Текст книги "Speed Mating"

Автор книги: Jessica Sims

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"You're yelling," a husky voice murmured in her ear. Vic, behind her. "Use your inside voice, Estrella."

"I'm not," she began, then realized how quiet it was in the restaurant. Gone was the clink of forks and the low murmur of conversation. Okay, so maybe she'd been talking about being in heat a leeeetle bit too loud. Just a hair. She shook her head, her shoulder-length hair slapping the face of her alpha. "Vic, you're so cruel."

"And you're drunk. Hitting the sauce while you still can?"

"Maybe. Or maybe I was just blown away by the amazing selection of dates tonight." When Ryder frowned, Estrella bared her teeth at her and was pleased to see the blonde stumble backward a step.

"And now you're just being mean," Vic said with amusement. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

Warm hands grabbed her around the waist. He felt so delicious against her that she sighed and closed her eyes, draping her arms around his neck. "Carry me?"

A low rumble of a chuckle, and then an arm went behind her knees and Estrella was lifted into the air, and Vic carried her out of the restaurant. He didn't even have to strain to carry her gargantuan form.

"See, that's what I need," she sighed.

"What's that?" he asked as they headed out the front door of the restaurant and into the parking lot. As soon as they left the building, cold, crisp air slammed into them. It carried the scent of winter underneath the usual city smells.

Winter would be good, since the heat made her feel so flushed all the time.

"What do you need, Estrella?" Vic repeated when she seemed lost in her own thoughts.

"Someone strong. A real guy. Not any of those losers in the speed dating." She inhaled and was surprised at how good Vic smelled. It had to be the heat that was causing her to want to bury her face against him and lick at the cords of his thick, brawny neck, right? Or the heat that made her want to rip off his shirt with her claws and trace the lines of those tattoos with her fingers? Run her hands over his flat stomach...

A hot pulse of need flashed through her, and the scent of her own desire rolled through her nostrils a moment before Vic stiffened.

"Estrella," he warned.

"It's the heat," she told him. "Just ignore it. I'm going to." She put her face against his shoulder. "See, this is me, ignoring the heat."

He grunted, though it sounded less amused this time.

One of the strands of his hair fascinated her. It kept touching his ear when he walked, and she wondered how soft it would be. Then she touched it, and of course it was gorgeously soft. She decided her baby should have soft hair, too. "You find anyone at the speed mating, Vic?"

"You were the only one there worth noticing," he commented in that same gruff voice.

Estrella sighed miserably. "There were two guys who were interested until they heard the baby part. Everyone wants the heat but nobody wants the ramifications."

"It's good that you're finding out now, 'Strella. Better now than after the baby is conceived."

Her eyes began to water with sudden, weepy, ridiculous, drunken tears. "I need someone who’s going to be at my side the entire time. Someone responsible who wants me just as much as they want a baby."

"I know, sugar. I know."

She reached out and smacked him on the arm just as he put her down. "I'm not your sugar, Vic Barlow."

He chuckled and pulled out his car keys, ignoring her turn of mood. "You're also not crying anymore, which is all I wanted. Now get in. I’m driving."

Evil, evil man.

* * *

The cold front that had rolled through North Texas hadn't brought more than gusty winds and a light, gloomy drizzle, but Estrella appreciated it all the same. With the temperatures firmly in the upper thirties, she wouldn't be breaking into a heat-induced sweat every time she went outside. She thought she'd get hot flashes when she went through menopause; apparently she got them when her hormones were ramping up to eleven, too.

Since it was a nice day out – well, for her – Estrella walked to Vic's garage. It was only a few blocks away from the gym she worked at, and in Texas, that was practically neighbors. She took her jacket so her boss wouldn't ask questions, and then ditched it into her car as soon as she hit the parking lot.

As she walked, Estrella inhaled the scents of the city. She loved the sharp, crisp bite of the winter breeze. The only trees she could smell were junipers; everything else was bare and brown. The sky overhead was gray, which suited her mood quite well.

The hunt for the father of her child was not going so well.

Estrella shouldn't have been surprised. Hell, it was close to impossible to find a date under normal circumstances. Finding the perfect guy who also wanted to be a parent in the space of under a week? Impossible. Still, she wouldn't stop hoping. Something was going to have to come out of this heat, after all. Waiting wasn't an option. Already her ovaries felt like they'd climb out of her body at the sight of the next sexy guy who walked past.

