that doesn’t happen every day. I think you should jump at the chance of hooking up again. I mean… did you see his chest?”
My best friend was a horrible influence. A terrible, slutty, horrible influence.
“He doesn’t even remember me,” I hissed. “There’s no way in hell I’m sleeping with him again. Think about it, Dev. He obviously sleeps around so much we’ve all become nothing more than nameless, faceless vaginas to him. It’s Brant all over again, and I’m not doing it.”
“You’re not giving the guy a chance. You know as well as I do that the way you looked that night compared to right now… it’s night and day, babe.”
I gave my head a resolute shake. “Not happening. I’m a magnet for douchebags as it is, I’d be an idiot to go down that road. So just keep your mouth shut, okay?” When she didn’t respond, I pushed again. “Okaaay?”
She huffed out a curse. “Fine. I won’t say anything. But let the record show I think you’re a dumbass.”
“Duly noted. Now promise.”
“I already said I wouldn’t tell!” She stomped her foot.
“And I know you better than that. I want to hear you promise you’ll keep your mouth shut about it. Now say it.”
“I promise,” she said with a dramatic roll of her eyes. “I won’t say anything about all the hot, acrobatic sex you guys had that one night. Cross my heart and hope to die. Happy now?”
I smiled and patted her on the head. “Yep.” Then, before I could say another word, Richard bellowed a very angry “Fuck me!” from the living room, so we took off running.
“Slim Shady, no! Bad dog! Bad, bad dog!”
Shady, having finished emptying his bladder on Richard’s bare foot, simply sauntered back over to his doggy bed and laid back down.
A choking sound from behind me drew my attention away from my menace of a dog. I turned to find Devon with her hand over her mouth, trying and failing to hide her laughter at what had just happened.
I shot her a glare before turning back to Richard. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into him. He’s totally housebroken.”
Richard balanced himself on the arm of the sofa, keeping the pee-covered foot raised in the air. “Can I get a towel or something?”
“On it!” Devon shouted as she scurried out of the room.
“You named your dog Slim Shady?” Richard asked.
I struggled to keep my eyes from trailing down past his neck. The man shouldn’t be allowed to leave his apartment without a shirt. It was seriously hazardous to women’s health.
“Uh… y-yeah,” I stuttered, suddenly very aware of the fact that we were alone in a room together — save for Shady who currently seemed to be staring Richard down and finding him lacking. I shifted from foot to foot and studied the rug on the floor, unable to shake the feeling of awkwardness. How were you supposed to act around someone you’d had sex with who didn’t remember he’d seen every inch of you naked? “I went through a… phase.”
His deep, raspy laugh was like melted chocolate, making my mouth water. Stupid hormones! “You’re not the type of woman I’d have expected to be an Eminem fan. But I guess that explains the early morning wakeup call I’ve been forced to live through this past week.”
“It’s a good song!” I declared with a frown, a bitter taste in my mouth at the fact he was making fun of me. “And exactly what type of woman do you think I am, huh?” I asked, my hands squeezing into tight fists as I propped them on my hips. “A nerd? A dork? A weirdo? So dorks aren’t allowed to like Eminem? Is that what you’re saying? Huh?”
“Whoa.” He held his hands up in surrender. “Easy, tiger. That’s not what I meant at all.”
I snorted and crossed my arms over my chest. “Oh yeah? Then what do you mean?”
“Uh…” Devon’s voice sound from the mouth of the hallway. “So, here’s a towel.” She tossed it in Richard’s general direction and began backing away. “I’ll just leave you two to… fight it out.” Then she was gone. The traitor.
“I meant,” Richard spoke, pulling my gaze back to him where he sat on the couch, wiping the dog pee from his foot, “I was just surprised that a woman who appreciated the Struts would also like Eminem. No offense, I swear.”
“Oh.” My hands lowered and my stiff posture sagged a bit as the fight drained out of