And by the time we made it to Anna’s car in the lot, I got all the confirmation I needed that Adele was still feeling uneasy about what had happened between us.
Anna gave each of us her business card and told us she’d work on getting a few teaser shots of the photos up later in the week. She thanked us both profusely for helping her out with her project.
As soon as she got into her car and pulled away, I moved toward Adele. She looked a bit nervous.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
Nodding, she replied, “Yeah. I’m just… I think I need to go inside and find my friend.”
“I don’t think you do,” I returned.
Worry and concern littered her face. “Excuse me?”
I lifted my finger and pointed behind Adele.
She twisted her neck in the opposite direction and saw that her friend was standing there watching us.
Adele lifted her arm and waved at her friend to come in our direction.
Damn.
I’d been hoping for a few more minutes alone with her.
When she turned back toward me, she said, “Well, Riggs, it was great to meet you. I really had a lot of fun doing this.”
“Me too,” I replied.
“I hope you get the chance to gloat a little with your brothers,” she teased.
I loved that Adele’s playfulness had returned, but it was a few minutes too late. Her friend had joined us.
“I’m sure I will.”
“How was it?” her friend interrupted.
“Great,” Adele answered. “We’re all finished up now, though. Right, Riggs?”
I dipped my chin.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Riggs, this is my best friend, Kacey. Kacey, this is Riggs.”
I jerked my chin up at her and said, “Thanks for entering Adele into the contest. She was a great partner.”
Kacey’s face lit up. “I knew she would be,” she beamed.
“Yeah, yeah. Okay, well, we’ve got to get going,” Adele declared. “Thanks again, Riggs. Take care.”
I wanted to stop her from leaving. I wanted more time. But with her friend there, I just couldn’t. So, I simply responded, “You too, Adele.”
With that, she grabbed Kacey’s wrist and hauled her to the other side of the parking lot.
That’s when I considered myself to be an even luckier man. As Adele walked away with her friend, I watched her gorgeous ass. And it was safe to say that my earlier presumption had been accurate… I loved the way she looked from behind.
Adele
“Well, how’d it go?”
For the first time in hours, I felt like I could finally breathe.
My heart rate had finally gone back to normal. The nervous fluttering I felt in my belly had vanished.
I was back at home now, but I was not alone. Kacey didn’t just drop me off.
Nope.
She had parked her car and followed me inside. I was slightly surprised at the patience she seemed to be exercising at that moment.
The minute we’d gotten into her car after the photo shoot, she wanted all the details.
But I couldn’t share them then.
I could barely speak.
There was enough left in me to tell her that she had to give me a few minutes to come to terms with what I’d just experienced. My mind was torn and my feelings were all over the place.
Part of me was still so caught up in what I’d just done, and the other part of me was biting my tongue so I didn’t tell my best friend to turn around so she could take me back to Riggs.
Not able to trust myself to say anything that wouldn’t get me into trouble, I kept my mouth shut.
Fortunately for me, Kacey didn’t seem to mind. She gave me the ride back to my place to gather my thoughts.
But it was clear now that she was done waiting.
I wanted to share it all with her, but I still didn’t exactly trust myself.
How could I? I’d done everything I’d just done with a guy I’d just met. Clearly, today wasn’t a good decision-making day for me.
I couldn’t quite imagine what other bad choices I’d make if I allowed myself to share the details. Unfortunately, I knew Kacey wasn’t going to leave unless I shared. Considering she was the reason I even had the experience I did today, I knew it was only fair that I give her something.
But before I did that, I wanted the truth from her.
“Did you know?” I asked.
“Know what?”
“Did you know that these were going to be romantic photos? Did you know that we were supposed to act like a couple?”
Kacey snapped her lips together at my accusation and looked a little worried. Her silence and the look on her face told me she knew exactly what she signed me up for.
After a few beats of silence, she eventually lamented, “I’m sorry, Adele. It was just supposed to be something fun. I thought it’d be great for you to let loose and enjoy yourself for once.”
“I moaned into his mouth and dry humped his thigh by the end of it!” I shrieked.
Kacey’s eyes widened in surprise. Clearly, she hadn’t been expecting that response. “You… you did?” she stammered.
“I thought I would fake it,” I declared, flopping down on the opposite end of the couch and letting out a deep sigh.
“What?” she questioned me.
Shrugging, I explained, “I don’t know. As I walked over to Riggs and Anna, I thought about what you said. The likelihood of me giving myself something fun like that wasn’t going to happen ever again, so I decided I’d do my best to enjoy it. After meeting him, realizing he wasn’t a total creep, and liking the way he looked a whole lot, I didn’t think I had anything to lose. I could easily pretend to be in a relationship with the guy for an hour or so to help Anna get the pictures she needed.”
Kacey burst out laughing. I watched and waited for her to calm down so she could explain to me what she thought was so funny.
When her laughter died down, she shook her head at me in disbelief. “Only you would go and find a way to make this about helping the photographer out instead of admitting that perhaps it was something you actually wanted to do.”
Dropping my head back onto the cushion, I looked up at the ceiling and mumbled, “I’m so mortified.”
“Why?” she asked. “Riggs seemed to have enjoyed it.”
At her words, I snapped my head up and looked at her. “You watched?”
“No. I just saw the way he was with you when we were in the parking lot afterward. Trust me, that guy had a fantastic time with you,” she remarked.
It made sense why she’d think that, but I had to tell her the truth.
“It’s not what you think it is,” I started. “It was just a dare for him.”
Kacey gave me an assessing look as though she were trying to figure out what that meant. When she didn’t get the answer she was seeking, she ordered, “I’m going to need you to explain that to me.”
“The one thing that Riggs and I found some common ground on was our reasons for being at the shoot to begin with,” I began. “Neither one of us would have been at the shoot had it been up to us. Apparently, Riggs’ siblings had dared him to enter this contest Anna hosted. He never suspected he’d be chosen, so he agreed to let them enter for him. But then he was chosen, and he refused to back out of the challenge. So, his plan was to make this photo session look as convincing as possible so that if and when they see the pictures, they’ll realize that their dare didn’t affect him the way they had hoped.”