I raised my eyebrow and leaned forward. "You."
She laughed. "You don't realize how far your reputation has spread."
"Is there a rumor going around about how good I am at giving orgasms?"
She rolled her eyes.
I loved when girls rolled their eyes at me. It just so happened that the correlation between girls who rolled their eyes and girls who loved to be spanked was pretty high. I certainly wouldn't mind spanking her tight ass tonight. "How about I show you how true it is?"
She ignored me as she poured a drink for another patron and announced last call. When she was done, she walked over to me. It was pretty clear that she was swaying her hips more than necessary. She leaned down on the counter in front of me, exposing the top of her perky breasts.
I'd have her lips around my cock the minute the bar closed.
"If you think I'm going home with you, Rob Hunter, you're crazy."
Fuck, she did know me. I thought she was bluffing. I wasn't sure what my reputation was, but clearly she wanted a piece of whatever she had heard. "Well, luckily for you, I don't need to take you home to show you just how true it is."
She laughed, but not before I saw her gulp. And that rush of color to her cheeks instantly made me hard. Right now, all I wanted to do was forget about the girl that I had missed out on. I wanted to forget about everything.
I downed the rest of my beer and glanced at the girl's nametag. Tiffany. Well, tonight Tiffany would help me forget. Besides, I had always wanted to fuck someone on the counter of this bar. There was no reason to waste this opportunity just because I was being sentimental. My phone buzzed in my pocket. There was a text from Penny. I clicked on it.
"About to get Mets tickets. Is section B row 7 good? It looks like it would be good."
I laughed and quickly wrote her back. "Those are really shitty seats, Penny."
"Help me please? I need you. I'll even eat a hot dog at the game, albeit not sexily."
I sighed and slipped off the stool. I didn't want to fuck Tiffany. I didn't want another one night stand tonight.
"Where are you going?" Tiffany said. She had a sexy pout on her face.
"Home." I thought about my empty apartment. It wasn't really my home. I wasn't in it enough for that to be the case. And I was itching to leave again. Tonight I'd buy a one way ticket to somewhere I hadn't been. Maybe I'd find a home there.
Right after I helped Penny. Because she needed me. I liked when she needed me.
Chapter 1
Daphne
One Year Later
I went through my checklist one more time and tossed a pair of extra contacts in just in case. When packing, contacts were always the most important thing on my list. Everything else I could buy once I got there. But spending the week in my glasses? Not happening. Bathing suits didn't mix well with glasses. Especially when you had to wear sunglasses too. A pair of sunglasses on top of my normal glasses was something I wanted to keep in the past. Buried somewhere next to colorful scrunchies.
I slid my checklist into a pouch in my suitcase so I'd be able to double-check everything on the way home too. My friends would most definitely make fun of me. They'd also thank me because of all the extra sunscreen I brought, though.
Kristen had specifically told me not to research anything about where we were going. I glanced over at my laptop. For weeks, I had listened to her. I fidgeted with the bracelet on my wrist. There were still ten minutes until the limo was supposed to arrive. I had spent the whole morning cleaning so that I could come home to a spotless house. That was always my favorite part about a vacation - coming home.
I was tempted to call and tell my friends I wasn't feeling well. My students always got me sick. If it wasn't the middle of the summer, it would have been a perfect lie. As it was, it was summer, and I hadn't left my apartment in days. So I hadn't even been exposed to any germs. There wasn't any way to get out of this. Besides, it was going to be fun, right? I hadn't gotten to hang out with my friends all at once in months. They were always so busy. And I'm pretty sure I hadn't been on a vacation since spring break in college.
I wish I had agreed to teach summer school. I rolled my eyes at myself. It was just one week. I needed this. My eyes wandered back to my computer.
Screw it. I turned on my laptop and sat down at my desk. I typed Blue Parrot Resort into Google and pressed enter. And...nothing. Nothing? I retyped it, thinking I had misspelled something. But the result was the same. Or, lack of result. Where the heck was Kristen taking us?
My phone started buzzing in my purse. I pulled it out and answered, balancing the phone between my shoulder and ear as I typed in the name of the resort again.
"You know, I thought for sure you'd already be down here waiting for us," Kristen said. "We're five minutes late."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I was running late." I switched off my computer.
"Daphne running late? I'm pretty sure no one has ever heard those words together."
I laughed. "I'll be right down, smartass." I hung up the phone and tossed it back into my purse. After double-checking that all the burners on my stove were off, I grabbed my suitcase and left my apartment.
The limo was pulled up next to the curb. Kristen opened the door, a bottle of champagne in her hand and a huge smile on her face. I guess the party's already started.
"Daphne!"
Layla poked her head out too. "Daphne!" she said even louder than Kristen had, and in a very awful British accent. I didn't know Layla that well, and for some reason she wouldn't believe that I was born in America. Apparently my name sounded too British or something. I blamed Frasier.
Yup, they're both drunk. They were also going to be thanking me for the bottle of Tylenol I had packed. "Hey, guys," I said and climbed into the limo.
Kristen threw her arms around me. "I've missed you, Momma Bear!"
I sighed. Not because I didn't miss her. I had just been hoping that maybe she had forgotten that terrible nickname. No one wanted to be the momma bear of the group. "I've missed you too. Wow, this limo is amazing." The last time I had been in a limo was for my prom. And I thought it was the coolest thing ever because it was a limo. Apparently it wasn't a very cool limo, because it didn't even compare to this one. Chilled drinks, fancy glasses, weird neon lights, and definitely new leather seats.
"Right?" Kristen said and plopped down on the seat next to mine. "The perks of having rich friends."
Layla laughed. "I'm not rich."
"We've both seen your house. Yes you are."
"I'm not even doing endorsements anymore. I'm focusing on my career."
"You can't win an argument against Kristen," I said. "If it was possible, there's no way she'd still be calling me Momma Bear."
"You don't have to tell me," Layla said as she poured me a glass of champagne.
"Oh, no, I'm okay," I said as she handed me the glass.
"Momma Bear," Kristen whispered very poorly and pointed at me.
"I am not." I grabbed the glass out of Layla's hand. "See? Drinking?" I took a tiny sip of champagne. It was only 10 o'clock in the morning. Why were we drinking anyway? "Does Alina know we're coming? I haven't seen her bakery since they expanded. I can't wait to see it."