Track 14A. Reputation (2:18)

J

On sunday morning, I rolled over in Lisa's bed—feeling soreness in every single muscle. I couldn't believe I'd slept with her after all these years. Couldn't believe I desperately wanted to do it again.

As I forced myself to sit up, I spotted several empty condom wrappers on her floor.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...Oh my god...

I picked up my phone and saw that it was Sunday and we needed to board the bus in a little under two hours.

"Lisa?" I called out.

No answer.

"Lisa?"

Still no answer.

Shit.

I walked over to the fireplace and put on my costume and heels again. I grabbed one of the robes from her bathroom, and checked the hallway before rushing to my room.

When I made it, I immediately slipped into the shower—holding back groans as the hot water stung and revealed every one of my sore muscles.

With a little over an hour to go, I made sure I wasn't leaving anything behind, and then I tried to rush toward the bus. It took me all of one minute to realize that I wasn't going to be able to "rush" anywhere. My legs were too damn weak.

"Did you have a good weekend?" I asked Ryan, trying not to wince as I sat next to him.

"Really, though?" He rolled his eyes and stood up, moving to another seat.

My phone buzzed with a text from him.

Ryan: You fucking ghosted me after the first night and never came back...Saw you tiptoeing back to your room this morning, though. Go talk to whoever you've been fucking.

I sucked in a breath and put my phone away.

"I didn't see Lisa that much this weekend," someone behind me whispered. "Was she sick or something?" Someone else offered.

Niki boarded the bus minutes later. She glared at me as she put away her bag and made her way to the back. Before I could process that, Lisa stepped onto the bus looking sexy as ever. Her eyes met mine and she placed her bag in a bin at the front. Then she made her way down the aisle, but I stood up before she could sit down.

"Where are you going?" she asked, moving with me.

"I just want a better view." I shrugged. "That's all."

"Hmmm." she smiled, making my stomach flip. "Are you still sore?"

I blushed. "Can we talk about what happened when we get home?"

"I don't see what we need to talk about."

"Us." I looked at her and lowered my voice. "And people thinking that we're fucking."

"We are fucking." She smiled. "Well, we were up until an hour ago."

"You know what I mean, Lisa."

"I don't. Did you not enjoy it?"

I didn't answer, and she raised her eyebrow.

"Tell me if you enjoyed it before you make your next flawed point."

"Yes, I enjoyed it, Lisa," I lowered my voice. "Happy?"

"I am. Now what's the problem?"

"We're not together, you're not looking for anything serious, and I have no interest in dealing with speculation from anyone about—"

She pressed her lips against mine, kissing me long and hard in front of everyone—silencing every excuse I had. There was a chorus of gasps when she pulled away from me, a few approving utterances from the guys.

"There," she said, whispering against my mouth. "Now there's no speculation about anything at all."