Maybe a human? Vic would kill her. Totally and completely kill her. If she'd ever felt like an outcast because of her liger ancestry, it'd be nothing to how she'd be treated if she were a liger knocked up by a human. She sighed, feeling defeated, and kicked a nearby can instead of picking it up and tossing it in the garbage. As much as she’d felt like an outcast growing up because of her dual halves? There was no way she’d subject any child of hers to anything remotely close to that.

Like it or not, she had no ideas. That was why she was going to confront Vic and ask – no, beg – for his help. Her face flushed uncomfortably hot at the thought. Vic, could you help me with my heat?

Why did that make her flutter low in her stomach? Stupid heat made everything attractive, apparently, even her formidable, scowling, often-scary alpha.

Vic's Garage was busy, all the bay doors open and cars on the lifts as men moved under them. The scents of motor oil and rubber tires filled her nostrils, along with the scent of other tiger-shifters. Vic hired family first, and several of the Barlow clan worked here. The scents of so many tiger males made a low, rumbling purr start in her belly, and she had to pinch her arm to make her purring stop.

As she walked up to the garage, men stopped and stared at her. It was disconcerting, especially since the looks they were giving her weren't the typical looks that she expected a female in heat would get. She knew she was at her sexiest, so why were they all staring at her with a mixture of wariness and unease?

It was because she was a liger. It was stamped into every ounce of her being – different. Tiger women were normally tall and strong, but Estrella was taller and stronger than everyone else. Hell, she was taller than most of the tiger men. What, did they think she'd hold them down and take advantage of them? Sully their innocence? An amused smile curved her mouth. Judging from the wariness on their faces, maybe they thought that after all. Ignoring the men, she headed into the waiting area of Vic's Garage, closing her eyes for the blast of heat that would keep the room a comfortable temperature for the human and not-going-into-heat customers.

She'd prepared for the heat wave of seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit inside, but she hadn't been prepared for the barrage of tiger scents as she opened the door. She was familiar with most of the clan; these smelled different.

Different tigers? In the Barlow territory? Her uterus gave an excited little quiver of anticipation. Estrella's fingers curled and she crossed her arms over her breasts, lest her nipples betray exactly how she was feeling. Three men sat at the far end of the waiting room, talking quietly amongst each other. Their backs were to her, but as the door closed behind her, they turned...and stood.

Three men. Black hair. Two were about her height; the third was taller than her by an inch or two. They were all her age.

Her mouth went dry.

The door to Vic's office opened. "'Strella. Good. You're here. You saved me a phone call. Come in so we can talk."

Her body protested leaving the men behind, but she forced herself to turn around and face Vic. Of course, as soon as he came into her sights, she was drawn to him like a magnet. God, he was strong and fierce. The liger side of her liked the thought of having a fierce mate. She needed a man who would stand up to her, take charge when she needed him to, defend their territory…

She clenched her fists, willing the thought to go away. Vic was not going to be her mate. Not. He'd be horrified if he knew she was fantasizing about him. Hadn't he said at the speed mating event that he wasn't looking for a mate? The last thing he needed was her coming on to him because she thought he'd make some good looking babies.

When she walked into the office, he shut the door behind her. She delicately flared her nostrils, taking in his scent. Oh hell, he smelled amazing. Like hand soap and a hint of sweat and axle grease under that. It shouldn't have been such a turn on, but her claws were threatening to come out. The heat was getting worse, and she was out of prospects at the moment. Surely that was why she was going wild for her alpha.

"Vic, I'm desperate," she blurted, and it came out breathier and far more erotic than she'd imagined.

He froze in place.

"Not like that," she amended quickly. At least, not yet. "I need your help. For the heat." Oh god, she was blushing. "Not like that, either," she said when he raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean, I need help finding someone–"

"I know. Sit."

His voice was commanding; she immediately moved to the nearest chair and plopped into it, curving her long legs underneath, waiting for him to speak.

"Last night after the speed mating, I made a few phone calls to the other tiger clans. Told them what we – what you – were looking for in a candidate. And while I can't guarantee that any of them are into a long-term relationship, I want you to at least have a few options for your child that don't involve hooking up with the nearest were-badger. Or worse, a human." He leveled a hard gaze at her.

