Chapter Fifteen
“Thanks, Fritz. Run me a tab will ya?”
The man winked in response before attending the next bar patron as Lucie grabbed the large glasses of beer and carried them to the booth in the back corner of the room. Vanessa was on her cell, arguing with someone as usual.
“Absolutely not. I don’t care what they’re offering, we’re not settling. Look, I’m entering a very important meeting right now so I’ll call you tomorrow. Uh-huh, buh-bye.” Tossing her wild curls over a shoulder she dropped her phone unceremoniously into her purse with a dramatic exhale of relief as they performed their habitual clinking of drinks and toast to their health. “So what’s up? You haven’t called an EDM since you were freaked out about finals senior year.”
True. Usually Vanessa was the one calling for an Emergency Drinks Meeting due to her latest drama, whether personal or professional. She had a flair for melodrama, which made her amazing to watch in a courtroom, but it also meant she was either riding the highs life had to offer or drowning in the inevitable lows. Lucie had always been the even-keeled one. Yet another way they balanced each other out.
Lucie took another drink to bolster her courage and then voiced her problem aloud for the first time since it had wormed its way into her head. “I think I’m falling for Reid.”
Her friend let out an obnoxious whoop like she’d just won a few hundred bucks on a scratch-off she expected to be worth nothing. “I thought you said something was wrong, but this is awesome! Congratulations, honey, he is one fine male specimen. Mm-mm-mm. What’s he like in bed? I bet he’s fantastic, right? Damn! I want every last detail, including length, girth, and if it hooks to the side.”
“For the love of God, will you please lower your voice?” Lucie hissed. “I am not giving you any details of his anatomy.”
Cue gigantic, pleading kitty-cat eyes. “Don’t make me beg, Lucie. The men in this town aren’t even worth the effort to tear the foil wrapper off a condom, much less talk about the disappointment afterward. You have to tell me what it’s like to ride a stallion like him.”
Lucie clapped a hand over her nose and mouth until she’d successfully swallowed her beer without choking on it. “What makes you even think we had sex?”
“Now you’re insulting my intelligence.”
She snorted. “More like your freaky sixth sense.”
Vanessa shrugged. “Tomato, tomahto. C’mon, give me something.”
Glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping she said, “Yeah, okay. We’ve…”
“Screwed like rabbits?”
“Been intimate,” Lucie said with a quelling look. “And it was…”
“Phenomenal, out of this world, good enough to make you instantly bend over and grab your ankles every time he looks at you?”
Lucie stared with mouth open and eyes wide. “That was a little over the top, even for you, Nessie.”
“Sorry, I got carried away. Continue.”
“It was wonderful.”
Vanessa screwed up her face like she’d just swallowed stale beer. “Wonderful? You can’t come up with a better adjective than wonderful?”
Lucie gazed at the ceiling in thought for a moment, then back at the crestfallen woman across from her. “Nope. It really was wonderful, in the true sense of the word.”
“Okay, fine, I get it. I need to wait till you’re drunk before I’ll get any of the good stuff out of you.” Lucie laughed and thanked Fritz’s daughter when she brought their next round just as they were finishing the others. “So why is it a bad thing you’re falling for Reid? I must be missing something because I don’t see any evidence to support that theory.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I’ve only hung out with the guy a couple of times, but we both know I’m an excellent judge of character. The guy is full of win.” Holding up her left hand she started ticking off character traits on her fingers. “Insanely attractive, funny, charming, rich, insanely attractive, successful, friends with your brother, and he obviously carries a torch for you. Did I mention insanely attractive?”
“No, I don’t think so,” she said wryly. “And what’s with the torch thing? It sounds like something my grandmother would’ve said.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes. “First I’m too lewd for you, now I’m too prim. Fine, the guy obviously has a hard-on for you. Is that better?”
“Yeah, that’s perfect. Just what I want is a guy who likes me for a little easy side action.”
“That’s not what I meant,” she said, her green eyes softening. “I see how he looks at you. He’s totally into you. Like, really into you. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he—”
Lucie held her hand up. “Don’t. Don’t say it because he doesn’t. It’s not like that for him.”