Eruption

3

"Taking advantage of innocent young women?"

"What, like you?" He smiled at me. "Shagging your professor wasn't so innocent, Penny."

"Is Rob harassing you again?" Bee said and leaned against the kitchen counter next to me.

Rob laughed and looked down at his watch. "Is it time for me to move on to you already?"

"You can focus on Penny tonight," Bee said. "It's her big day. Congrats, again," she said and squeezed my arm.

"Thanks, Bee."

"And congrats on the new job too. James just told us about it."

"Did he?" I looked over at James. He was sitting on the couch next to Mason. As if he could feel my stare, he turned away from Mason and smiled at me. He raised his left eyebrow and lifted his glass slightly. Mason laughed beside him and gestured for Rob to join them.

"I've been summoned," Rob said. "I'll let you two ladies talk. I'll be back when you're done that drink, Penny. You won't even be able to resist me." He walked over to the couch and plopped himself between Mason and James.

I looked down at the drink. He was joking right? "On a scale of one to ten, how likely is it that this drink has a roofie in it?"

Bee laughed. "Like fifty."

"That's what I thought." I pushed it aside and grabbed a glass of champagne off a tray that a waiter was walking around with. "Okay, so I have a question for you. What's it like working with Mason?"

Bee smiled. "Wonderful."

"Really? It doesn't make it hard to keep your work and personal life separate?"

Her cheeks turned slightly red. "We don't really keep it that separate."

I laughed. "I'm guessing the blurred line doesn't mean you go over reports in bed at night?"

"Not exactly. We share an office, though. What do you expect?"

"Right. But it's not going to be like that if I work with James. Or, for him, I guess is a better way to put it." Bee and Mason were an amazing power couple. They had grown their advertising firm to seven figures within just a couple months after their launch. Now it was one of the top agencies in the city. And even though they worked a lot, they still looked at each other in that way that made your heart melt.

"I doubt he's going to make it feel like you're working for him. And either way, it'll look great on your resume. You still have different last names, you can take advantage of that. Use it as a stepping stone. And your next employer doesn't have to be any the wiser when you use James as a reference."

I laughed. "I'm pretty sure he's sabotaging me from getting any other jobs."

"I'm sure that isn't true."

"You have no idea." I took a sip of my champagne.

Bee laughed. "I think he and Mason are pretty similar. They're both used to getting whatever they want. I'm not sure they understand the word no."

I laughed. "Shh, they're coming over here."

Bee smiled as Mason wrapped his arms around her. "What are you two talking about?"

"How stubborn you are," Bee said. "What were you two talking about?"

"James' bachelor party," Mason said. "Rob and I have so many good ideas."

"Trust me," Bee said and grabbed my arm. "You do not want Mason planning James' bachelor party."

I laughed even though she didn't look like she was kidding. "I'd rather him plan it than Rob. Whenever Rob and James get together they always do something stupid."

"You have nothing to worry about," James said and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I'm not having a bachelor party."

"Of course you are," Mason said. "I already bought the tickets. It's going to be awesome."

Bee frowned. "Where exactly are you guys going?"

"I can't say," Mason said. "It's a surprise."

Bee shook her head.

"We're not going anywhere," James said. "Don't worry about it."

"You should have a bachelor party," I said and looked up at him. "Isn't that like a rite of passage?"

"Yeah, but I've already had one."

Every now and then I let myself forget about his past. I downed the rest of my champagne and picked up the s*x on the beach. I kind of hoped it was laced with something. I hated thinking about finding a job. I hated thinking about James' parents not wanting to meet me. But most of all I hated being reminded of Isabella. I took a huge sip of the drink. "You should still go, James. You'll have fun."

"See," Mason said. "She wants you to go."

James squeezed my shoulder. "I'll think about it."

"Are you ready to get going, Bee?" Mason asked and removed his arms from around her. He whispered something in her ear and she laughed.

"I guess we need to get going," she said. "Bye, James." She gave him a quick hug. "See you tomorrow, Penny," Bee said as she hugged me. "Don't encourage them, Penny," she whispered. "You seriously don't want Mason to plan it. Trust me." She pulled back. "Congratulations." She gave me a small smile

Weird. "Thanks, Bee. See you tomorrow."

Mason hugged me. "Congratulations on finally graduating. I guess I can't really make fun of James for being with someone so young now."

"I'm sure you'll find something else to tease him about."

Mason laughed and released me from his hug. "It's going to be a blast, man," Mason said and slapped James on the back. "Maybe not as much fun as you guys are about to have when everyone clears out of here, though, right, Penny?" He winked at me.

Oh God. Everyone really did hear. I put my hand over my face as they left the apartment. "I'm mortified."

James laughed. "It gave everyone something to talk about all night." He put his hand on the small of my back and pulled me into him.

"You could have stopped me two seconds earlier, you know. Usually when someone throws a surprise party they don't let the guest of honor say something embarrassing in front of a room full of people."

"I don't know. How many surprise parties have you been thrown?"

"Well, none, but..."

"So I'm pretty sure this was exactly how it's supposed to go." He leaned down and lightly nipped my earlobe. "I had considered letting you keep going. So you're welcome."