chapter 17

I'D USUALLY BE NERVOUS ABOUT hanging out with someone new like this, and I suppose I am a little unsure, but mostly I just want to talk to someone who might understand. In the time it took me to shower and get ready to leave, my notifications maxed out again. My inbox is overflowing with messages, mostly from other women asking me who I think I am and telling me I'll never be good enough for Dex Reid—some even sent videos of themselves belittling everything about me.

And what they don't know is that I've been thinking the same thing this whole damn time.

But I can't turn this off now. Dex has touched me, been inside me, yet I want him now more than ever, like a taste of him wasn't enough. I need all of him.

Jordan texted me her address, because I'm terrible at directions and would never have been able to find her house again. I pull into the driveway, careful not to park my Civic too close to her glossy Mercedes, then step out and head for the front door. She opens it as I climb the steps, and Nala and a few other dogs run out to greet me, tongues lolling and tails wagging.

Smiling, I kneel to greet them, and they jump all over me and give me kisses while Jordan hurriedly offers a slew of apologies.

"It's fine," I say, standing back up and wiping slobber from my chin. "I thought you only had Nala."

Jordan shrugs. "Sometimes I bring a few of the dogs home for a vacation from the rescue; I don't like leaving them in the kennels, you know?" Her eyes light up. "Maybe you can adopt one from us!"

The idea makes me smile. "As soon as I get a place with a yard, I'll take you up on that."

"It's a deal," she says, nodding as she leads me into the house amidst a clattering of paws on the hardwood floors.

I peel my shoes off and leave them near the door, then follow Jordan deeper into the house. It's impeccably clean, and I think to ask her how she keeps it so spotless with all the dogs running around, but I'm immediately distracted when I step into the kitchen and she shoves a beautiful orange smoothie into my hands.

"Orange juice, pineapple, mango, and banana," she explains. "Toss it all in with coconut milk and ice cubes, and voila!" She slips a stainless steel straw into the smoothie with a flourish. "Perfection."

I take a sip, and my eyes go wide.

"Told ya." Jordan takes a sip of her smoothie, then waves for me to follow her into the backyard. It's a warm day—when isn't it in LA?—and we sit in two chairs on the sunlit back patio while the dogs play in the grass.

Jordan pulls her bare feet up under her, looking perfectly put together in her cream leggings and oversize white sweater. Her nails match the pearl studs in her ears, and I can't help but look down at mine, which are partially ragged from my anxious nail biting earlier today.

Ugh.

"So," she says, leveling a blue-eyed stare at me. "I saw the implosion on Tribe today." She wrinkles her nose. "Are you okay?"

"I... don't know." Moving my smoothie to my opposite hand, I reach into my pocket for my phone. After pulling Tribe up, I hand it over to Jordan. "It's been like that all morning."

Her eyes go wide, then narrow, and I can see the micromovements as she rapidly reads through my comments and messages. A deep furrow forms in her brow, a look of disgust crossing her face.

Finally, she lets out a sigh and passes the phone back to me. "The internet is a toxic cesspool. I'm so sorry."

"I guess I should've expected some of it. It's not like people weren't going to find out who I am once the song came out."

"Sure. But this really isn't about you. All those haters don't know you. This is about their unhealthy obsession with Dex."

His name sends heat curling through my belly and into my cheeks. I glance away and take a sip of my smoothie, but Jordan has way too keen an eye for that .

"Speaking of... Is there something going on between you two? You didn't message me after you left Velvet." One of her sculpted hazel brows arches inquisitively.

For a moment, I consider skirting around the topic, but then I remember Michael saw Dex kiss me on the porch, and there's no way he'd keep that from his wife, so she must know something .

"Kind of," I say, still trying to avoid eye contact with her.

" Kind of? Nora, are you going to make me drag it out of you? Because I will."

My gaze shifts to her, and her lips are puckered into a serious pout. Looking at the fire in her blue eyes, I imagine Michael can't get away with anything.

