Jessie Kay arrived with a new crop of hopefuls—and two more shots. Brook Lynn downed the drinks without a word.
Considering she hadn’t eaten much that day, just a few chips left in the bag on her nightstand, dizziness hit her fast and strong. She giggled, and Kenna wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her steady.
“You okay?” her friend asked.
“Better than.” Maybe. Probably. She was going to make Jase soooo mad. He had no idea the storm about to be unleashed. “Hey, you,” she said to the guy who wouldn’t stop playing with the ends of her sister’s hair. “Can I have your number? I lost my own.”
He just blinked at her.
Jessie Kay rolled her eyes. “What she meant to say is... Here she is. Now, what are your other two wishes?”
His friend clasped Brook Lynn’s hand. When she focused on him, his lips were already moving. “—scale from one to ten, you’re a nine...and I’m the one you need.”
He expected her to do a little mathing? Now?
Who cared! “Selfie time! Me and Numbers.” This had to be the best...idea...ever. Jase would see her with another man and sink into a black pit of rage; she’d discover how he handled the emotion. In a word: foolproof.
Brook Lynn sidled up to Numbers and threw her arms around his shoulders. “I know what you’re thinking. Yes, I did sit in a pile of sugar—because I’ve got a pretty sweet bee-hind. Now smile for the camera.”
Warm breath fanned her ear, making her shudder. She snapped the photo and bolted out of reach. Surely creepy and creepier was not the caliber of male on today’s market.
Or maybe they wouldn’t have been so bad if she’d stopped comparing everyone she met to Jase.
“You’re so hot,” the other one said to Jessie Kay, wiggling his brows, “even my zipper is falling for you.”
Jessie Kay slapped him on the back. “Dude. That’s a good one. I know! I know! Did you buy your pants on sale...because at my house they would be one hundred percent off.”
The guys laughed. Jessie Kay gave Brook Lynn a look that said having fun already?
No, but soon. Brook Lynn scouted the room for her next photo partner. Perfect! Young and cute. The mustache wasn’t to her taste, and he was a bit on the thin side, but beggars couldn’t be choosers and all that.
“We’ll be back in a bit,” she told her sister. “You. Come on. I might need an interpreter.” She dragged Kenna out of the corner, away from the circle of bad pickup lines, and bounded over to Mustache. “Let’s take a picture together.”
The guy furrowed his brow with confusion, but eventually consented.
Over the next half hour, Brook Lynn took a total of sixteen pictures, each more provocative than the last.
“Jase is going to flip out,” she said, opening a text to him, selecting all of the images—and pressing Send.
Kenna moved in front of her. “Are you sure that’s wise? What if you lose him for good over this?”
She frowned, not liking the thought and rejecting it. “We’ll be good as gold after this. I’ll have my proof.”
“Proof? And, Brook Lynn, I wanted to jolt you out of your funk, maybe even to get you to talk about what’s going on with Jase, but I didn’t want to help ruin your life!”
“You’ve helped make it better. You’ll see.” And now, the moment of truth. She opened another text to Jase.
Come over 2nite. Let’s discuss the pix.
Send.
Someone bumped into her, pushing her forward. She stumbled and bumped into someone else. “Sorry, sorry.” The room began to spin faster and faster, and her stomach rebelled. She tried to move toward the bathroom—where the heck was the bathroom?—but she made it only two steps before hunching over and vomiting all over the floor.
*