She felt herself grow flushed, sweat breaking out on her forehead. "Am I that obvious?"

"Yes," he said bluntly. "But I'm glad you came to me."

So were her ovaries. Especially when he said the word 'came'. Estrella clenched a hand over her stomach.

"It's obvious you're going to go into heat very soon. I've sent the rest of the clan out of town for the week, just until we're sure that you've covered all your bases. I also talked to the lion alpha – since you're half of each – and he's sending his boys out hunting in East Texas just to be safe. Unless you had your eye on one of them?"

She shook her head. She knew the local lions and they hadn't exactly been friendly. Or accepting. They were not even a choice for her. Her child would be fully accepted by his or her clan.

"Okay then. I've flown three males from other tiger clans into town. I want you to take a few days and talk to each one of them. Let me know what your thoughts are. Find out which one is best for you and the baby."

Suddenly she was weepy. "You did this for me?"

"Of course. I'm your alpha. If you have a problem, you come to me, and we fix it. I'm here for you."

Tears flooded her eyes. God, she was emotional lately. But just hearing that from Vic, well...it was something she'd needed to hear. She'd never felt more alone than this last week, being treated like a leper amongst men. Knowing that Vic was going out of his way to make this as smooth for her as possible? It made her giddy with happiness.

It also made her incredibly emotional.

Vic noticed her blubbering, and came around his desk with a sigh. "Don't cry, 'Strella. I can't stand to see you upset."

"It's just...I'm always just..." so alone, she wanted to say, but the words lodged themselves in her throat. A tiger wouldn't know what it was like to be alone simply because you were born a half breed. As one of the Barlows, Vic wouldn't know what it was like to be abandoned by your father, lose your mother. She was always so lonely.

Until now.

He knelt in front of her chair and put his arms around her, awkwardly patting her back. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled her head against his shoulder, tucking her nose against his neck. It was fast becoming her favorite position with him, because it allowed her to take the most furtive sort of sniff of his scent. Not just his scent, but his skin–

"Did you just sniff me?"

Estrella bolted backward, flushing. "It's the heat."

"Uh huh." He looked more amused than annoyed, though. “If you don’t want to go through with this, just say so.”

“I kind of don’t have a choice. My vagina’s already prepping for the Shifter Superbowl.” And she sniffed, loudly.

He stiffened against her.

“Sorry.”

“Just glad I wasn’t holding any wine this time,” he grumbled.

She gave a teary giggle at that.

“’Strella…You know I’m always here for you.”

Yeah, but my brain keeps going to weird, dirty places when you’re trying to be supportive. So she said nothing.

He gave her another little pat on the shoulder. "Why don't you go out and say hello to my cousins before you start crying again?"

She nodded, then impulsively reached out and hugged him again. Why had she ever thought Vic scary? Under that fearsome exterior was the heart of a big pussycat.

Literally.

It might have been her imagination, but the hug went on for longer than she'd expected. She pulled away and glanced up at his face. Same old Vic. Must have been her imagination.

"Thank you," she told him one more time.

He waved her toward the door, the look on his face grim.

As she stepped through the door, she could have sworn she heard something crash in the room. She turned around to look, but then tiger scents were in her nostrils, and she was surrounded by three young, virile tiger males, and Estrella forgot everything else.

* * *

In what could only be described as the world's most awkward quadruple date, Estrella took the three men out to lunch at the local barbecue pit. Her stomach was growling for food, and barbecue was a favorite with shifters – you could put away a ton of meat and no one said a thing about it. Estrella drove, and when she offered to pay for lunch, no one put up a word of protest. For some reason, that stuck in her craw. This was feeling a bit like she was auditioning for stud service.

Well, hell. That was exactly what she was doing.

Estrella's heart sank. Vic had made it clear that the guys probably didn't want a relationship, but if she wanted a baby that would be fully tiger clan, fully accepted, these three were her best chance. So she smiled and listened politely as they talked.

Two of the men were brothers. Nelson Maher was an electrician, twenty-nine, and single. His brother Montgomery Maher was twenty six, an X-ray technician, and single.

She immediately crossed Montgomery off the list. Too many X-rays, she told herself. What if her baby came out with radiation poisoning? Worse, what if he'd fried his junk by standing too close to the camera? For some reason, the thought of having sex with a sterile man repulsed her. Hell, if she was going to have sex for fun's sake, she wanted someone more like Vic…

She shut down that train of thought immediately and turned to Nelson. "So, what do you like to do in your spare time?”

