Chloe couldn’t have agreed more.
A little more than an hour later, the pair stood side by side in the elevator as they made their way to the lobby. A wave of unease rolled over Chloe as she thought about seeing the others. She and Reid hadn’t discussed what, if anything, they would tell everyone. She didn’t want them jumping to conclusions about how things had unfolded.
“You okay?” Reid asked, threading his fingers through hers and squeezing.
“What will the others think? You know,” Chloe said, lifting their joined hands, “about this.”
Reid nodded in understanding. “Honestly, I don’t care what they think. But I don’t want any misunderstanding about me and you. So we can say nothing and I’ll try my best not to be obvious about the fact that I’ve seen you naked, or we can just tell them and let them deal with it how they want.”
Chloe tugged the piercing in her lip as she thought about their options. Reid leaned into her and moved his mouth to her ear. “It’s gonna be really hard not being obvious that I’ve seen you naked,” he whispered.
Chloe raised her brow. “And why is that?”
“Because I’ve seen you naked,” he laughed. “Trust me. Guys pick up on that kind of thing.”
Chloe rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She couldn’t help but think about Inky’s dog and bone analogy. The last thing she wanted was the image of herself as a bone again.
“Hey,” Reid whispered, stepping in front of her. “I didn’t mean to upset you. We can keep things to ourselves for now, okay?”
“It’s not that,” Chloe said. “It’s just . . . I don’t want them to think we were together before, you know?”
“I know. I doubt they’ll notice anything,” Reid said with a reassuring smile.
The elevator dinged, and with a sigh, Reid released her hand and moved a couple of steps away. She hated the distance. It wasn’t that she wanted to hide; she just didn’t want people she considered friends thinking she was a floozy.
Just as they stepped off the elevator, their phones buzzed. They looked at each other in confusion as they read the messages.
Chloe spoke first. “It’s from Inky. They’re in a private room in the hotel dining room.”
“I got the same message from Tom.” With a shrug, Reid shoved his phone in his pocket. “We gotta eat, right? Plus, this will prove you have nothing to worry about.”
Chloe pulled in a deep breath. “Okay.” She followed Reid through the lobby and into the dining area. As the hostess led them to the private room, Chloe smoothed her hand over her hair and pressed her palm to her forehead. She was nervous, which was crazy. It wasn’t like she was wearing a sign that said, “I just had sex.”
“Hey, guys,” Drew said as soon as they walked into the room. “How’re you feeling, Chloe?”
Chloe cleared her throat and smiled. “Fine. I’m good.”
“We just ordered some food,” Inky said, her voice filled with mischief. “I heard the T-bone is amazing.” The moment Inky spoke, Chloe knew the jig was up.
“That actually sounds really good,” Reid said, causing both Inky and Chloe to burst into laughter. Chloe couldn’t help it. She knew what Inky was inferring, and for Reid to agree was too much for her to handle.
“I win,” Inky cheered, slapping a twenty-dollar bill on the table. “Pay up, fools. Mama needs a new tattoo!”
“What the hell?” Drew yelled. “How do you know? You don’t know!”
Inky nodded, still laughing. “I do know. I do. They totally banged.”
Chloe covered her face with both hands and bowed her head, her shoulders shaking. She should have been mortified that their friends made a bet about whether or not she and Reid had sex. The truth was, if they were willing to make bets, it meant they weren’t mad or disappointed in them.
“Can you explain how saying a steak sounds good led to Inky saying we banged?”
Chloe wiped under her eyes and shrugged. “I’m a bone.”
Reid looked around the table, bewildered. “Be honest. Let’s see a show of hands. Who dropped acid this morning?”
Drew chuckled and tossed a twenty on the table. “I can’t speak for the others, but I have not partaken in psychedelics in months.”
“Then what the hell is going on?” Reid asked again, annoyance slowly overtaking his amused confusion.
“We kept drinking after we checked in to the hotel,” Tom said in answer to Reid’s question.
“He might have told us about you finally straightening out your shit,” Drew added, his eyes drifting from Reid to Chloe.
Chloe sat back in her chair and sighed. “I need a drink.”
Tom shook his head. “No more alcohol. I’m already going to need earplugs tonight or my head might explode.”