down on Joey’s couch. Pulled up my panties as he kissed my thighs, then my stomach, then my neck.
I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t. I couldn’t bear to see myself reflected in those eyes. I curled onto my side, and wanted to take it back. I closed my eyes, my cheeks against the cool leather of Joey’s couch, and prayed he would just leave.
Then, when he did, the door quietly shutting behind him, I wanted him back.
Life might be a bitch, but love? She kicked that bitch’s ass.
“So when did you start banging the finance guy?” Joey’s voice boomed out, and I rolled over on his couch and lifted my head, meeting his eyes, ones that twinkled in amusement. “He’s not the finance guy. He’s my ex.” I said tartly, sitting up and pulling down my skirt, my panties still damp when I crossed my legs. Thank God I was on birth control. One thing that hadn’t changed about Vic—he always did like to leave his mark. Vic. Oh my God. I closed my eyes in shame.
“Your ex is also the movie’s newest investor,” Joey remarked, leaning against the same wall where I had lost my common sense.
“Of course he is,” I responded dully. “Was that the reason for your fawn session?” I smirked.
Joey raised his eyebrows at me, and I shut my mouth. It really wasn’t the time for me to be throwing jabs. “I must say,” he remarked, a grin taking over his handsome face, “you’ve got a hot fuck-me voice.”
“A what?” I glared at him.
“You know … the moans, the screams, the way you called his name?” He winked. “It was hot.”
I groaned, pushing to my feet. “Please tell me you’re joking.” I wasn’t that loud. I couldn’t have been that loud.
“Don’t worry. Nobody else heard.” He moved off the wall, scooping my purse off the floor and passing it to me.
I thought of the calls from Vic over the weekend. “When did he sign on to invest?”
“Friday. Twenty-five mill.” He raised his eyebrows. “First, he drilled me over whether we were dating.” He smirked. “Your ex must have some liquidity, Chloe. Investing in the movie just to keep tabs on you.”
“My ex’s dad has liquidity. Vic just has … access.” When I had dated him, he hadn’t yet turned twenty-five. But now, he had full access to his trust. The Vic I’d dated had thrown cash around like confetti. I couldn’t even imagine a Vic with the coffers opened wide. This investment was probably interest on his bank balance. I stepped toward the door. “Sorry about the whole…” I waved my hand in the generic direction of our activity, not sure how to put it into appropriate words.
“This trailer has seen worse.” He laughed, then grew serious. “Chloe, I really need this movie to work. We need his money to make it work. Nicole needs it too.”
I laughed. “Nicole is the last person I care about, Joey.”
“What about me?” he asked. “Do you care about me?”
“We’ve been friends for a month, Joey,” I shot back. “I dated that asshole for two years. Do you know what he—”
“Oh please, Chloe,” he cut me off. “There’s obviously something between you two or you wouldn’t have been howling his name within five minutes of me leaving.”
I bit my lip and looked toward the door.
“Just … please.” His voice dropped. “Don’t do anything to piss him off.”
My hand was heavy when I pushed on the trailer door, my exit done without a response. I didn’t know what to say, a hundred different emotions coming as I wove around cameras, stepped over cords, and slunk through the shadows of trailers. I climbed the steps to Nicole’s trailer and said a silent prayer of thanks that she was shooting in Brooklyn. At least I’d have a place of privacy, a moment to recover.
I opened the door to her trailer and stepped inside, my eyes hitting the giant vase of flowers, a mountain of roses and orchids. My hand grabbed the card before my brain had a chance to stop it.
It’ll always be us, Chloe. Our souls are connected for eternity.
I love you.
I sank onto the floor, leaning against the door, the card dropping from my hands, and cried. Wondered, through the tears, how early in the day Vic had ordered the arrangement. Wondered if he had known, placing the order, that I was going to let him touch me, let him inside of me.