Elise laughed; Zoey did too, until the laughter faded away. Elise asked, “In all seriousness, what’s your hang-up here?”
“I’m not like you guys,” Hazel said.
Zoey exchanged a long look with Elise, then frowned at Hazel. “How so?”
“Sensual. Erotic. Experienced. All of it,” Hazel said. “You know my past.” And that past was painful for Hazel. Hazel’s ex-boyfriend had done a real number on her heart, including taking her virginity and then dumping her the next day. Hazel hadn’t dated since. “I’m…yeah, no, I just can’t.” Coming from a terrible mother didn’t help Hazel’s confidence either. Elise had only heard a fraction of the stories, and the emotional abuse Hazel received at the hands of her rich mother was awful.
Elise actually understood. Zoey likely did too. Sometimes fear got the better of a person. “Well, then, just keep on blushing,” she told Hazel.
Zoey agreed with a firm nod, grinning. “And late at night, when you’re in bed all alone, grab your favorite battery-operated lover and think about him then.”
“Oh my God, Zoey,” Hazel breathed, covering her face with her hands, nearly melting into her seat.
Elise let her off the hook and put the spotlight on herself. “So, I guess you’re wondering what’s going on with Archer and me.”
Zoey nodded frantically. “That’s a big yes.”
“Please, yes, let’s talk about you,” Hazel said, reaching for her cosmopolitan.
“We’re not serious,” Elise reported. “So, don’t go thinking that things are going that way. We’re very comfortable in the friends-with-benefits category.”
Zoey lifted her eyebrows. “He kissed you twice since you showed up.”
Elise shrugged. “He’s…touchy.”
Zoey’s mouth twitched. “I’m sure he is.”
She hesitated, and Elise knew that measured look. “What is it?”
“Well, I’ve seen you be in a friends-with-benefits situation before, and I don’t know. This seems like more.”
Hazel raised her hand. “I second that.”
Elise took a sip of her drink, tasting the hint of vanilla, and pondered. “I’m not going to say I don’t like him. I do. He’s a good guy; actually, I think he’s the best guy I’ve ever met.”
“He’s also hot,” Hazel added.
“And hot,” Elise agreed. “What we have is just intense. You know how it goes. Eventually, that will fizzle out, and we’ll be done.”
“Or maybe something else will grow from the chemistry,” Zoey said.
Elise pointed at Zoey. “Don’t go putting things like that in my head. You know how I feel about relationships.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Zoey grumbled, running her fingers up and down the stem of her glass. “All I’m saying is, would it really be so bad if you did get serious with someone?”
“Yes,” Elise said. “Because what I know of relationships and marriage is abuse from my own family and horrible cheating through my work. I see people at their worst every day, and I know what’s possible. I don’t need a big commitment to be happy. Things are good. Why change that?”
Zoey said, “Well, yes, some relationships are bad, but not every relationship is like that. What Rhys and I have isn’t terrible.”
“No, it’s not,” Elise said with a nod. “But you’re also you. You’re good at that love stuff. I’m not. I don’t know how to be.”
Hazel jumped in and said, “I’m with Elise on this one. You and Rhys make it look easy. You mesh really well. It’s not like that for everyone.”
Zoey watched them both closely, like she knew secrets they didn’t, and finally offered, “I hope you two find easy then, in whatever way makes you happy.”
Done with the serious talk, Elise added, “Or we find multiple orgasms with total hunks.”
Zoey burst out laughing. “Or that.”
Glad to have her best friends caught up in her life, she lifted her drink to her mouth right as Archer came trotting down the stairs, grinning from ear to ear.
“You’re up,” he said to Elise when he reached the table.
She rose, taking her drink with her. “I take it that means you won?”
“Did you have any doubt?” he asked with an arched brow.
“Yes.”
He snorted and slapped her ass. Deliciously hard. “Smart-ass.” Then he headed for the staircase.
She smiled after him, relishing the heat on her bottom, which quickly faded as a snicker sounded behind her. She glanced back, discovering Zoey’s and Hazel’s grins.
“Is that something friends do to each other?” Zoey asked. “Hazel, bend over.”
Elise quickly gave her the finger, sending Hazel and Zoey into a fit of laughter before she followed Archer up the staircase. When she reached the top, taking in the rows of wood boards with bull’s-eyes painted onto them, she noticed the guys down at the bar ordering another drink.
“Before we start our game, you’ll need this for tonight,” Archer said, handing her a business card.
The card was a simple shiny black business card with bold gold letters that read: midnight dreams. “What’s this?”
“Your ticket into the party tonight.” He gave her a sensual smile. “I’ll have a driver pick you up at eleven-thirty. Keep that card with you. You’ll need it to gain entrance.”
She studied the card again. It revealed nothing, but excitement fluttered in her belly. She couldn’t deny, though, the erotic games fueled something unknown inside her. “What is the attire?”
Desire danced in his eyes, and she burned in response to it. “The driver will have what you need.”
Her fingers began to tingle, and that feeling soon spiraled down low in her body. “All right, so what now?”
His grin was hot and wicked. “I kick your ass at throwing axes.”
“Dream on,” she purred. “Your ass is toast.”
Chapter 9
Once Elise kicked his ass at axe throwing, Archer dropped her and Hazel off at the subway station and made his way over to Rhys’ place. Tonight’s festivities weren’t starting until midnight, and they had some time to kill. Poker was a regular thing for Friday night, so he’d come with a six-pack of beer. While he felt each passing minute with painful slowness, anticipating a fun night ahead, he was glad for something to keep his mind busy before he’d see Elise again, wearing the outfit he’d chosen for her. He knew she was pushing her limits for him, and while he appreciated it, he planned to show her how he wasn’t missing out on anything by not spending his nights at the club or sleeping with strangers. In his youth, he’d gotten off on the eroticism of different women; now he hungered for something more. A deeper connection. Something he was finding with Elise.
Sitting at a poker table set up in Rhys and Zoey’s living room, Rhys began shuffling the cards and asked Archer, “Tell me if it’s none of my business, but how are things going with Elise?”
Archer expected the question after he’d kissed Elise, not once, but twice today. These men were his family. They knew everything about his past and present. “It’s good.”