Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 92070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
"You slept with Skye?"
"What? No." I shoot her a where is that from look?
"Why not? She's sexy."
And? There's something here, something I can't place. "She's been in love with Forest the entire time I've known her." Why did I say that? She and Forest were best friends. The way Val and I are best friends.
No, with way less intensity than Val and me. Because we've been friends since middle school. We've shared in a way they haven't.
"That's not a turn-on," I say.
"No? Didn't offer to make him jealous?"
I shake my head. "She asked if you'd pose for her Instagram."
"The naked one?" Her cheeks flush.
"Mostly naked, yeah. She had this new lingerie company that wanted to get a group together, and she thought you'd be perfect."
"'Cause I'm bigger?"
"'Cause you're sexy." I take a long sip. "Her words."
"Oh." She avoids my eyes. "And you disagreed?"
"No. You're sexy." Why did I say that? I bite my tongue so I don't make it worse.
She continues to avoid my eyes. "Why didn't you pass it along?" When I don't reply, she answers for me. "Did you not think I could handle it?"
That was part of it, yes, but there was more. Something else I shouldn't say. Something I have to say anyway. "I didn't want other people to see you that way."
"But you don't care if they see Skye?"
"She's not my best friend." It's a weak explanation. Extremely weak. Pathetic.
"So, what, you only want to protect me?"
"I always want to protect you."
"Because I'm your friend?" she asks. "Or for another reason?"
The words drop with a thud. It's there. It's not in bold text, but it's there, and we both know it.
There's another reason why I don't want other guys to see her naked.
There's a reason why I want to protect her, why I offer all this practice, why I can't stop thinking about her.
But I don't know what to say. And she doesn't either. We're here, with a plan, and that plan doesn't involve feelings for each other.
Thankfully, the server interrupts us with a massive plate of potatoes.
The table falls silent as he sets them between us, delivers silverware, leaves.
"Would you have said yes?" I ask.
She unwraps her napkins. "When was it?"
"A year ago."
"Probably not."
"Now?" I ask.
Finally, she looks into my eyes. "I would."
"I'm sure she can find a spot for you."
"And you wouldn't mind seeing me half-naked on the Internet?"
Seeing her? No. Knowing he could see her?
But I can't say that. I can't bring that up. Not now, when I'm supposed to help her into casual sex.
"As long as you know strangers are going to fuck themselves to you," I say.
She flushes. "From Instagram photos?”
"A hundred percent."
"Have you done that?" I ask.
"Looked at pictures of women in lingerie?"
"It sounds silly when you say it like that." She stabs a potato and dips it in bravas sauce. "But with your dad… You do realize you asked me to help you burn his Playboy collection?"
That's true, but—"I'm not opposed to porn," I say. "I just want something real."
"Like an Instagram model who is posing for other women?"
No, she's right. The thought of jacking it to Skye is weird. And not just because she's a friend. I'm sure she knows guys find her pictures hot, but they're not intended for explicit use. "Amateur stuff."
"I like amateur stuff," she says.
Val watches porn? That's a tempting mental image. Way too tempting. "You watch porn?"
"Sometimes," she says. "My therapist suggested it. I thought I'd hate it and I did hate some of it. A lot of it. But she—" She laughs and takes a bite. "She sent me some videos that were 'safe.'"
"Your therapist watched porn for you?" Really, this therapy thing is sounding better and better.
"She told me she knew a collection designed for people who needed something gentle. But maybe she watched them."
"Do you think she got off to them?" I ask.
"Dare!"
"She might have."
"Oh god, she might have." She takes another bite. "You're not eating."
"Why would I eat when I can hear more about therapy porn?"
"It's not that exciting."
Agree to disagree there. "Did you fuck yourself to the videos?" I shove a potato in my mouth so I won't follow up with something else that sends blood racing south.
"Some of them."
The potatoes are good, especially for a bar. Crispy, warm, with a hint of seasoning. That's right. My desire to groan is solely from the potatoes.
"Why? Did you want to screen some for me?" she teases.
Or is she teasing? Maybe she means it. I don't know anymore. "What are friends for?"
"I could send you one." She dips another potato in sauce. "If you're curious."
"Sure. Great." I stab another, dip it in sauce, eat.
"Okay." She pulls out her phone and sends it right now. Swoosh.
Ding. My phone buzzes with a link.
"There's a paywall, though," she says. "You have to pay for the premium stuff."