Page 86 of Illicit Education
“Ooh, agala,” she teased. “Well, that’s perfect then. No one to distract you from what that place is all about.”
I frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?” Had my open-minded friend just become my judgy friend?
“I’m just saying, both times you’ve been there, you’ve been distracted by Cabot Reed.” She shrugged, her thumbs moving quickly over the phone screen as she texted Lacey. “Maybe you need to take a look around without blinders on, you know? Maybe it’ll look different without him there.” Her phone made a littleswooshsound as she sent the text and she set it on the nightstand.
Hmm.Considering her words, I walked to the window again and peered out to the street below. Greer had a point. The man was as distracting as they come. “You’re annoyingly right, you know.”
“Always.”
Her phone beeped with a text and I spun around.
She scanned the message quickly, then frowned. “Bummer.”
“What is it?”
“We can’t just go to hang out there any old night we choose.”
“Oh.” I plopped back down. “But I went last night.”
“Wrong. Hebroughtyou there last night. There’s a difference.”
“Can’t Lacey bring us there?”
“She can bringmethere, and only on the premise of playing.” Her tawny cheeks pinkened.
My eyes widened. “She invited you, didn’t she?”
“What? Why do you say that?” She held her phone behind her back like we were five and she had to hide things from me.
“Oh my God, G, you’re ridiculous. Go get spanked by your sexy dominatrix.”
“Should I?”
A snort flew past my lips. “Girl, yes, go. We literally just said we wanted to go tonight. Just because I can’t go doesn’t mean you should skip it.” I shrugged, ignoring the dull ache of disappointment in my chest. “And besides, you can report back to me about what you see.”
“That’s against the rules.”
“You know what I mean.” I laid back on my bed. “I have a lot to think about anyway.”Lies. “And I’m exhausted.”
My decision was made, but if my best friend needed me to think about it, I would at least give her the impression that I intended to do so.
Well, at least until Monday morning, when I strode into that man’s office and gave him the news.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Cabot
As I dressed for yet another event I was loathe to attend, my brain was a tornado of thoughts.
Of Rylan, and what we were starting.
And of Stella, and what we’d be ending.
I was on the precipice of something great, I knew this with every fiber of my being, but stepping into this new thing with Rylan meant hurting someone I cared about greatly. And, though I had never found myself confused about our relationship, I knew Stella had definitely expected things to deepen between us.
She’d expected a collar, and instead, I was going to end things.
The phone rang and I grabbed it off the valet and strode from the closet as I accepted the call from the front desk downstairs.