"I better get to work for real this time," she says. "I can't afford to be late to work. But I'd like to do this again sometime—I—I mean, if you want to. Or if you don't, that's fine too."
"I'd like that," I smile. It's almost cute the way she's trying to remain aloof—to not wear her heart on her sleeve, but I can see right through it. She's enjoying this, and I am too.
I lean in and give her one more kiss. "Can I tell you a secret?" I ask.
"Of course, anything," she says.
"It's about Carter Jeffries. I know you're headed there now, and this has to remain between you and I."
"Cross my heart," she says, placing one hand on her chest. "You can tell me anything."
"Someone is embezzling money from me," I say. "And I believe it's from someone at Carter Jeffries."
168
Alicia
"So, do you think that I like don't notice you're so totally wearing the same clothes as you were yesterday?" Ashley asks me as we both grab our chicken rice from the food truck on the corner of 52nd and Park Avenue.
Okay, when I say food truck, I mean one of those chicken and lamb over rice kind of places.
And yes, I totally heard what Ashley just said to me, okay?
But I mean, what am I going to say in response to that?
"Yo, Earth to Alicia," Ashley says, as she looks in my direction as we sit down on the steps of the Seagram's building. "Are you even listening to me, or are you in like some weird billionaire sex coma?"
Okay. I need to figure out what to say to make her stop.
"Ash, we really gotta stop eating food like this for lunch, girl," I tell her and give her a pout. "Not when we're doing Pilates that leaves us so not able to walk the next day."
"Yeah for reals, I'm surprised you're walking on both feet after your night with Mr. Billionaire," Ashley retorts.
Oh my God. This is insane.
I sigh loudly but she doesn't let up.
"Oh my God Alicia, I can't believe you're not telling me what happened," Ashley says, as we both start digging into the delectable pieces of grilled chicken and lamb over a bed of rice and onions. "I'm like your bestie and you can't even confide in me?"
Aw. Maybe she's right.
"Fine," I say, rolling my eyes. "He took me upstairs to his hotel room, okay?"
Fine?
That's the word I came up with?
Little does she know how much I'm so holding back. How last night was like...
"Fine?" Ashley asks in between mouthfuls. "Like Mr. Super Hot Billionaire and you end up having drinks at super chi-chi Upper East Side bar and all you can come up with is, 'he took you upstairs to his room'?"
The look of incredulity on her face is very, very real. It would probably be really like heart wrenching if she wasn't busy chewing mouthfuls of chicken.
"Okay, babe," I say to her, resigned to having to spill the beans, but also kinda relieved. "Yes, if you wanna know, we totally went to his room and fucked."
"I knew it!" Ashley exclaims with triumph. I don't know at what, but her eyes are twinkling. "Tell me everything!"
I guess I'm sorta glad that she gives me like a few seconds to scoop up as much food into my mouth as possible. I mean, she does the same thing.
Yeah, we really shouldn't be eating this. It's like fine now when we're young probably, but like in ten years this is going to be like the reason I have no thigh gap.
But in the meantime, what do I tell Ashley now?
"I mean," I start out not really sure what to say. "He pulled out his cock. He stuck it in my pussy. We came. You know, like sex."
Ashley rolls her eyes. "I mean, did he have a nice cock?" she asks me. "Was it big? OMG did it have tattoos?"
What the fuck? I'm not just thinking that, either.
"What the fuck?" I ask her. "Why would he tattoo his dick?"
"Was it big?" she keeps asking.
Oh my God it was so huge. I could bounce on that thing all day, you know? I dunno if I should tell Ashley that; I mean, she's my friend but I sound like such a slut when I think how much I can't stop thinking about his cock.
"Wow Alicia, just the starry look on your face tells me all I need to know," Ashley says, finishing up the last of her food and closing the container and still somehow staring at me. "You look like you just want to be such a slut for his cock."
I'm about to protest, but I look at the time. Shit. I have a meeting with Nadia.
"I gotta go, babe," I tell Ashley, finishing up the rest of my food in several quick gulps. Ashley looks a bit surprised.
"Hey Alicia, it's okay," she says. "I'm actually happy for you, babe. You know that right?"
I look over. There is genuine concern and care for me. We're like sisters. We may tease each other mercilessly, but at the end of the day, having Ashley in New York City makes the big city feel so much smaller.