JULES
The final scorein our game? Sixteen numbers for Josh, twenty-seven for me.
“You cheated.” Despite his declaration, the gleam in Josh’s eye told me he was more upset he hadn’t thought of my idea first than by my unconventional strategy.
“Can’t cheat if there were no rules.” The thrill of victory added an extra bounce to my step.
We’d left the bar after tallying our numbers and were currently walking home from the Hazelburg metro station. Maybe it was the alcohol or the body heat radiating off Josh as he walked beside me, but I was roasting in my coat even though the early evening temperature hovered in the low fifties. I didn’t feel like carrying it though, so I kept the coat on.
“Should’ve known you’d find a loophole.” Josh angled his chin toward my bag, where I’d stuffed the dozens of napkins with men’s numbers scribbled on them. “You gonna call any of them?”
“Maybe. Couldn’t be worse than trying to find someone on a dating app.” My smile dimmed when I remembered my encounter with Todd. He had some nerve, approaching me like that. Then again, men possessed nothing if not audacity.
“Hmm.”
The disgruntled sound settled into my bones and caused my pulse to spike. Was Josh…jealous?
No. That was ridiculous. To be jealous, he had to like me, and while we’d developed a grudging mutual respect, we didn’t like each other. I still wanted to punch the cocky smirk off his face every time I saw him.
“And you? Are you going to call any of the numbers you got?” I asked casually.
“Maybe,” Josh said. “Haven’t thought about it.”
“Hmm.”
Shit. The sound slipped out without thinking. Now it sounded like I was jealous.
“What’s the deal with you lately, anyway?” I added quickly in an attempt to draw attention away from my slipup. “You used to go through a different girl every week, but I haven’t seen you with someone in months.”
“You’re exaggerating, and I didn’t go through them. I made my intentions clear from the start. I wasn’t interested in a committed relationship, and they all knew it before we did anything.” He slid a glance in my direction. “You understand.”
I did. Our approach to sex and relationships was one of the few things we had in common. Like Josh, I’d never been interested in long-term dating. There were too many goals to reach, too much of the world to see, and too much of life to live without being tied down to one person.
Besides, after my only experience with a serious relationship, I wasn’t in any hurry to jump into another one.
“You want to attend law school?” Max grimaced. “Why?”
“I think I’d make a good lawyer.” I twisted the hem of my shirt around my finger. It was a new piece I’d bought with my allowance from Alastair, my stepfather. After years of threadbare clothing, I couldn’t stop touching it to make sure it was real, that I was really wearing a designer shirt that cost more than my old monthly budget for food. “It pays well if I go into corporate law, and I can help—”
A loud laugh cut me off. “Oh, come on, Jules.”
“What?” My brow creased with confusion and a touch of hurt.
“You’re so cute.” He gave me an indulgent smile, like I was a child who announced I would be running for president. But let’s be real, babe, you don’t want to be a lawyer.”
I twisted my shirt harder around my finger. “I’m serious.”
“Then be serious.” Max ran his hand over my shoulder and rubbed my arm soothingly before he squeezed my breast, his eyes taking on a familiar lusty gleam. “You’re way too hot to be stuck in some musty courtroom all day. You should be a model. Capitalize on that face and body. Not everyone is lucky enough to be born with your looks.”
I forced a smile. Yes, I’d been blessed with above average looks, but I didn’t feel lucky. Not when that was the only thing people saw when they looked at me, and not when my own mother viewed me as competition instead of family.
But maybe Max was right. Maybe I was getting ahead of myself. What made me think I could be a lawyer? I did well in my classes, but there was a difference between getting a 4.0 at a small high school in Ohio and succeeding at a top-tier law school.
“Come on. Enough boring talk.” Max’s breath roughened as he popped open the buttons of my shirt. “I can think of something better we can do with our mouths…”
A sour taste filled my mouth. I’d been so young and naive. I wasn’t the same person I’d been at seventeen, but sometimes, the whispers from my past reasserted themselves, making me question everything I’d achieved and strived for.
Max’s recent texts didn’t help, either. He was like the ex that wouldn’t die. Figuratively, not literally.
The alcohol-induced buzz in my head grew louder. Maybe I should call him to see what he wanted. Then I could put him behind me once and—
“Jules!”
Josh’s panicked shout pierced my ear at the same time squealing tires screeched through the night. I lifted my head, my eyes widening at the sight of headlights barreling toward me.
I’d been so caught up in my thoughts I’d wandered into the middle of the street without looking.