Estrella could have sworn he flexed, just a bit. "I do some rock climbing and work out at the gym," Nelson said between bites of barbecue. "I like to stay fit.”

She brightened at that. "You do? That's terrific. Did Vic tell you? I teach yoga and fill in as the Zumba instructor at my gym."

Nelson gave his brother a sideways glance that seemed a bit too competitive, and turned his smile on her. "Well now, I like to do real exercising. You know, get a sweat going." That time, he definitely flexed. "Bench presses and the like."

She bristled at his tone. "I see." Well, she could cross Nelson off the list. Arrogant prick. Like the father of her child was going to be condescending about what she did for a living. She was probably in better shape than Nelson was, if his muscle – or lack thereof – was any indication. "You must have just started lifting recently," she said sweetly. "When will you start to see results?"

Nelson frowned.

Montgomery smothered a laugh behind a mouthful of barbecue, which made her appreciate him a bit more. Shame about the possible sterility.

She turned to the third man. Tall. A bit on the lean side but still fit. Quiet, but good looking enough. He had pleasant features and serious eyes. "You're not speaking," she told him, forcing the smile to stay on her face.

He gave her an almost shy nod. "Cory."

"That's a nice name," she said conversationally.

"Cory Janitor," Montgomery broke in with a smirk. "You want your kid to be named Janitor?"

"I...what? Really?" She gave Cory a startled look. His bright red flush told her everything.

Oh. Oh no. If she were picking men for selfish, silly reasons...a horrible last name was definitely up there on things to avoid, in case her child wanted to hyphenate their last names at a later date. "I'm sure there's nothing wrong with that," she said politely. "So what do you do for a living, Cory?"

He shrugged. "I'm a manager at Super Burger."

"When he's not smoking weed in his parents' basement," Montgomery said with a snort. Cory elbowed him and gave a nervous laugh.

These were her prospects? A misogynistic narcissist, a possibly sterile asshole, and a pothead with the last name of Janitor?

Three men and she didn't want any of them. Estrella didn't think the day could get any more depressing.

* * *

To be fair – and because she didn't have any other options – she gave them the weekend. Against her better judgment, she went out on dates with all three and tried to make the best of things. After all, she didn't have to marry the guy, right? He just had to get her pregnant.

Even after her date, she couldn't stand Nelson. He was polite enough, and he held doors open for her and acted like a gentleman. He was also controlling and a bit too old fashioned for her taste. They'd gone to a restaurant – his pick, since her pick wasn't 'any good' according to him. Once there, he'd promptly ordered for her before she'd had a chance to look at the menu, and when she'd tried to order a cocktail, he'd told her that he didn't find it appropriate for ladies to drink in public.

Of course, when she'd snarled at him, he'd changed his tune.

Montgomery was not much better. They'd gone out to a restaurant; the exact same one that Nelson had taken her to. Once there, Montgomery had grilled her about his brother. Had she liked Nelson? Had he purchased her dinner or had they gone dutch? Did she think his brother was the better-looking one? Everything seemed to be a competition between the two of them, and that was a major turnoff for her. She just imagined trying to sleep with the man. He'd probably quiz her on his technique and ask her who her best had been. Nor did she want to subject her future child to a lifetime of his father's competitiveness.

Cory had taken her to a bowling alley, and they'd played a few games while chatting. To her surprise, she genuinely liked Cory. He was nice, low-key, and easygoing. He was also a pothead who lived in his parents' basement, but she supposed she couldn't have everything.

Too bad his last name was Janitor.

Cory was nice enough, but just because he was the lesser of three evils didn't mean that she wanted to have his baby. After the bowling date, she headed back to her apartment – alone – and stared at her phone, debating. After a moment, she sighed.

In desperation, she called the dating agency one more time.

In what seemed to be par for the course, she got Ryder's voicemail. "Hi there! You've reached the desk of Ryder St. James," a perky voice chirped. "I'm unavailable to take your call at the moment, but leave me a message and your account number and I'll call you back as soon as possible. Have a super day!"

