“No…I’m not,” I said as I ushered my sister out of the club.
Natalie
19
Melanie threw up as soon as we got out of the cab in front of Penn’s building. It wasn’t pretty.
We hurried her up the elevator and into the bathroom where she was probably going to stay most of the night.
“What a nightmare,” Amy muttered. “I didn’t think she’d be this sick.”
“I think it’s the alcohol and her grief about the relationship.”
“Yeah. I don’t think I was ever this sick about a guy.”
“No, you weren’t,” I said with a laugh. “But you also never dated someone for ten years before he dumped you for your best friend.”
“Yeah, fuck that guy.”
“Pretty much.”
The elevator dinged again, and I heard Totle’s distinctive clicks as he raced out into the living room.
“Well, that’s my cue,” Amy said.
“Wait…what?”
“I saw you two out on the dance floor. Go for it, Nat.”
“Ugh! I feel like there’s too much between us from before.”
“That was six years ago. You’ve changed. He doesn’t seem like the douche you made him out to be. Maybe you should give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“Maybe,” I conceded. “But I don’t know if I can give in to this. It would complicate things.”
Amy rolled her eyes. “Only if you let it. Casual, Natalie. Casual.”
“Do you know me at all?”
“Yes, yes, I do. That is why I’m saying that you should do this. I know that you’ve never really been a casual dater.”
“I’m a serial-relationship person!”
“But you’re not in one now,” Amy hissed. “So, you should have some fun for the next month. You don’t know what you’re doing after this job. What’s the worst that can happen?”
“I’ll catch feelings that he doesn’t reciprocate, and I’ll have to drag my ass back to Charleston, brokenhearted.”
“So dramatic. All that is going to happen is, you will have a month of incredible sex with a fucking hot billionaire and come home to Charleston, out of your dry spell. Then you can have a serious relationship like you always do.”
“None of that is going to happen.”
Amy held her finger up. “Actually, I was talking to Daron and Zachary the other day, and Zach asked about you.”
My eyes rounded. Zachary Tipton and Daron Hartage had been the hottest guys in all of Charleston when we were in high school. I hadn’t even known that they knew who I was.
“What?”
“Oh, yeah. He said he saw us on the beach one day and thought you were hot. He also didn’t realize that you were the same Natalie from high school, but whatever.”
“Sometimes, I love and hate you. The point is that I shouldn’t have a casual fling with Penn. And before you go on with your master plan, I don’t want a relationship with someone like Zachary Tipton, who has no clue who I am!”
“Just go get fucked and stop complaining,” Amy said, shoving me down the hallway.
“Bitch,” I hissed at her.
“Slut!” she shouted right back.
I ducked as if I could save Penn from hearing Amy scream that word at me. But she just laughed and hurried into the guest bedroom.
With a deep breath, I continued my steps. Totle found me first, jumping up and down with excitement. I hoisted him into my arms and carried him into the living room with me. He was a good barrier between us.
“Hey,” I said.
“I got Melanie a water bottle and some crackers. I also picked up a Gatorade when I walked Totle. I figure she’ll need that and some Tylenol when she’s finished being sick.”
“That’s…really nice of you.”
“Least I can do.”
I watched him in the kitchen, arranging everything he’d gotten for my sister. He’d removed his suit jacket, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He’d clearly been running his hands through his hair again, as the ends were sticking up all out of place. He looked…handsome and wild.
Could I be casual with a man like Penn?
Did I want to find out?
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked tentatively. My stomach was in knots at all the ways this conversation could go.
“You don’t have to say I told you so,” he said quickly.
I blinked, taken off guard. “About what?”
“Your sister.” He glanced up at me in apology. “You were right that we shouldn’t have taken her out to get drunk. Now, she’s just miserable. It would have been better if we had gone to the beach house.”
“Oh, well, yeah. But we all had such a good day. I wouldn’t want to trade that. We