"Okay... Yes." Despite trying to stop it, I can't help my lips curling up in the corners.

"What happened after you guys left the club?"

"Nothing, really. Dex dropped me off at home. Sebastian was drunk in the back seat."

"Oh, yeah. Almost forgot about that." She wrinkles her nose again and takes a sip of her smoothie.

"I left my car at the studio that night, so Dex brought it by the next day. And then we spent the day together, and he went to one of my shows at the orchestra, and then..."

I have a flashback of sitting on his lap, tracing the swirls of ink adorning his skin, the taste of Sapporo on our lips. A shiver goes across my skin, and I just hope Jordan didn't see it.

"And then?" She's leaning forward in her chair, expression eager.

"We slept together. "

One hand comes up to cover her mouth, her eyes going wide. Then she laughs a little and sits back in her chair. "I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"I knew he was into you."

"What? How?" Now I'm the one leaning forward, caught up in curiosity.

"I knew when I first saw him around you. He couldn't keep his eyes off you, and he was more irritable than usual, like having to keep himself from pouncing on you was physically painful. It was so obvious."

I look down, trying and failing to keep heat from rising once more into my cheeks. "I didn't think so."

"I've known Dex a long time. Michael and I have been together since high school, and LGC was already a thing when we first started dating." Jordan shrugs. "You could say I watched Dex grow up, but that'd probably annoy him." Her smile is quick, and she laughs before taking another sip of her smoothie. But then her expression goes serious. "I don't know about this, Nora. You barely know me, I get that, but I do know him, and he's not really boyfriend material."

A wave of defensiveness crashes over me. Have I been that obvious in my desire for him? "What makes you think I want him to be my boyfriend?"

That same hazel brow arches. "Something tells me you're not the type to sleep around with rock stars. Am I wrong?"

For the second time, I wonder if I should fib and act like it's really not a big deal, but Jordan's piercing gaze would see right through me.

I drop my head. "No... You're not wrong. "

"That's what I thought." Her smirk is playful. "Seriously though. When I warned you before, I meant it. Dex has commitment issues. I've never seen him hold down a relationship longer than a few months, and even those are rare."

The reminder has my stomach turning uncomfortably. I haven't forgotten what she and Alisha said while helping me get ready for our night out.

Don't even go there with him.

Dex is a fuckboy.

I'm not sure what to say, so it's a relief when my phone chimes with a text message, giving me something to look at besides Jordan's serious blue eyes. When I pick up the phone, my heart leaps.

It's from Dex.

I feel Jordan's gaze on me as I quickly tap the screen and the message pops up.

It's a picture of a PlayStation controller with Legend of Volthorn on the huge TV in the background. Beneath the image are four words that make my pulse thunder.

Miss you, Little Monster.

"Is that from him?" Jordan asks, leaning forward.

Nodding, I turn the phone around so she can see the image and message underneath.

"‘Little Monster?' Is that what he calls you?"

"Yeah. It's a nickname he gave me. We were playing Legend of Volthorn , and—"

The expression on her face changes, her lips curling up on one side.

"What?" I ask.

"You slept together, then played video games together, and now he's texting you to say he misses you?" She shakes her head, the furrow from earlier making another appearance in her brow. "Maybe Dex Reid is turning over a new leaf after all."

"Why do you say that?" I try not to sound too eager, but I'm pretty sure I fail.

"Because it's"—she glances quickly at the sleek black watch on her wrist—"only noon, and that wasn't even a booty call. I don't think I've ever seen Dex text a woman before eight p.m."

"Really?" This time I definitely don't achieve a neutral tone. I've absolutely fallen for him, and it must be so obvious.

"Yes, really ." Jordan smiles, then crosses her arms. "I'm still worried about you, because Dex can be an ass, but maybe he'll surprise me."

I look down at the phone again. A hint of his hand is visible holding the controller, and I wish I could reach out and touch the dragon curling across his skin. It's hard to believe that hand was in my hair, trailing across my body. But it was, and I want it to happen again.

And I don't want it to ever stop.