"Hey, um, Ryder? I don't remember my account number, but this is Estrella Townsend. The liger that's about to go into heat. I'm guessing you don't have many of those at the agency so I'm hoping you'll remember who I am. Anyhow, I wanted to say that I didn't mark down anyone on my card at the speed mating the other night, but..." She sighed, hating herself for even bringing it up. "But I was wondering if anyone marked me down. If so, can you let me know? I'm willing to reconsider dating anyone who put me down. Anyhow, call me back." Estrella rattled her number off and then hung up, hating that she'd had to stoop to this.

Pickings were definitely slim and getting slimmer all the time. Maybe she needed to make a list of attributes she was looking for in a man, and then she could narrow down her (rather sparse) selection. After all, she could always go turkey baster and raid a sperm bank or something, she supposed, but that wouldn't help with her heat much. She needed to have sex, period.

Her apartment was too warm. Fanning herself with a notebook, Estrella opened all the windows, letting the icy winter air breeze in. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Maybe she could make her list while having a nice, relaxing, chilly soak in the tub to bring her internal temperature down a bit.

Estrella undressed and filled the tub, adding some bubble bath. She gave a soft sigh of pleasure when she soaked her limbs in the cool water. It immediately felt better. Picking up her paper again, she tapped her lip with the pen and considered.

If she was man-shopping for herself, she liked tall men. Dark hair. Muscles. A little bit dangerous. Someone with a take-charge kind of personality who wouldn't be overbearing or condescending. She liked a man who knew what he wanted, but trusted her enough to make her own decisions and wouldn't try to override her. She wrote down a few notes, then considered. Tattoos? For some reason she'd found tattoos sexy lately...

She froze in the icy water, and stared at her list. Dark hair. Muscles. Tall. Tattoos. Take charge.

Vic. It was all Vic.

Damn it. She tossed the notebook and pen to the far end of the bathroom and sank into the tub, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. She supposed she could lie to others but not to herself. Did she really want Vic that badly? When had her appreciation for him turned to full-blown desire?

It was bad to want your alpha. Bad bad bad. It mucked up a relationship that she couldn't afford to muck up. Things were awkward enough for her as one of the few females in the tiger clan. Mix in her liger heritage and things were already weird. Crushing on her alpha? Just made things even worse.

Her hand slid to her belly under the water, and she stared down at her naked body through the bubbles. She'd always thought she was pretty sexy, if it weren't for the height thing. Would a guy like Vic find someone like her attractive? Estrella raised one long leg into the air, studying it. Her muscles were tight, her skin tanned. She had a good body. Average face, maybe, but a good body.

Now Vic, he had an amazing body. She pictured his big, muscular arms, rippling with tattoos, and a shiver of desire flashed through her. Her hand slid lower, to her sex.

It was just the heat that was making her so turned on, she told herself. Passing phase. Even so, she pictured Vic's strong, muscular arms and her fingers slid between the lips of her sex, finding her clit. She was already aching with need; the heat gave her a hair-trigger reaction to anything sexual. A quick stroke of her fingers and she sucked in a breath. This...was not helping her ridiculous crush on Vic.

And yet. She couldn't resist sliding her fingers over her clit again and then circling the sensitive bud with sudden, sure moves. The heat that was making her crazy unleashed like a hurricane, and within seconds, she was gasping through the waves of a powerful orgasm, her other hand clenching on the side of the tub, splashing water over the side with the force of her movements.

The force of it rocked her to her core. She'd had sex before. She'd definitely had orgasms. But never quite like that. All that for a few quick brushes of her fingers? Jeez. When she finally found the man to father her child, she was going to tear him apart.

That left out humans and smaller shifters for sure. Estrella sank deeper into the frigid waters. Her choices seemed to be narrowing by the minute.

* * *

By the time she finally got out of the tub, her apartment was a comfortable 42 degrees, her orgasm was a distant memory, and her skin was beginning to itch with desire again. Instead of sating the urge inside her, the furtive masturbation in the tub had only made things worse. As she toweled off her skin, she groaned every time the terry-cloth of the fabric brushed against her.

This was not going to work. She needed to burn off some energy. Best cure for that as a shifter was to either have lots of sweaty sex, or to shift and go for a run in animal form.

And since she couldn't do anything about the former, the latter would have to do.

Estrella dressed as gingerly as possible and then grabbed her keys and phone, heading out of her apartment and to her car. There was a definite icy bite to the weather, the skies, overcast. The sun was just about to go down, dropping the temperature further, which would be welcome given her state of mind. She would love a cold snap.

