“Ridge has told me a lot about you,” she says as she pops open a soda, then walks to the cabinet for a glass. “I think it’s great that you’re helping him through his writer’s block. Poor guy has been stressing for months now.” She fills her cup with ice and soda. “So how are you fitting in? I see you’ve survived Bridgette. And Warren has to be a pain in the ass.” She looks at me expectantly, but I’m still loving the fact that she’s so . . . Pleasant? Likable? Cheerful?
I smile back at her and lean against the counter. I’m trying to figure out exactly how to respond to her. She’s speaking to me as if she can hear me, so I reply the same way.
“I like it,” I say. “I’ve never lived with this many people before, so it’s taking some getting used to.”
She smiles and tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear.
Ugh. Even her ears are pretty.
“Good,” she says. “Ridge told me about your shitty birthday last weekend and how he took you out for cake, but it didn’t make up for you never having the chance to celebrate.”
I have to be honest. It bothers me that he told her he took me out for cake. It bothers me, because maybe he’s right and he does tell her everything. And it also bothers me because he seems to tell me nothing. Not that I’ve earned that right from him.
God, I hate feelings. Or I hate my conscience. The two are constantly at war, and I’m not sure which one I’d rather turn off.
“So,” she says, “we’re going out tonight to celebrate.”
I pause. “We?”
She nods. “Yeah. Me, you, Ridge, Warren, if he’s not busy. We can invite Bridgette, but that’s laughable.” She walks past me toward Ridge’s bedroom, then turns to face me again. “Can you be ready in an hour?”
“Um.” I shrug. “Okay.”
She opens Ridge’s bedroom door and slips inside. I stand frozen, listening. Why am I listening?
I hear Maggie giggling behind the closed door, and it makes me wince.
Oh, yay. This should be fun.
Ridge
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay in tonight?”
Maggie shakes her head. “That poor girl needs to have some fun, with the week she’s had. And I’ve been so overwhelmed with my internship and the T word. I need a night out.” She leans forward and kisses me on the chin. “Do you want to get a cab so you can drink, or do you want to drive?”
She knows I won’t drink around her. I don’t know why she always tries her reverse psychology on me. “Nice try,” I sign. “I’ll drive.”
She laughs. “I have to change and get ready. We’re leaving in an hour.” She tries to slide off me, but I grip her waist and roll her onto her back. I know for a fact that it never takes her more than half an hour to get ready. That leaves a good thirty minutes.
“Allow me to help you out of your clothes, then.” I pull her shirt off over her head, and my eyes drop to the very thin, intricately laced bra she has on. I grin. “Is this new?”
She nods and smiles her sexy smile. “I bought it for you. Front clasp, just how you like it.”
I pinch the clasp and undo it. “Thank you. I can’t wait to try it on.”
She laughs and slaps my arm. I take off her bra, then lower myself on top of her and drop my mouth to hers.
I spend the next half hour reminding myself how much I’ve missed her. I remind myself how much I love her. I remind myself how good it feels when we’re together. I keep reminding myself over and over, because for the past week, it felt as if I was starting to forget.