Exposed (Exposed 1)

"Sadie," she pulls my name across her lips in a whine. "My dad and your dad play golf. My dad works with the hot guy so it only makes sense that I'd invite him."

"Whatever you want," I say only because I can't follow her train of thought for longer than a minute at this moment.

"Unless Dylan is back, then I'll just hook up with him." She closes the lid on the polish as she waves her wet toes in the air.

"You're disgusting." I pick through the dozens of bottles of polish she pulled from her washroom cabinet. "You can't sleep with him."

"Who says I haven't already?" She falls back onto her bed giggling uncontrollably.

I stick my fingers in my ears. "I can't hear you," I scream. "Stop talking."

She sits back up and yanks my finger free. "What are you getting the old hag anyway?"

I laugh at that description of my mother. She's spent a small fortune making certain she looks anything like an old hag. I know she wouldn't appreciate Alexa's view of her.

"Remember that guy, Jax?" I search Alexa's face to see if it jogs her memory at all.

"How could I forget that?" She runs her finger down the front of her jeans. "I've thought about him a lot when I've...you know."

"Shut up." I laugh. "His girlfriend owns a jewelry store in New York. She does custom pieces. I thought we could take the train there one day and get my mom something. She loves jewelry."

"I love it." She jumps to her feet and bounces on the bed. "The two of us will take Manhattan by storm. Those men won't know what hit them."

I cock a brow at her. "We're going to buy a piece of jewelry and maybe have a nice dinner. Try to rein in your hormones."

"What color are you doing your nails?" She's off the bed now searching through her massive collection of polish. "New York screams red, don't you think?"

I nod as I watch her choose a bottle filled with bright red liquid.

Chapter 19

I want to talk. Call me.

I'd been staring at my phone for almost an hour. I hadn't expected to hear from Hunter again and now I'm gazing at his words sprawled across the screen of my smart phone.

If I call him I have to face the consequences of my actions. I have to own up to being petty and jealous about his trip. More than that, I have to face him after baring my scar. I hadn't wanted to be so dramatic. I never would have planned it that way. It happened though and now I had to decide whether opening that wound again was worth it.

I tentatively press his number and wait for it to ring.

"Sadie." He sighs softly. "You called."

"You asked me to," I counter.

"Are you busy tonight? I can hear the trepidation in his voice. It's not the same unyielding, strong tone I'm used to.

"No. Why?"

"Can I pick you up in an hour? I'd like to talk."

I glance at the clock on my nightstand. It will be ten by then. "Sure. I'll be ready," I say the words before I slide my thumb across the screen to end the call.

I shower quickly and pull on a blue sundress. The very top of my scar is visible but at this point I don't care. I pull my damp hair into a tight ponytail and glide on some mascara. I can't imagine this conversation is going to take longer than a few minutes. I don't want to put too much effort into how I look. The look on his face when I flashed him my chest told me everything I needed to know.

I wait impatiently on the porch for him to come down the street. I would have told my mother I was leaving but, like usual, she's out on an adventure. Maybe everyone was right after all. My own mother seemed to have more fun in life than I did. The only difference was none of them carried the gift of someone else's heart inside of them. None of them understood my insatiable drive to honor that person.

He stops the car abruptly before he hops out and takes wide strides to reach my spot on the porch. "Sadie," he whispers as he pulls me into his chest.

I'm taken back by the gesture and I instinctively want to melt into him. I resist. I know he's not good for me. I knew it when I first saw him the night of the benefit dinner. My better judgement just keeps hiding behind my desire.