Consolation Prize (Forbidden Men 9)

Tyla laughed and turned back to the mirror. “Oh, hell yeah, he knew. He tried to follow me after class and get all up in my grill about it, but Theo was waiting for me and chased him off.” With a dreamy sigh, she tossed down her lipstick and patted a wayward piece of hair into place. “Damn, I love my man. He’s so much better than Jeff ever was…and I ain’t just talking about in the looks department neither, if you know what I mean.”

When she winked and bumped her hip against Sasha’s, Sasha hummed in her throat. “Mmm, you do have a good one. He’s almost as good as my Chad.”

“Oh, honey, I don’t think so. Did you see the necklace Theo gave me for my birthday? My boy is ballin’.”

“Well, do you see the messages Chad leaves me every morning on my phone telling me how beautiful I am and how much he loves me? Theo don’t do that, does he?”

Tyla opened her mouth to retaliate, but I cleared my throat. “I think you both have amazing boyfriends.” Though truth be told, I liked Chad tons better than Theo.

They glanced at me simultaneously, and I could tell exactly what they were thinking from their expressions. Remembering their single, loner roommate didn’t have a man, they winced in sympathy. But a second later, their gazes filled with determination.

“You know, I can always get Theo to set you up with someone on the basketball team. There’s this tall, gorgeous transfer student from Jamaica who looks like he could make a girl’s toes curl all night long.”

“Or Chad’s friend Reggie always asks about you,” Sasha added helpfully.

I sighed and offered them a sad smile. “Thank you, guys. Really. But…” I shook my head. “With work and the class load I have this semester I really don’t have time for a boyfriend.”

“You said that last semester,” Sasha reminded me.

“And the semester before that,” Tyla felt the need to input.

“In fact, the only guy you’ve seemed even remotely interested in since Shaun is this Brandt Gamble stranger you work with.”

“That neither of us has ever even met.”

“Or seen a picture of.”

“Well, he’s married now,” I broke in before they could bombard me any further. “So, that’s a dead end and should stay dead…please.” When they merely set their hands on their hips as they gave me the look, I sighed. “I really just want to focus on me right now, okay? I’ll think about dating again after I graduate and find a job. I swear.”

“We’re not saying you have to find Mr. Perfect or anything, sweetie. We just think it’d do you a world of good to relax every now and then and have a little fun.”

I arched an eyebrow. “I have a vibrator.” But even as I said that, guilt tickled my conscience because I didn’t mention the fun I’d had a week earlier. “Any fun a man could provide I can take care of myself.”

Except, no way could a vibrator accomplish what Colton had. I’d been so starved for him I’d been willing to be with him in the middle of a reception hall where anyone could’ve walked in on us. The way he’d kissed and touched me, yeah… no pulsating stick of plastic could ever replicate that.

“Mmm, honey.” Tyla shook her head and waggled a finger. “You obviously haven’t been with the right guys if you think that way.”

“A vibrator can’t kiss you as if you’re the air they breathe,” Sasha added dreamily.

True that. Colton’s mouth had been pretty damn magical. And so had his hands.

“A vibrator can’t pick you up and push you against a wall before—”

“Okay, okay, okay!” I yelped, lifting my hands because I couldn’t stop thinking about how Colton had picked me up and thrust me onto that table. But then I had to add, “But truthfully, a vibrator won’t lie or cheat or ruin my faith in men completely.”

“Damn,” Tyla murmured, shaking her head. “If Shaun were here right now, I would kick that little shit straight in the nuts. He really destroyed you.”

I sighed. “No. Yes. I don’t know. All I know is I’m not in a hurry to hop back into a bed with just anyone.” Not the way I’d been in a rush to hop onto that table with Colton at the wedding reception.

Dammit, that had nothing to do with this discussion. This was about boyfriends and commitments. That had been nothing but drunken revelry. A mistake. A really amazing, breathtaking mistake, but still clearly a mistake of drunken proportions.

“And all I know is that time’s wasting, my ladies.” Sasha clapped her hands. “If you don’t want a man, JuJu, that’s fine. But you still need to make time for us between all your schooling and working, and right now, we have a par-tay to get to.”

“Yeah,” Tyla cheered. “Dancing and drinks. Who needs men when you can have a girls’ night out?”

I stood up, glad we’d veered away from talking about me. “Then let’s get our drink on.”

After making a few calls, Sasha discovered the biggest party going on around campus was being hosted by the Kappa Sigma fraternity. She’d heard there were four kegs and a band playing on the back deck. I believed it. In the fall, when it’d been warm, they’d had this huge waterslide and tiki torches everywhere. Those Kappa Sigma boys knew how to throw a party.