GO LONG

Of course, the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt didn't hurt. The man was beautiful. Strong. Muscular.

Perfect.

He knew it too.

Why was he even bothering with a plain Jane like me?

He could have any number of women. He was famous wasn't he?

I stopped short. Famous for what? I'd never even asked him. That's how distracted he had me.

I could solve this with a quick little Google search...

I deleted my reply and opened a search browser. I typed in Trent Davis. My eyes got wide as the screen filled with hits.

My world imploded.

He was-oh my God.

There was picture after picture of him performing sex acts. Holding a whip. Smiling. Fucking.

He was a porn star. An extremely famous one by the looks of it. And I'd been completely ignorant the entire time.

Things clicked into place like dominos.

The way the EMT's had reacted to him. The cops. Even the doctors. Trent's extreme good looks. The size of his... well, his giant fucking cock.

I sat down abruptly on the sand.

How could I be so stupid?

The words echoed in my mind.

A porn star. He was a fucking porn star.

I cringed, remembering how I'd said he could 'show me' what he was famous for. No wonder he had laughed. He probably thought I knew.

He probably thought a boring prude like me was asking for it. Begging for his attention. Desperate and lonely.

I was kicking myself as tears welled up in my eyes.

The first nice guy I'd met in ages and he was a manwhore. Not that he was nice exactly. But he'd paid attention to me. He'd been... focused on me in a way that I'd never experienced before.

And I'd liked it. A lot.

No wonder. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was just passing time until he could get back to doing what he did best.

I stared as the screen filled with images of him with dozens of women. Hundreds.

All far more beautiful than me.

He was probably a sex addict. I might be the only warm body he could get his hands on. Or... I closed my eyes.

What if he was trying to get with all the nurses?

Shame and embarrassment filled me.

A porn star. What a joke. I must be the most naive person on earth.

Char came to sit beside me. I turned my phone off as another text came through. I didn't even look at it.

"Are you okay, Lexi?"

I nodded, sliding my arm around her. Her eyes were big and sad. She always picked up on emotions, even if she didn't understand the complexities of them.

"Did I make you cry?"

"No sweetheart. It's nothing. Do you want to get an ice cream cone?

She nodded, her worry gone. Just like that.

For a split second, I was jealous. What a sick thing to think but it was true. I would have traded places with my poor sister in that moment.

To not have to worry. To not have to feel. Or dwell.

To not have to face Trent tomorrow when I went back to work.

I forced myself to wait until we were home and Char was safe in bed before I let the tears flow.

They didn't stop until very late. I stared at the ceiling as the sun started to rise.

By the time it had, my eyes were dry.





Chapter Ten Trent





She knew.

She didn't even have to say a word. I just knew. Her eyes had changed.

She looked cold.

Indifferent.

Wounded.

That was the worst part. I'd hurt her. All without doing a thing. Just by being myself.

That was enough to make her look so... sad.

She was beautiful of course, but more fragile somehow. She looked like she'd been crying. And she wouldn't make eye contact with me.

For a moment I felt defeat. She wasn't going to come around. I couldn't imagine getting her to change her mind now that she knew my dirty little secret.

Fuck that.

She owed me dinner.

And desert.

I meant to have it. No matter what her prissy little ass thought of me. I smiled at her coldly.

"I'm getting out soon."

She nodded.

"That's good."

"You owe me dinner."

She sighed, standing perfectly still for a moment. Then she went back to what she was doing. Her voice was low and strained when she spoke.

"No I don't."

"Are you welching?"

She looked at me finally. Her eyes were worse than I'd thought. She looked betrayed. Worse than that.

She looked humiliated.

My heart leapt in my chest. I'd never meant to hurt the girl. I just wanted to make her feel good.

I wanted to make us both feel good.

I knew it would be different with this girl. Off the charts. Special.

She was special.

"Lexi..."

"I'm sure you had a good laugh at my expense. But that's done now. Please, Mr. Davis, allow me to do my job."

Mr. Davis. Ouch. That hurt.

I grabbed her hand. Even now I could feel the electricity jump between us. She looked at me, her eyes cold and shuttered.

"Lexi... I wasn't laughing at you. I like you."

She pulled her hand lose.

"I'm sorry Mr. Davis, I'm not interested."

"Like hell you aren't!"

I was up in an instant. I locked the door, pressing her against it. I used my other hand to close the blinds.

Her eyes were wide with surprise.

And something else.