Casual Affair

Bea grimaced. “How did you know I went home with Zane and not some other guy?”

“Gwen and I saw you two dancing. The way you were touching…” Felicity shook her head. “The next morning when I was actually sober and had a chance to think about it, I put two and two together. I wasn’t going to say anything because I thought it was just a drunken hookup. Figured you guys would move on from it and that would be that. No harm, no foul. But now he’s calling you? And you’re going out together? What the hell?”

Busted.

“First,” Bea said calmly, holding up a hand, “there’s nothing to worry about. Nothing is going to get screwed up with his account, because we both agreed it was just a one-time deal. We were drunk and horny, and we just happened to be there at the same time.”

More lies.

They’d barely had a buzz going, and their attraction had been building for months. Not that she was about to confess that to Felicity. One hissy fit a day was plenty, thank you very much. Listening to multiple hissy fits required an open bottle of…anything alcoholic.

“Anyway,” Bea continued. “We’ve agreed it won’t happen again and that we’d be totally professional at work. Don’t worry. You and I will still be able to pay Daddy back by the end of next quarter like we planned. So stop going all Freaky Felicity on me.”

Felicity didn’t look convinced. “You sure? You guys aren’t going to start dating for real, or something? Because if you start dating and then you break up, he could be the type of guy who blacklists us. He has a lot of influence out there. We can’t afford to piss him off.”

Which was exactly the reason Bea had insisted on the one-time thing.

She wanted to laugh at the idea of her and Zane dating dating, but…

She couldn’t. Because it didn’t sound as ridiculous to her now as it would have two months ago.

But she buried that thought under a layer of nonchalance. “Dating Zane? You’re kidding, right? Trust me, that was just some pent-up lust we needed to get out of our systems, nothing more. I mean, you can’t blame me. The man is seriously sexy.”

“Then what’s up with you two meeting tonight?” Felicity asked skeptically.

Bea shrugged. “Like I said. He wants to discuss some minor product placement stuff. You can come if you want.”

After a few seconds, Felicity’s shoulders fell, either in relief or defeat, Bea wasn’t sure which. “No, thanks. I’m going to pretend I believe you and not imagine the worst.”

“Hey, give me some credit,” Bea mumbled through a mouthful of cheese danish.

Felicity grabbed a fork and dug into the pastry, too. “Don’t act like your vagina hasn’t gotten us into trouble before.”

“Name one time.”

“The time we were pledging for the sorority in college, and the head sister kicked us out because you had slept with her boyfriend.”

“They were broken up at the time and she had cheated on him. Besides, those girls were all bitches, anyway. I did us a favor.”

Felicity went blithely on. “Then there was Courtney’s wedding—”

“Don’t you dare bring up Courtney’s wedding. That wasn’t my fault.”

She leveled Bea with a look. “You had slept with the groom and the best man! They were brothers!”

“Years before, in college!” Bea said with a huff. “Am I supposed to apologize for every guy I’ve ever slept with? You make me sound like a slut. I slept with the younger brother an entire year after I’d slept with the older one. Plus, I’d dated the younger one for six months. Had I known he was the groom, I never would have agreed to be a damn bridesmaid.”

“And then there was that other—”

“Nope, that’s it,” Bea cut her off, walking out of the room. “We’re done. I have to go get ready.”

“Good,” Felicity replied happily. “I assume I’ve made my point.”

Only too well. Admittedly, Bea’s affairs did occasionally land her in a pile of awkward.

“Just…” Bea stopped and looked back at her sister. Felicity’s forehead was creased with worry. “Just watch yourself, okay? And I don’t just mean because of the business, all right?”