First Taste (The Lust List: Devon Stone #1) (12 page)

He slowly shakes his head. “Wow. Yeah. That’s me. Because there’s no way I could be genuinely interested in you. No, you’re just something I felt like conquering. Please, keep making these assumptions. The double standard here is fucking poetic.”

“You haven’t giving me much else to work with this week.”

“Apparently not.” He gets up and heads back toward the stairs to leave. “And I’m not starting now.”

“So you dumped him?”

It’s Friday afternoon, and Maddie and I are walking down Rodeo Drive eyeing stores I’ve always avoided in the past. “We were never dating, so no…I didn’t exactly
dump
him. But I’m pretty sure things are done for good.”

Maddie pulls me into a tiny boutique called LuxRy. If it weren’t for the credit card Celia gave me, one $700 price tag in here would have had me turning and running. Still, I can’t help but be shocked by how expensive everything is.

“You’ve got to look the part, Liv. Embrace it. Be grateful you get to dress cute. I’m stuck in a uniform that makes me feel like a penguin.”

She sifts through the assortment of gowns with the focus and haste of a professional. “An open door to a guy that spectacular, and you slam it shut.” She shakes her head and pulls a green dress off a rack near the back of the store.

“I’d only intended to, I don’t know, prop the door open with a shoe—put things on hold to make sense of it all.”

She puts the green one back and grabs a second dress—a vivid, dark purple one and holds the gown high to show me. The silky fabric falls like a waterfall down her arm. “Ooh!” She squeals and thrusts the dress toward me. “It’s even on sale. Must be a sign. Go try it on.”

I check the tag. Goody, a bargain at $350. Rolling my eyes at Maddie, I take the dress into a fitting room while she returns to the racks to drool over the gowns she won’t be buying. Trying this thing on is terrifying. It feels too delicate, like I’m going to rip it apart as I squeeze into it. But it’s stronger than it looks, and when I see the result in the mirrors…well, Maddie picked a great dress. Maybe too great. The last thing I want to do is stand out at the party. I’m just there to work, and when it’s over, I never have to go back to that house.

I take a breath and prepare for Maddie’s overreaction. She’s already out there waiting for me, wearing a little black dress that makes her golden hair angelic.

I cross my arms in front of me. “What are you doing?”

“What? I can dream.” She reaches over to me, grabbing my hands and stretching my arms out wide. “But you. You look smokin’.”

“You think so? I feel like…like I’m not wearing anything.” The fabric is cool and thin. Blindfolded, I could almost believe I’m naked. This’ll make for an interesting night surrounded by Hollywood’s finest.

We change back into our commoner’s clothing and check out. I hand my dress to the woman at the register, but instead of taking it, she’s just frozen and staring.

Yeah, I know. I don’t look like someone who can afford this thing, and the truth is I can’t. But hello? I’m right here. Ready to pay.

“I’d like to buy this.” I push the dress even closer to her.

She blinks and steps back, taking the dress like she’s just stepped out of a trance. Maddie and I finish paying and leave the store.

“That was weird. Are we not a high enough status to be shopping in there? Did you see the way she stared at us?”

“She wasn’t eyeing you like you were some second class citizen. She recognized you.” She stops and pulls her phone out. “You saw today’s headline, right?”

“I’m avoiding that stuff.”

Maddie hands me the phone, and I’m staring at a photo of myself. In it, Devon’s holding my hand and leading me onto the yacht. A bright yellow headline screams: “If the Boat’s A’Rockin’ Don’t Come A’Knockin’—Devon Stone Sets Sail with His Newest Love Interest!”

I thrust the phone back at Maddie. “Are they kidding me? As if I didn’t already feel awful about this whole thing, they make it seem like something it definitely is not?”

She laughs and we start walking again. “It’s what they do. They’ve outed you as Devon’s girlfriend. It’s no secret now.”

Click.

That familiar sound of the camera shutter comes from behind us, and I whip my head around to see a man following with a fat, gaudy lens concealing most of his face.

“Dammit. How did I get myself into this?” I shield myself and walk faster.

“By getting involved with Devon Freakin’ Stone, of all people. You need to accept it.”

Click, click.

“No. After last night, I’m not accepting anything.”

She puts an arm around my shoulders. “You don’t really think things are over, do you? You even said yourself that you didn’t break up.”

“Because we were never dating. There was nothing to break up. He’s just…not what I’d thought he’d be.”

“Oh sweetie, this guy’s always been trouble. He’s even got sexy mugshots and—”

Click.

I glare at the paparazzi vulture.
Click
. “I don’t want to talk about it. After the party, I don’t have to see him again, so we’ll just forget about it all.”

She nods and changes the subject. Maddie’s good at knowing when I’m serious about something. And don’t think I haven’t considered what to do about Devon. He haunted me the entire night after we went our separate ways. I had been so pissed, yet I couldn’t stop thinking about him. The way he kissed me. The way he made me feel like I fit right into his world. The way his mouth felt on my thighs. The dreams that came from that alone were enough to drive me mad.

But it was all a joke. With Bryce…we broke up because I couldn’t handle his constant trips to Vegas. He loved gambling. Not that he was addicted or anything, but I felt like it was only a matter of time. I’d calculated the risks of staying with him—thought of all the possible ways it could end terribly—and I knew I’d have to leave him.

The threat I felt back then was purely hypothetical. Devon…it’s all too real. He’d already passed the point of being a deal breaker for me. Now he was just a gorgeous man waving around tons of red flags featuring bold, black print:
Stay away!

