Illicit

Chapter Fourteen

Greer plopped back onto my bed with a loud sigh. The paperwork from the Rabbit Hole was spread out across the quilt, and her body was stretched out among the pages. “It’s just so much, Ry.” She sat up again and leveled her eyes on me. “Are you sure about this?”

I’d never been so sure about anything, but she didn’t seem to believe me. I tilted my head. “If Lacey asked you to join the Rabbit Hole–”

“Bruh. In a heartbeat.”

“Then why is it so hard to believe that I’m doing this?”

She pursed her lips, then raised one eyebrow slowly. “Is that a real question?”

“Greer.”

“Come on, Ry, I’m serious.” She motioned to the paperwork. “This isn’t you.”

The first time she’d said it, I was offended.

Now, the statement was just irritating.

I pushed off the oversized chair and walked to the window, looking down at the street where he’d dropped me off last night. I hadn’t slept much–thanks to an overwhelming amount of information and a serious case of lady blue balls–so when Greer finally woke up, well after noon, she’d been surprised to see me still in bed. As soon as I explained what was on my mind, she’d quickly blamed my insomnia on me being uncomfortable with all I’d learned last night.

It wasn’t that I was uncomfortable, per se, just processing. It really was a lot of information.

She stepped up behind me and put her head on my shoulder. “You know I’ll support anything you do, right?”

“Yes, G, of course.” I reached up and patted her cheek.

Silence stretched out between us as we stood at the window, watching the world go by outside.

“Maybe we should go back there, check it out again.”

I turned to face her. “Really?”

“Well…” She paused. “I don’t think you should just jump into it, you know?”

I’m not.

“And, I don’t know, maybe I’d feel more comfortable with you making this decision if I spent more time there.”

I scoffed. “You literally just said that you’d become a member for Lacey in a heartbeat.”

“Yeah, but that’s me, Ry.” Greer shrugged. “It’s different.”

“Why?”

“Come on. Don’t make me spell it out.”

I crossed my arms. “No, please, spell it out.”

Greer rolled her eyes. “Well, you’re more…” She shrugged. “You’re more read about it than you are be about it, you know what I mean?”

I ran my tongue over my teeth.“And you’re not?”

Greer leveled me with an incredulous look. “Please. Let’s not forget the reason you were even at White Rabbit in the first place.” She laughed. “I practically had to drag you into the store.”

“No, you didn’t–”

“Girl, it was a struggle to even get you into a corset five days ago.”

“Well, now I own four of them.” I lifted up my baggy pajama t-shirt to flash her my matching bra and panties. “And this.”

“Bow chicka wow wow. Who are you and what have you done with my RyRy?” Greer wiggled her eyebrows, then got serious again. “But still. Dressing the part doesn’t mean you’re ready to play the part.”

“They say to dress for the job you want, not the job you have.”

Greer snorted. “Girl, I just don’t think you’re really grasping what you’re about to do.”

I bristled at that statement. All that paperwork on the bed? I’d read every single word. Not to mention the two hours I’d spent picking Reed’s brain, or the hours of scouring the internet when I couldn’t sleep. Greer had gone to one fashion show. “What do you know about it?”

“More than you think.” She held my gaze but didn’t say anything further.

Hmm. Had she been to the Rabbit Hole more than just the one time?

We stayed locked like that for some time, until I realized my best friend wanted to keep this part of her life to herself.

With a huff, I sat on the edge of my bed. “I really want this, G. I want him.”

Watching me for another long moment of heavy silence, she finally sighed and sat down beside me. “Okay then. We’ll go.”

“You mean you support me?”

“Yes, stupid. When have I ever not?” She rolled her eyes again. “Okay, let me text Lacey.” She picked up her phone, then paused, looking up at me. “Unless you want to call Sir Whips A Lot and get an invite that way?”

I laughed and hit her with a throw pillow. “No way. And besides, he has the shareholders gala tonight. He won’t be there.”

“Ooh, a gala,” 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 little swoosh sound 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. He brought you there last night. There’s a difference.”

“Can’t Lacey bring us there?”

“She can bring me there, 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.