“I won’t tell anyone,” I told her. Because in the first place, who would I tell? Secondly, I didn’t have a ton of friends in LA, and the fact that she trusted me enough to tell me about her goals for the future was kind of flattering. I wasn’t about to screw that up.
Especially not because if things went well for her, who knew, maybe she could help me move up in the company as well.
“What’s this retreat really about?” I asked her curiously. I had heard some rumors of it, but no one really seemed to want to give too many details to me.
Piper shrugged. “The main thing is that it’s a chance to get some face time with the big boss,” she said. “It’s one of the only times all year that we get that chance. So make sure you don’t waste it.”
I nodded, trying not to feel too intimidated by her words. I wanted to climb the ladder, to work my way up the ladder. That meant I needed to not screw things up with the bosses before I had really made any sort of good impact on the company.
Fortunately, there was another thing to distract me: I saw a man ahead of us, caught a flash of his tattoos. I knew instantly that it wasn’t Jayson, but I couldn’t help but feel a tug of lust in my core, a fleeting wish to be back in his arms. I thought back to what had happened earlier, and I wished suddenly that he could be the one here with me at the night market, as much as I liked Piper.
Piper glanced over her shoulder, frowning in puzzlement. “Who’d you see?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No one,” I said. “Just thought I saw someone I knew.”
Piper raised an eyebrow at me. “Someone from work?”
“No,” I said slowly, reluctant to tell her who it really was. I knew that if I admitted I was imagining Jayson there in the market, she would know that something was up.
She wasn’t going to let me off so easily, though. “Come on, you can’t know that many people in LA that I don’t know. And you look like you’ve seen a ghost. What’s up?”
I sighed. “You know that band we went to see?” I realized absently that I still didn’t even know their name, but I pressed on before I could dwell on that and all the other things I didn’t know about Jayson. “The drummer lives next door to me.”
“Well, that’s convenient,” Piper said, smirking at me. “So are you going to hook up with him? Should we go to another one of his shows or something?”
I coughed lightly. I supposed I shouldn’t have been so surprised that she would immediately suggest hooking up with him. This was LA after all. Things were just so different from how they were back home.
“I actually already kind of… hooked up with him,” I admitted.
Piper grinned. “Nice!” she said. “He’s fucking hot, good for you.”
I couldn’t help but blush. Somehow, the words kept spilling out of me. Maybe it was just the fact that Piper was really my only friend here, that I had no one to confide in other than her. But I had a feeling it was also that I was looking for guidance from someone.
“I’m kind of conflicted about it,” I told her. “I’ve never just had sex with someone before; I’ve always been in a relationship first.”
Piper frowned. “Do you want to be in a relationship with him?” she asked.
I snorted. “Doesn’t matter if I do,” I said. “Have you seen him? He’s a rock star. I’m sure he sleeps around with a lot of girls.”
Piper shook her head. “And none of them have anything on you,” she said firmly. “If you want him, you could have him.”
“I don’t know if I do,” I sighed.
“Well, was the sex any good? Did you enjoy it at least?”
I groaned. “Probably too much,” I said. Thinking back to it made me shiver, even now. But that wasn’t the point, was it?
“I don’t think there’s any such thing as ‘too much,’” Piper said, her eyes twinkling. “So come on, if the sex was good, what’s stopping you? Seriously, if you’re just worried about the other girls, you’re crazy.”
“It’s not just that,” I sighed. “He’s just not exactly the man that I thought I’d end up with. I always kind of figured I’d find some guy in finance, or maybe a college professor. Someone who shared my interests.” I paused and then grinned crookedly. “Someone who likes quiet nights at home, that sort of thing.”
Piper laughed. “I mean, sure,” she said. “We’re all looking for something more like that eventually, right? You don’t have to marry the drummer, though. Just have some fun with him. You’re young, and you just moved here. You don’t have to settle down just yet.”