Rock Star Billionaire

“Never,” she said and grinned. “But that’s not the point.”

“It is though. You were right about Ricky-Dick and you were right about Zayden.”

After a few moments of gathering courage, I said, “There is something I have to tell you about Zayden.”

She immediately jumped upright upon hearing that her eyes widened to the size of walnuts. “Aria Roberts, you didn’t!”

“I haven’t even told you what it is that I am talking about!” I exclaimed, even though by now we both knew that nothing needed to be said.

“What? When? How? Where? Tell me everything,” she shrieked.

“Can I give you a quick summary? I kind of have plans to go see him.” I checked my watch. “Like fifteen minutes ago.”

She gasped. “So you’ve been doing it this whole time?”

“No, no no, only once. In his office. Last week. Maybe tonight.” I started thinking back to that night and hugged my own knees. “It was amazing! He was…incredible. If that is what real sex feels like, I am surprised people ever get out of their houses.” I surveyed her from top to bottom. “Like, I am surprised you’re out here with me and not jumping Nick’s bones right now.”

She laughed. “Oh you poor, child. I hate to be the one to ruin Christmas, but it’s not always perfect and amazing and wonderful. Especially not the first time, not for most girls, anyway. You got lucky. Zayden must’ve known what he was doing.”

I was still hiding the fact that I lost virginity to a random guy after Rick broke up with me. She’d never let me live it down if she knew.

“Are you saying Nick doesn’t?” I teased.

“Of course he does. I mean, we are great and everything and I love him. It’s not perfect every single time though. And after dating for as long as we have, it kind of gets old a little bit.”

My face fell. “Are you guys having trouble?”

“No, no, no. Not at all! Like I said, it’s still pretty good, just not the same as what you described. Nick and I keep it interesting by doing new things—“

“I didn’t need to know that,” I laughed.

“Not like that. I mean we are saving ourselves for our anniversary now. It’s been almost a month, and that kind of stuff makes it exciting. What I am trying to tell you is that you shouldn’t let yourself think that sex is always going to be like perfect every time. It gets both better and worse with time, and since Zayden sounds like he is pretty damn good, you might be disappointed in other men,” she said and hastily added, “if there ever are any. I mean if this doesn’t work out… I mean, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to go there.”

I felt a strange bubble of sadness start to build in my chest. “It’s okay, I know this is not going to work out. I mean it’s still just a contract and after six months all of this will be over. I have pretty much accepted that.”

She hugged me this time, which was such a rare occurrence that I let out a slight chuckle. “Please don’t get hurt,” she said.

“I don’t want to and I’ll try not to.” I shrugged. “But—“

“But you’re falling for this guy?” She asked.

I was not ready to accept this and the question made me feel heavy in my chest. I was not supposed to be. I knew what the deal was, I knew what I was getting myself into and this was never a part of the plan. There was no reason in the world that I should be letting my emotions get out of control, given the possible consequences, but here I was, completely and utterly gripped by the charms of a man who I knew from the get-go was never going to be mine to keep.

“I’m falling hard, Stacey. Ugh. I just want to be able to have fun for now and deal with what happens when it happens. If only I could make these feelings stop.”

“Then have fun! You haven’t freely enjoyed your life like this in a long time. You don’t k

now what he’s thinking! Maybe he’s feeling the exact same way. You trust my intuitions, right? I have a great feeling about this guy, I think he’s going to be around for a long time.”

“But what if he’s not? What if you’re wrong?”

“Then I will buy you ten gallons of ice-cream and we’ll eat it all and watch Friends marathons until your heart heals. Even if that means we are confined to this living room forever.” She smiled.

I giggled. “You’re the best friend ever. Thank you, Stace. I’m sorry again. I really missed you!”

“I did too,” she said pulling me off the couch. “Now go put on a sexy dress and have what you call amazing sex. There will be a long interrogation about it later.”

Interrogation? That wasn’t going to happen.