The Bacelor: Make A Sex Deal

Hannah hadn’t stopped once.

She worked harder than anyone I knew.

It had only been a matter of time before all the stress finally caught up to her.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

I reached for the brownies and opened the lid, taking one for myself and handing her the other I’d grabbed. “Take it from someone who knows you better than you know yourself. Maintaining the stamina and speed you’ve been going at for quite some time isn’t easy, but this is just another hurdle, and you happen to thrive off challenges. I don’t care if it’s Declan or Camden or some other cutthroat, furious monster you face in the courtroom; you’re going to crush them. I have zero doubts about that. So, take a second if you need to. Take some deep breaths. Book a day at the spa-heck, I’ll join you.” I slid my fingers across her shoulder and squeezed. “What I know, with absolute certainty, is that you’ve got this. You’ll figure out a pace that works for you, and sleep will be the result. But remember, you can still rule the world if you’re yawning all the time. It’s allowed.”

She chowed down half the brownie, talking from behind her hand as she said, “Looks like, in the meantime, I’m just going to have to keep up my middle-of-the-night baking and spoil everyone at the office with the different brownie combinations I come up with.” She licked the Nutella off her fingers.

“Don’t forget me from that list. I want in on the flavor tastings.”

She laughed. “Deal. I love you.” She took a drink of her wine. “Enough about all that. I want to move on to happier things, like you and Macon.”

My eyes widened as I finished my brownie. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t excuse me, girl.” She smiled in such a knowing way. “You both disappeared from the bar at the same time. I might have been drunk as hell, but I noticed, and I know something went down that night. So, spill it.”

I slid back a few inches, filling my lungs.

How am I going to get out of this?

I wanted more than anything to tell her what was really happening with Camden. That I had such incredibly strong feelings for her twin brother. That he was the only man I wanted to give my virginity to.

But I feared her reaction would put the biggest strain on our friendship, and I couldn’t handle that.

But not telling her, keeping this secret, felt horrible, especially considering I usually told her everything.

“I swear, nothing happened, Han. It was literally a coincidence that we both left at the same time. I went to the restroom. When I came out, one of my clients called, and that tied me up for a bit.” I swallowed, thinking of how Camden’s hands had really done all the tying and then his dick, followed by a full-blown make-out session before we both came back inside. “It’s the same as what I told you at the bar. My story hasn’t changed.”

She eyed me as she ate the rest of her brownie. “But you’ve changed.”

I pointed at my chest. “Me?”

She nodded.

“How?” I pressed.

“How do I put this …”

As she thought about the right word to use, a part of me started to freak out.

What if she knows something about Camden and me and is about to drop that little nugget? What if she is going to ask something that I won’t be able to deny?

Camden had warned me that Hannah would be able to see right through me, that if I ever mentioned his name with a dreamy-like, telling smile, she would immediately know something was up.

Did I do that earlier?

Did I even mention his name?

Oh God, suddenly, everything was a blur.

“You’re acting almost lighter, if that makes any sense-like you just got laid-and I want to say happier, but I can’t really say that because you’re the happiest person I know. Nothing brings down my positive petunia.”

I laughed so hard that I snorted. “We both know I didn’t get laid.”

Even though her head turned, her eyes stayed on me. “But maybe something else happened.”

“Something else? Like what?”

Her grin was still stretched across her lips. “Why don’t you tell me?”

I could deny the obvious-or what she thought was obvious.

Or I could roll with it and see where it took me.

“You’re right; something happened.”

“Oh my God, I knew it.” She set her wine on the table and fully turned toward me, inching closer until our knees touched. “Tell me everything. Was Macon all swoony? Was he-”

“Hold on. It wasn’t Macon.” I brought the glass up to my lips and swallowed several times. “It’s … someone else.”

“Who?”

I hated this.

The feelings it stirred.

The need to lie.

This wasn’t who I was.

Hannah deserved better.

She deserved the truth.

“Someone I’ve known for a long time,” I started. “But it’s honestly not even worth talking about. It’s just some minor hookup stuff.” More lies, but I didn’t want to get into the proposition. I didn’t want to talk about the lessons. They were too special to me to discuss. “We’re just having fun. I don’t know if it’s going to turn into anything serious.” As I stared at her, I could tell she was on the verge of inquiring who he was, so I added, “Before you ask, you don’t know him.”

She put her hand up in the air, like I was preaching a sermon. “I fully support this, especially the fun part, but you’re really okay with the physical aspect of all this? You’re a relationship kind of girl, and-I say this with all the love in my heart-you’re not the kind of woman to just give your body to a man. I mean, you’ve waited this long. I hope he’s special? And deserving?”

“Don’t worry; I’m not there yet.” At least that part was semi-truthful, considering we were only approaching lesson three. “Lots of stuff to do before we get there, there, you know?”

“I get it.” As she continued to analyze me, I could feel her gaze all the way in my chest. “I can tell how happy you are. You haven’t stopped smiling.” She patted my knee. “Is this amazing guy the reason things didn’t move forward with Macon?”

This was turning into quite a web.