Next to us, Katie gave one of her signature giggles. I tossed her an annoyed look. Just because she had finally figured things out with Liam like a day before didn’t give her the right to laugh at my predicament.
Katie smiled, embarrassed and shrugged. I turned back to Becca. “What do you mean, I got the thirst?” I asked.
“The thirst.” Becca shook her head and furrowed her brow as if I should know what she was talking about. She rolled her eyes. “When someone just like thirsty— desperate for sex.”
“I am not desperate,” I shouted, causing everyone in the coffeehouse to stare at our table.
A warmth spreading to my pale cheeks. “I’m not desperate,” I repeated, softer this time. “I have two men. I might be in love with both of them.”
“You’re desperate for sex,” Becca said. “You waited through college, and now it’s your time.” She saw the horrified look on my face and pressed on, waving a hand dismissively, “It’s fine. It’s not bad to be a virgin or to wait for the right guy, but now you’ve got two options, and you’re desperate to jump both of them.”
I glanced to Katie, bewildered. “I don’t want to jump both of them.”
“Do you know what you want?” Katie asked, her voice calm and soothing.
“No,” I moaned, leaning forward and banging head on the table.
I banged it a few times before Becca chimed in, “Do you think if you gave into the thirst and got laid, you’d have a clear head and be able to make a decision?”
Tilting my head to look at her, I groaned again. “I don’t want to sleep with the wrong guy! I don’t want to give my virginity to Ethan and then realize I’m in love with Oliver, and I don’t want to make love to Oliver only to discover I should have been with Ethan.”
“And there’s no clear choice?” Katie wondered. “I thought you chose the night of the fire.”
I lifted my face from the table. “I couldn’t decide, so I just went home and went to bed. It’s not like one’s an asshole and one’s wonderful, caring, and sensitive. They’re both such great guys, I can’t make up my mind.”
Katie cleared her throat. “Right, but I mean, Oliver is a billionaire, right? I know money isn’t the most important thing, but have you considered that? What that life would be like?”
I laughed. “Quit kidding, Katie. Oliver’s not a billionaire. He shares an apartment with your boyfriend, and he works in IT. He’s as broke as we are.”
She looked down uncomfortably. “I thought you knew.”
I looked from Katie to Becca. “Thought I knew?”
“About Oliver’s money,” she explained. “About how he was in IT, then he developed software and apps and made millions, sold them, made millions more, and then invested that money and continued creating programs? Liam wasn’t sure, but he said if Oliver isn’t a billionaire yet, he will be soon.”
My mouth fell open. Why hadn’t he told me any of this?
“Well, if it were me, I would say that little tidbit made the decision for me.” Becca sucked up the rest of her drink. “But from the look on your face, I’m guessing that all this does is complicate things further.”
Before I could say anything, a slender green-eyed girl entered the room. “Wow,” I said, gesturing toward the door. “Katie, that girl looks an awful lot like you.”
“Really?” Katie turned, and as soon as she did, her face went pale.
The girl waltzed up to our table. “Based on your gaping mouth and the fact that you look like a bargain-basement version of me, I’m going to guess that you’re Katie,” she said with a sneer.
“And I have just one thing to tell you. Stay away from my boyfriend!” With that, she picked up the ice coffee sitting in front of me and dumped it all over Katie’s head.
Without another word, she turned and sauntered away as if nothing had ever happened.
Katie, Becca, and I looked at one another. Wow. I thought. I guess I’m not the only one in a predicament.
About the Author
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed following Katie and Liam’s steamy romance! If you did, please be sure to leave a review on Amazon. It’s the best way for new authors to be discovered.
My husband and I live on a small farm in Upstate New York. When not writing, I enjoy reading, vacationing in exotic locales, and curling up in front of the fireplace with my husband and our two dogs.
All of my books are available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and in print. The Hot Holidays Series is a contemporary, steamy romance series, but I sometimes also write sweet romances, as well as other genre fiction (blends of romance with sci-fi and fantasy). I have lots of plans for this series and other books, so be sure to follow my Amazon author page, and follow me on Facebook for updates!
www.facebook.com/MelanieKinkaidAuthor
Hot & Heavy Halloween (Hot Holidays Book 1) Page 19