Jumping into her car, she dialed Vic's number as she drove.

"Everything okay?" he asked as soon as he picked up.

"Fine," she said, then exhaled sharply. Had her nipples just hardened at the sound of his voice? Jesus. She was a mess. "I'm coming over for a run. Be there in five."

"I'll run with you," he said, and hung up before she could protest.

Damn it. Bad enough that she had to call and let him know that she needed to run. As shifters that stood out like sore thumbs amongst the local wildlife, they didn't have the freedoms that the badgers, the foxes, or even the were-cougars did. A normal person would probably panic if they saw a badger or a were-cougar. They'd certainly call the cops if they saw a tiger – and the media would go wild. One of the Barlows had the clever idea of a big cat rescue project as a cover for their clan. So, when they needed to run, they headed out to Little Paradise and Kenna Barlow's farm. Kenna was Vic's sister.

She parked in Kenna's yard and didn't bother to head in to introduce herself – Kenna was used to the tiger clan prowling around at all hours and wouldn't bother to check on her. Instead, she glanced around for Vic's car. No sign of it yet. Damn. She lifted the floor mat and tossed her keys and phone underneath it, then headed to the gate on the side of the farmhouse.

The need to shift into liger form was bristling through her skin. Vic wouldn't like it if she took off on her run without him, especially after he'd told her that he was on his way. You didn't piss off your alpha with stupid, passive-aggressive moves like that. Not if you valued your place in the clan. If there was one thing Estrella didn't mess with, it was her tenuous spot in the clan.

Of course, nothing said she couldn't go ahead and shift herself. It would probably be better, considering her nipples would stand at attention as soon as Vic came into view, and she'd probably start giving off the scent of a cat in heat. With those embarrassing thoughts flaring through her mind, she hastily stripped out of her clothing and tossed it into a pile near the barbed-wire fence. Then, she crouched low in the grass and waited for the transformation.

It came a few moments later, ripping through her with a force that was almost orgasmic. God, it felt good to switch to her liger form. Yawning, she lazily stretched her large paws out in front of her, arching her back. Her tail flicked back and forth. She smacked her chops a few times, the scents of the night more powerful now that she'd shifted, the lighting as clear as day despite the sun’s disappearance. The scents of the trees in the distance filled her nostrils, and she looked at them with longing, then sighed and flopped her large body to the ground, waiting.

Vic pulled up a few minutes later, just when her patience was reaching its breaking point. Good. Casually, she lifted a paw and began to wash it, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary as Vic entered the gate and then shut it behind him. He gave her an amused look. "Sorry I'm late."

She ignored him, licking the pads of one foot as if it were the most fascinating thing ever. Her tail twitched.

"There was a cop behind me, so I had to go the speed limit all the way here," he explained, then grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked it over his head, exposing rock-hard abs and more tattoos.

Estrella froze, mid-paw-lick. Okay. Okay. She could do this. She knew Vic had all those yummy tattoos and washboard abs. She'd seen him naked dozens of times. She'd seen every shifter in her clan naked dozens of times. So why was Vic's delicious body driving her wild now? She dropped her paw, and her claws curled. She might have kneaded the grass with her claws a little while he stripped out of his jeans and tossed his clothing over hers.

Damn. She had to do something about this, she realized as he began to change.

Even when her heat was taken care of, this infatuation with Vic was going to continue to be a problem.

* * *

"It's embarrassing," Estrella told Jayde over coffee. "As soon as I see him, my kitty goes wild. And this time, I'm not referring to my liger."

Jayde snorted and stirred her iced latte vigorously with her straw. Her bracelets jangled with her movements. "So did you tackle him in the woods and show him your wild side?"

Estrella sighed. "No. I ran like a chicken. Did my liger thing and avoided him as much as humanly possible."

"Pathetic."

"I know."

"You should tell him you like him," Jayde said. The tip of the straw disappeared between her bright pink lips, and she slurped loudly. Jayde was a good friend, but she didn't know the meaning of low-key. Even now. They were having a quiet morning coffee between friends. Estrella was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. Jayde wore a neon green mini-dress with a ruffled hem and enough bracelets to make a jewelry store pause. Her long black hair was pulled up in a high ponytail. "You want him, right? Just tell him. I bet he'll be flattered."