Weak Without Him

I put on a long sleeve Vera Wang sweater with a thick collar, some tights, and heels. Then towel dried my hair, pi

I grabbed my clutch from the dresser, but before heading out the door, I caught sight of several pieces of paper on the counter with a small pile of confetti.

Applied to the balance due.

I ran my fingers through the shredded paper and saw little routing numbers. As I put the pieces together, I realized it was my check for the townhome. Fi

Behind the note was the title with my name written on it in his beautiful curly handwriting.

Sometimes he could be such a sneaky bastard, and I loved it.

Nine

Before lunch, I stopped by the post office and changed my address. I let out a sigh knowing that my mail would now arrive in Vegas. It was really begi

Lori waited for me, early as always, and the host sat us in our regular booth in the back of the restaurant. When she caught sight of me, Lori smiled, but a little crazily, like she knew something I didn't.

"What?" I asked when we sat down.

"No way."

"What? Seriously!"

"You're glowing. Je

"What are you talking about?"

"You, Je

Sue Mary filled our mix-matched set of champagne glasses with mimosas, and we ordered our normal egg sandwiches with hash browns. The little café reminded me of home and country living, and they could fry eggs that tasted like my mother’s. It had to be all the butter.

As soon as Sue Mary walked way, Lori leaned in.

"Are you going to tell me what's been going on? It seemed too sudden. All of the Girls are talking about how you left Luketon high, dry, and naked at his house on Friday."

"That's not what happened."

"You know how everyone talks, and, well, Jesse has only added fuel to the fire. She's been a little moody lately. That, combined with rumors of you, well, you can only imagine."

"Maybe she's menstruating. You know how she turns into an uber bitch whenever the aunt is in town."

"This is different. It's so bad. She is being anal about everything, so much so that even Fi

The reason he stopped staying there was because of me, but I couldn't tell her that, at least not yet.

"Is that even possible?"

"Bet your ass it is."

We poured the rest of the pitcher in our glasses and sipped.

"So are you going to tell me what really happened, or are you going to pretend Jesse's story is the truth?"

Damn her. I tried to smother a smile, but I wasn't that good at holding my emotions around her. The Elite never taught me to keep the truth from my friends, only from the men I went on dates with.

"You're right. I'm not a virgin anymore, but only me and two other people know that… plus you, so keep it a secret."

"I knew that already, continue." She interlocked her fingers, placed them under her chin, and smiled. "Let me guess. You and Luke made up and went wild and crazy with one another once you left The Elite? He's sexy, Je

My smile faded, and she stopped gushing over Luketon Brand, the nicest guy on the planet. With an incredulous smirk, she glared.

"No fucking way."

I didn't know if she really knew, but judging by her reaction, I had a feeling she did.

"Fi

Yep, she knew.

My face went red, and I downed my cheap champagne and orange juice mixture. After I composed myself, I smiled.

"I wanted to put out and he wanted to put in. What can I say?"

"You…are…the queen. I'm actually speechless, like I don't even know what to say right now. He has never slept with one of his Girls. Ever. I mean, many of us would love to do that but no one has broken through Fi

I bit my lip and smothered my excitement. Lady Luck fucking loved me!

"I have to hear this story from begi

Sue Mary refilled our mega strong mimosas when she delivered our food. There was no way in hell I would get out of telling this story before we left. I gently cleared my throat and started from the begi

"It happened on Friday night. Luke was about to finalize the deal… like we were in the act, and Fi

She gasped. "Like a knight in shining armor?"

"Not quite. More like an asshole there to ruin my night of fun. And I was so pissed, like I wanted to throttle him. He made me leave, and when we got back to the house, no one was home. I sat outside on the patio, then got in the hot tub. Minutes later, he joined me."

"No way."

"Yep. Then I slapped him in the face because I was so angry with him for playing with my emotions and barging in on Luke and me. I ca

"You did not slap Felton in the face."

"Yep, and I would do it again. He deserved it. I wasn't his plaything. Oh, and by the way, did you know that he and Luketon are brothers?"

"No fucking way. The accent. How can so much hotness be in one family? Oh my. The way they act toward one another makes sense now." Lori shook her head in disbelief.

"So after I slapped the shit out of him, I took a shower and crawled into bed."

"And he crawled in with you?"

"Not quite. He walked into the room and asked me if I loved Luke."

"Do you?"

"No. I don't think it is love like that. I care for him, but I don't think he could ultimately make me happy. I mean, I imagined at one point that he could. But no."

"It's because he's not Felton."

I hated to admit it, but that was exactly why. If I would have never met Fi

"Fi

"But that smart ass mouth of his can be so… scratch that, he is total sex on legs even with that mouth and attitude," Lori said.

"I know, right. Well, after I denied my love for Luke, the next thing I knew I was being pi

"He doesn't allow anyone in there."

"I know."

"So how was it?" She smiled the whole time.

"Magical. Emotional. No words can fully describe it."

"So how big…" Lori stopped talking, and I stretched my hands across the table.

"No fucking way. I don’t believe you."

"I swear. I couldn’t lie about that. Trust me."

"Well no wonder why he can be such an asshole and why women gravitate toward him. That man has the whole package."

We both took small nibbles from our sandwiches.