Even if I’ll hate myself in the morning, it’s one night of not going back to that large, empty house alone.

The tight pull of two small hands at my waist and Sue’s loud voice make my heart skip a beat and I swear to God I almost scream. I feel like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

“Jules, Jasper’s out front.” Sue talks like she has no idea she just scared the shit out of me.

My heart pounds in my chest as I turn to face her fully, my eyes darting from the man candy on my right and then back to her.

Caught red-handed.

It takes a moment for me to realize what Sue said, and a moment for her to catch on to what I was about to do.

She eyes Mason but before she can say a word, I say, “Jasper?”

Although it comes out like a question, it’s more of a curse.

Sue gives me a sympathetic look as she says, “The exhibition at Ruppert Park must’ve ended.” Jasper’s with the New York Post. Every time he sees me he has a question and I know whatever I say will end up misquoted in the paper the next morning. He’s not kind like the others.

I blow out a heavy breath, looking through the crowd and toward the entrance. I don’t feel like dealing with this shit.

“And what are you doing here?” Sue’s question is directed at Mason who’s standing behind me, still leaning against the bar and resembling sin incarnate. He doesn’t seem to mind the interruption at all. He gives Sue a lazy smile that brings back the heat between my thighs full force.

“Just leaving, actually.” Jesus, his voice is as smooth as silk.

One split second passes and a wide grin spreads across Sue’s face, her dark hair swaying, brushing against her cheek as she knowingly looks between the two of us. I lean backward, gripping the stool behind me and wanting an escape. It’s one thing to flirt with the idea of bringing someone home; it’s another thing entirely for everyone to know I was thinking about it.

Sue looks pointedly at Mason’s cock and raises a brow, which only makes me want to bury my face in my hands.

“Are you ready to go?” I ask Sue and step away from Mason. Gripping my clutch tighter, I’m ready to get the hell out of here. There’s not enough tequila in the world to cancel out the sobriety that the mention of Jasper brings me.

“You two get out of here,” Sue says, stopping me in my tracks. That’s the last thing I expected her to say.

“What’d you say your name was?” she asks Mason.

“Mason Thatcher.” He extends a hand to Sue and she takes his hand coyly with both of hers.

“Mason,” Sue says and her voice drips with sex appeal. It always does. She’s a cold-hearted bitch to some but just as vivacious and insatiable as she was ten years ago when I first met her during my freshman year of college.

She leans in slightly and I get a good look down her blouse. Her necklace shifts so that the thin gold chain and glittering emerald jewel rest on her perky breasts, but when I look up, Mason’s only looking into her eyes. “You take good care of my girl tonight, Mason.” Sue looks back at me and that roguish look in her eyes makes me smile.

“I plan on it,” Mason tells her and releases her hands.

“You are wicked,” I whisper to Sue, my smile widening.

“Just one minute,” Sue says. She holds up her pointer finger at Mason and grips my wrist, moving me away from him and closer to the powder room as if he can’t hear us a whopping twelve inches away. I keep myself from rolling my eyes.

“It’s nothing serious.” The words sound defensive even to me. I don’t want her to judge me or to hate me. I just want her to understand. Out of all the girls, I think she will. More than anything, I know I want to get out of here with a stranger. It makes me feel dirty and shameful, but right now it’s what I want.

“Nothing serious?” she says. “It is for me,” Sue. My lungs stall at her words. She shifts her weight and looks over her shoulder toward our booth. I can’t see either Kat or Maddie, although I’m sure they’re still there. “You need this.” Sue stares into my eyes, the look so serious I’m caught off guard.

“The question is,” she says as she lowers her voice and leans into me, “are we telling the others?” Oh, thank the good Lord. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. When she pulls away, gripping my elbows in her hands and winking at me, I know everything’s going to be okay.

I hesitate, glancing back at Mason and then I bite the inside of my cheek. “I don’t want to lie to them,” I tell her honestly.

“Then you two slip out the back. Do it fast before I go tell them and before Jasper can get his scrawny, organic, vegan-eating ass inside.”

I snicker at Sue’s response, but the reality of what I’m doing is settling in. I lean forward as Sue lets go and I grip her hand before she can turn and leave me alone with my soon-to-be one-night stand.

“Tell me I’m not a bad person.” The words slip out before I can think about what I’m saying. I try to keep the smile on my face, but it wavers.

“Getting laid doesn’t make anyone a bad person.”

I nod my head, willing the emotions to go back to being buried deep inside of me as if they don’t deserve to surface in this moment.

“Unless he’s married,” she adds quickly and I chuckle.

The bit of humor helps me feel a sense of relief, but it’s small. Her expression softens. “You just need a little something to kick-start your happiness again.”

To happiness.

“I do.” I nod my head.

True to her nature, Sue ignores the way my voice cracks as she takes a half step closer to me. “Then get over there already. The sooner you leave, the sooner he can be fucking you with your ankles pinned behind your head—”

A laugh escapes me before she can finish. “Can you even put your legs behind your head?”

“For the right man, I can do a lot of things.” She looks at Mason, then to me.

“Just have fun tonight,” she says, keeping things light but it’s calming.

I nod my head as she turns from me, leaving me alone with Mason.

Alone to do bad things and make bad decisions. But at least I’m doing something.

Alcohol helps. I can always blame it on the alcohol.

It’s then that I notice a few eyes watching. Including Margo, who’s taking covert glances. That’s when he wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me into him, bringing my back against his front as he whispers in my ear.

“You ready to go?” he asks, his warm breath traveling down my skin and making my body feel alive for the first time in several months.

I don’t care that everyone can see. The city can talk; I’ll deny it all.

“Will you hold me afterward?” I whisper my one request before I realize what I’ve said.

His body stills behind me and I close my eyes, hating that I’ve ruined this before it’s even started. It’s a one-night stand, nothing more. No emotions.

“Until the morning?” he asks me. My heart beats again, in rhythm with his.

I nod my head, my hair rubbing against his hard chest and his thumb brushing against the black fabric of my dress.

Just until morning.