the rest of my champagne and picked up the sex on the beach. I kind of
hoped it was laced with something. I hated thinking about finding a job. I
hated thinking about James' parents not wanting to meet me. But most of all I
hated being reminded of Isabella. I took a huge sip of the drink. "You
should still go, James. You'll have fun."

"See," Mason said. "She wants you to go."

James squeezed my shoulder. "I'll think about it."

"Are you ready to get going, Bee?" Mason asked and
removed his arms from around her. He whispered something in her ear and she
laughed.

"I guess we need to get going," she said.
"Bye, James." She gave him a quick hug. "See you tomorrow,
Penny," Bee said as she hugged me. "Don't encourage them,
Penny," she whispered. "You seriously don't want Mason to plan it.
Trust me." She pulled back. "Congratulations." She gave me a
small smile

Weird.
"Thanks, Bee. See you tomorrow."

Mason hugged me. "Congratulations on finally graduating.
I guess I can't really make fun of James for being with someone so young
now."

"I'm sure you'll find something else to tease him
about."

Mason laughed and released me from his hug. "It's going
to be a blast, man," Mason said and slapped James on the back. "Maybe
not as much fun as you guys are about to have when everyone clears out of here,
though, right Penny?" He winked at me.

Oh God.
Everyone really did hear. I put my hand over
my face as they left the apartment. "I'm mortified."

James laughed. "It gave everyone something to talk about
all night." He put his hand on the small of my back and pulled me into
him.

"You could have stopped me two seconds earlier, you
know. Usually when someone throws a surprise party they don't let the guest of
honor say something embarrassing in front of a room full of people."

"I don't know. How many surprise parties have you been
thrown?"

"Well, none, but..."

"So I'm pretty sure this was exactly how it's supposed
to go." He leaned down and lightly nipped my earlobe. "I had
considered letting you keep going. So you're welcome."

I laughed and looked into the living room. There were only a
few people left. Melissa and Tyler were sitting on the couch, laughing about
something. "Did you say something to Melissa? To make her not want to stay
with us? I was really looking forward to it."

"Although I am excited that I get to keep you all to
myself, I don't think her not wanting to stay with us has anything to do with
me." James nodded back over to them.

"What do you mean?"

James laughed. "They're obviously sleeping
together."

"No they aren't." Tyler and Melissa were definitely
not hooking up. That was ridiculous. I looked back up at James.

"What, does that upset you?" He lowered his
eyebrows slightly.

"Of course not. But they're not sleeping together."
Tyler was sweet and kind and Melissa was my best friend, but she was Melissa.
They weren't a good fit.

James laughed. "I'm pretty sure they are."

"Melissa would have told me. Tyler would have told
me."

"Maybe they thought it would be awkward."

I laughed. "Why would that be awkward?" I swallowed
hard and looked back over at them. They were just friends. All three of us were
just friends. Melissa laughed and lightly pushed Tyler's shoulder.
They are
just friends, right?

James kissed my cheek. "Let's go try to subtly get rid
of everyone. I want to give you your present in private."

"I told you not to get me anything. You already paid
for..."

He silenced my protests with a kiss. "My fiancée just
graduated. Of course I got you something." He grabbed my hand and guided
me back toward the living room.

The only people left were Melissa, Tyler, Rob, and Mason's
little brother, Matt. James sat down in the only empty chair and pulled me onto
his lap.

"How'd you like the rest of that drink?" Rob asked.
"Are you feeling frisky yet?"

I laughed. "I didn't finish it." I was feeling a
little frisky, but not at all toward Rob. The man with his arms wrapped around
me was the only guy I ever wanted.

"Now what am I going to do with the rest of my
night?" Rob said and leaned back in his chair.

"Stop being gross, Rob," Melissa said.

"I thought you liked when I was gross?" he said and
smiled at her.

I looked over at Tyler, but he didn't seem to have any
reaction to what Rob had just said. After I had moved to New York, Rob and Melissa
had a short fling. Tyler knew about it because we had talked about how weird it
was. If Melissa and him were dating now, it would make him uncomfortable to
hear about it again. Tyler didn't seem to care at all that Rob wanted to do
gross things to Melissa, though. And I didn't doubt at all that they'd be
gross.

"I have an idea," James cut in. "You could
call it a night and go to bed early."

"That wasn't subtle at all, James," I said.

Matt laughed. "What, do you two need to finish whatever
it was you were about to do before Penny realized there was a whole room of
people watching?"

"I wasn't about to do anything," I said. "That
was a complete misunderstanding. I was just making sure James' outfit looked
good. Checking his buttons and stuff."
Worst excuse ever.

"That's not what it sounded like," Tyler said.
"I'm pretty sure we were all just a few seconds away from witnessing quite
the graduation celebration."

Melissa glared at him. I couldn't tell if she looked jealous
or if she was just mad at him for further embarrassing me. I couldn't read
either of them tonight.

"Well, as much fun as this has been, we should probably
get going," Melissa said and put her hand on Tyler's knee.

I looked at her hand on Tyler's knee and then back at her
face. She immediately moved her hand.
Oh God, they are sleeping together.
Why
didn't she tell me? I bit the inside of my lip.

"Yeah, we probably should head out." Tyler stood
up.

Melissa immediately stood up beside him. "I'll see you
tomorrow, Penny."

"Sounds good. Thanks for coming tonight."

"Of course. Great party, James."

"Are you not even going to say goodbye to me?" Rob
asked.

Melissa rolled her eyes. "As if you deserve a goodbye.
Bye, Matt. It was great seeing you again."

"Bye, Melissa," he said with a laugh. "See you
around, Tyler,"

Tyler nodded and they both went over to the elevator.

I wanted Melissa and Tyler to be happy. Why did she think I'd
be upset about them dating? I looked down at my lap. My first thought had been
that they weren't a good fit. Maybe she was right for not telling me.

"I think you're right," I whispered to James.

"About what?" Matt asked.

I looked over my shoulder. Tyler and Melissa were gone.
"Am I terrible at whispering or something?" I asked.

"You're always really loud," Rob said with a wink.

I felt my face turning red.

"She was talking about how Melissa and Tyler are
sleeping together," James said.

Matt laughed. "There's no way those two are banging.
Don't you see the way he looks at you, Penny? He probably wants you even more
than Rob does."

I felt James' arms tense around me.
Damn it, Matt.
"Tyler and I are just friends."

"And I don't want Penny," Rob said. "She wants
me."

I laughed. "Yeah, right."

"You're all in denial," Matt said. He stood up and
yawned. "Okay, I think I'm going to head out too. Are you crashing
here?" he asked Rob.

Rob looked over at me. "Well, that depends on if Penny
wants me to stay."

I sighed. "I think maybe you should spend the night at
Matt's. You've gotten me all wound up from that cocktail, so now I have to do
super inappropriate things to your brother. And we don't want to keep you up
all night."

James laughed. "That sounds fantastic." His body
seemed to relax at my words.

"Yuck. Okay, let's get out of here," Rob said and
slapped Matt on the back.