“Not much.” Kimber shrugged, and again Jay was reminded, by that casual, careless motion, that he’d gotten to make love to the one girl he’d always wanted. It was unreal.
“Uh huh.” Moquest sounded anything but convinced. “So everyone had a good time last night?”
Jay darted his friend a warning look, one both Moquest and Kimber seemed to miss.
“I really did.” Kimber nodded with vigor. “When’s the next party?”
“I’m glad you asked. I’ve got something in the works for next week.” Moquest arched a brow. “Plan on coming back, Kim?”
She smiled, a pretty blush dancing on her cheeks. “It’s a distinct possibility.”
“Glad to hear it.” Moquest looked to Jay and shook his head like the world had gone mad and he had no time to figure it out, but he wanted the minutiae on Jay’s break. “I’ll see you crazy kids later.”
Moquest shuffled inside the casino, leaving them alone again, and Jay realized he had no idea how to act around Kimber anymore, unbeknownst to her. Everything had changed, and she had no idea.
“So tell me something, Jay.” She placed her palms on the table in front of him with a smile. “Why are you suddenly so supportive of my behavior? Last night you acted like I was the whore of the world.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” He hated that she assumed he thought the worst of her, even though he knew he’d led her to believe exactly that. “I just had a change of heart, I guess.” He sought her eyes again, momentarily struck by their golden cedar-and-tobacco color, their intensity. “We’re friends, Kim, and we always will be. Despite recent events, I don’t want that to change.”
“You don’t know how happy that makes me.” She closed the distance between them and bent down, wrapping her arms around his neck. As her blonde hair drifted over his shoulder and her breasts pressed against him, he couldn’t help but be reminded of their union-as if he could think of anything else. He wriggled from her embrace after giving her a brief, friendly pat on the arm and stood, afraid the memory of what happened between them would manifest in a physical sense.
“I gotta clock in.” He stretched and yawned, feigning being unaffected. “I’ll catch you later.”
“Of course.” She gave him a wink and tapped his nose like it was sweet little button before wandering back inside.
Alone again, Jay sank into his chair with a sigh, wondering just how life was going to unfold from this point on. After all, there was no going back now. Today was a brand new world.
He was just about to go inside when Moquest reappeared, this time carrying an extra large coffee that was already half empty. “Oh, good, you’re alone,” he said. “Let’s go have a chat.”
Jay followed Moquest with reluctance to a spot on the empty bleachers facing the horse track. “My shift starts soon. Is this going to take long?”
“It depends,” Moquest said as they both sat. “How long is it going to take you to tell me you fucked Kimber on my bed?”
Jay stared at the empty track like it tried to hypnotize him. “It’s a complicated situation.”
“Way to put it mildly.” Moquest took a noisy slurp from his Styrofoam cup and stroked his chin, regarding Jay with suspicion. “Feel free to correct me on this, but she has no idea it was you, does she?”
Jay gulped. “I told you. It’s complicated.”
Moquest shook his head. “The fuck happened up there, Navarrete?”
“What do you think happened? You orchestrated this fucking mess.”
“Despite popular belief, my awesome powers of manipulation only extend so far. Did I arrange for you two to wind up in an intimate situation? Hells yes. But did I take hold of your dick and-”
“Okay, okay.” Jay held up his hand with a defeated groan.
“You escalated the situation, man, not me. You didn’t have to do what you did.”
Jay didn’t speak, didn’t know how to tell his friend how much he had had to do what he’d done. At the time, there’d been no other choice.
“So let’s think of a plan.” Moquest paused for another slurp of coffee that smelled so strong Jay could vicariously feel the effects of the caffeine. “Like I said earlier, I’m throwing another party in a few days. Kimber’s already planning on showing up, expecting a similar sort of arrangement with the faceless sex god I set her up with last week, right?”
“Looks that way.” The truth both depressed Jay and excited him in ways too complex to define.
“Fucking crazy. Who knew she had it in her? For that matter, who knew you had it in you? Why didn’t I know you had all these secret moves that turn chicks batshit?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Jay gave his friend a withering look. “I guess because the Masons said if I told anyone, they’d cut my balls off. Can we now focus on what the Christ I’m gonna do?”
“Tell Kim the truth. It’s really your only option.”
Jay found it to be the most unattractive of options, too. He could only imagine Kimber’s reaction, which was anything but pleasant. “How do I do that?”
Moquest shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
“Are you kidding me? That’s all you got for a great plan? I thought it was totally obvious that when it comes to Kimber, I can’t figure anything out.”
“That’s true. She does turn you into a dumbass.” Moquest drummed his fingers on the sides of his cup. “All right, this is what we’ll do. On the night of the party, you wait in my room, and I’ll send Kimber in wearing the blindfold. Get her all hot and bothered, then drop the bomb in the middle of talking dirty or whatever. At that point, she’ll be so fired up, she won’t care if you’re the goddamn Crypt Keeper, so long as you get her off.”
Jay sighed and buried his face in his hands. “Clearly I’m on my own here.”
“What do you want me to say? It’s a huge fucking problem. What makes you think there’s an easy solution?” Moquest glanced at his bare wrist where a watch should’ve been. “Gotta get to the salt mines for real this time.” He slugged the rest of his coffee and gave Jay’s arm a nudge with his elbow. “Good luck.” He clamored down the bleachers, leaving his empty cup where he once sat.
Jay stared at the track, both already dreading and anticipating Moquest’s next party. There was no way to predict how that night would turn out, but he had a sick feeling he would do something incredibly, unthinkably stupid-again.
The following Saturday, Kimber arrived at Moquest’s at eleven, when she knew the party would be good and underway. She parked her car behind a Honda Civic and checked her reflection in the rearview, wishing she hadn’t had to drive. The ride over had been horrifically eventful; she was so nervous and distracted that she’d nearly run over a squirrel, zipped through a red light, and almost slammed right into the back of a truck. She’d intended on asking Jay for a ride, but he’d been mysteriously absent and not answering his phone. He probably had his nose in a book again. Poor guy. He deserved to have a bit more fun.
She traversed Moquest’s small, sad excuse for a front yard, her heels sinking in the dirt and patches of trampled grass. Her heart performed acrobatics with every step; she never felt so exposed and vulnerable and her self-consciousness climbed. She had no idea what this person looked like, but he had seen every inch of her. He could be watching her now, deciding whether she was worth another go. It was a gamble, her being here; she couldn’t be sure he even wanted to see her again, although Moquest-under duress-had said her mystery boy was just as intrigued by her as she was by him.
That reminder gave her confidence a boost. Kimber squared her shoulders and strutted into the house, assuring herself she was the hottest girl alive and no one could possibly resist her. After all, Ferney had lent her another dress, this one a shimmery pale gold with a hem so daring it was probably illegal and a draped, low-cut neckline that exposed her throat and flirted with the idea of a glimpse of a nipple. It was a dress meant to hang loose on women with Ferney’s slim frame, but the sisters had been blown away with how it clung to Kimber’s curves.