“Let’s eat here.” Maddie grabs my hand and pulls me into a deli with no warning. I almost tumble to the ground. “Sorry, I noticed that camera guy was looking down for a second. This was our quick escape.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that. Can you imagine the people who have to deal with that every day of their lives?”

“Yeah,” Maddie says, a dreamy sound in her voice. “It could be fun.”

Of course she’d find the fun in that.

We order food and find a quiet table in a corner, and Maddie picks up where she left off as though the conversation hadn’t ended. “You’re telling me you wouldn’t love the attention from people who think you’re amazing?”

“But I’m not amazing.” I laugh. “If they only knew.”

“Oh, but you are. You’re Devon Stone’s girlfriend.”

I kick her under the table. “I am not—”

“You
are
her.”

A random girl and her friend appear at our table. She pulls out a chair and sits down as if to join us. I don’t even know what to say. Is she serious?

She continues, “I thought it was you. But it wasn’t until she just said it that I realized, like, wow, you
are
her. So what’s he really like? God, he’s so hot. You have no idea how lucky you are.”

“I’m…um…” Just then our food shows up. I have no way out of this.

Maddie stops the server before he places anything down. “Actually, we need that to go. Sorry.”

Thank you. I owe you.
I try to push all my grateful thoughts into her mind. I’m sure she gets it anyway. I still don’t know what to tell these gawking girls, and then—

Click.

The damn photographer’s found us too.

Crawling under the table probably wouldn’t save me, so I’m left with either running away or blocking myself from his view. At least I’ve got Maddie. But she can’t possibly understand why I’m beginning to tremble and can’t seem to catch my breath. No, this is my nightmare, and mine alone.

One of the girls squeals and beams at her friend standing behind her. “Yes! We’ll be in the picture, Zoe. Oh my god. We’ll be in a magazine.” Her friend seems just as excited. They take turns checking each other’s makeup and taking care of stray strands of hair while I duck down in my seat, angling away from the noise of the camera shutter.

Click.
Now when these dimwits speak, they do it with huge, exaggerated smiles. “Ok, now what we really want to know. Like, we’ve seen what he looks like without a shirt. There was even that picture of him in his underwear. But, like…” She lowers her voice but is still grinning like a lunatic. “How
altered
were those photos, if you know what I mean?”

“You know what?” Maddie speaks up for me again. I owe her my life. Seriously, best friend ever. “Her and Devon’s private life is none of your business. So keep using your imagination rather than confronting his girlfriend about personal information.”

No Maddie. You’re supposed to clarify I’m not with him! Set things straight before things grow out of control.

Maddie stands up as the server brings our food in to-go bags. She leans over the sitting girl in an attempt to be more intimidating. “So scurry along now. You two should be happy enough you met her.” I could hug Maddie for being so badass right now, never mind her inaccurate information.

The quieter girl, Zoe, huffs and rolls her eyes. “Whatever. It’s not like they’ll last.”

“Yeah,” the other one says. “Besides, he might see the pictures that guy’s taking, see me, and realize he can do much better.”

Maddie steps even closer to the girl, unafraid of getting right in her face. “
Actually
, they’re very much in love. They’re perfect together. So trust me, there’s nothing…” She dramatically scans the girl up and down. “…
Nothing
you could give him that would come close to how great Olivia is for him.”

Dammit, Maddie.

My alarm goes off for the second time. 5:10. We should have left for the party ten minutes ago, so naturally I’m about to have an aneurysm.

“What the hell’s taking you so long?” Unsteady in heels, I march to Maddie’s room and bang on her door. It swings open, and I find her in front of a mirror adding smoky makeup to her eyes while music blares from her computer. “You’re making us late. I’m about to leave without you.”

“Relax. I’m stuck in this stupid uniform. I have to find some way to stand out.”

She straightens up and turns toward me. She’s sporting the same white blouse and black skirt as the other female staff, but she’s added a thin, silky red scarf and has her hair curled and pulled to one side.

“Adorable,” I say. “Now get in the car before I regret ever getting you the job.”

She snatches a small clutch from her bed. “Somebody’s a bit touchy tonight.”

I ignore her and leave the apartment, impatiently holding the door for her so I don’t have to wait for her to lock up.

Once we’re on the road, she’s checking her red lips in the rearview mirror. “Who do you think we’ll see tonight?”

“Hungry and thirsty people.” My backup alarm for my backup alarm begins to buzz. “Get that for me, please.”

I hear a huff as she reaches over to my bag to find my phone. “Dr. Shannon said—”

“Leave it for Dr. Shannon to say. This has been a weird week, okay?”

“Yes. It’s been a strange and unpredictable few days for you, and yet look, you’re still alive. Still breathing.” She silences the alarm and leans back in her seat.

“That doesn’t mean it’s been easy.” I shouldn’t have to defend myself. My habits don’t affect anybody except myself. Sure, they’ve affected my jobs and relationships and my tendency to lock myself in my room for days at a time, but it’s not hurting anyone else.

“Life isn’t always easy, Liv.” She tangles her hair around her fingers as she starts lecturing me. “We all have our battles, and we all deal with them in different ways. We don’t avoid excitement and life experiences just because of unexpected bumps in the road.”

“Right. And what’s your battle exactly?” Maddie gleefully left home at seventeen, eager to live on her own. She’s beautiful and has a carefree dating life. Her job allows her to have fun and make enough money. I rarely see her in a bad mood, so I can hardly believe she’s dealing with too many demons.