Trey snorted. "No. She was looking for a fling partner and I volunteered."
"Oh, right. So what's the problem?"
"I took her to my place."
There was a few seconds of silence before Adam started laughing out loud. "Are you kidding me? You broke your number one rule?"
Trey glared at his friend. "She doesn't exactly have her own place, you know."
"Hotel room?" Adam prompted.
He sneered. "We're talking about our best friend's girlfriend's best friend here, not some random chick."
"Right. So does that mean we're not allowed to put her through the ISAG?"
"Don't you even think about it," he growled. There was no way he'd let Adam or Dylan put Kris through the ISAG—the 'Is She A Gold-Digger?' scheme he'd come up with to ensure he didn't make the same mistake twice: the mistake of believing a woman loved him for himself, not for his money. He wouldn't want to insult Kris.
To his bemusement, Adam laughed even harder.
"What?" he asked impatiently.
"I wish Dylan was here to hear this conversation," Adam said, his eyes alive with amusement.
"Hey, unlike you and Dylan, I don't have any ambitions whatsoever to stick with one woman for a lifetime. I'm too cynical of relationships to make it work with anyone, and there's no point using the ISAG for any of my casual affairs. Even though I originally invented it for my sake, nowadays, it's not me who needs it. It's you."
"Who said I intend to stick with one woman?" Adam muttered.
Trey regarded his friend closely. "Have you and Sandy broken up for good?"
Adam sighed. "Not officially. But it looks like that's where we're headed."
"Sorry, bro."
Adam smirked. "Thanks. I'm okay with it. Her attitude is starting to really bug me. Anyway, we're not talking about Sandy and me—that's just the same old story. Let's go back to Kris and your night together. How was it?"
Trey tried to hide his smile, to no avail. "It was incredible. She put on this seductive music and gave me this super-sexy lap dance while she slowly stripped—" He stopped when he saw Adam's eyes grow wide with interest.
"And?" Adam prodded.
Trey bristled internally. He didn't want Adam picturing Kris in all her sexiness. "And then we had sex."
Adam nodded. "I can see how it led to that. So what next? Was it just a one-night stand or what?"
He ran his hand on his cheek. "No. We agreed to have a fling until she goes back to Melbourne."
"I see," Adam commented, pursing his lips. "That'll be one of your longest flings in years, if not the longest."
"She's fun," was all he could say.
"So how come you're unsettled?"
He took a deep breath. "Don't know exactly. I feel funny that I asked her to leave."
"You asked her to leave?" Adam asked incredulously.
"I didn't use those words," he said defensively. "I just asked if she wanted to have a shower before I took her home."
"Right. The subtle hint. Did she get upset?"
"No. She was fine."
"But you're not," Adam observed. "Dare I say she's gotten under your skin?"
"No," he scoffed. "You know me. I can get intense when I want a woman. After a few days, I'm over it. It's the thrill of the chase then the rush of the first few romps—nothing more."
Adam sighed. "You're right. So what's got you unsettled?"
"I think it was the fact that I've brought a woman to my apartment. I said I'd never do that."
"Well, you can't undo it now," Adam said. "Besides, it's Kris. Like you said, she's not exactly some random chick."
He nodded, feeling better and validated, especially since he had a feeling he'd be breaking not only Rule Number One but also Rule Number Two for Kris very soon.
*******
"So I heard you helped Kris pick up last night," Dylan said to Trey as they settled for their meeting at Dylan's home office.
Adam snorted. "He certainly did."
Trey sighed and looked around for Ari. "Is Ari here?" he asked Dylan. He didn't want Ari to overhear him talking about Kris.
"No. She's at her place packing. Kris and Sam are helping her today."
"So have you popped the question yet?" he asked Dylan.
"No. If I had I would have told you guys already. I'm still planning something special."
Trey snickered. "You've got it bad."
"Happily so," Dylan agreed. "Anyway, so how did it go last night?"
"Good," Trey answered cryptically.
"Did she go home with a guy?"
"She sure did."
"Someone we know?"
"Yup."