Free One Night Forever (The Cinderella Chronicles) by Lisa Renée Jones Page B

she’d hung on to it for so long, she really didn’t know. The
sooner she ridded herself of evidence of that night with Matt the
better.
    Cat opened the door and
looked surprised. She was wearing a black velvet sweat suit and
holding a piece of pizza. “Could you smell it clear across
town?”
    “ No,” Lauren
said, “but yes I’d love a couple slices.” It didn’t matter she’d
had it for lunch. She’d hardly tasted it. Matt had been too
distracting.
    Suddenly, a man appeared
behind Cat. A very attractive one. Tall with blond hair that was
below the collar. This wasn’t a man who fit into Cat’s father’s
world. That meant he was exactly what Cat wanted. She always did
exactly the opposite of what her father expected.
    “ Hey,” the
blond guy said. “You must be Lauren.”
    Lauren’s brows dipped.
“Why must I be Lauren?” she asked, wondering who had been in Cat’s
life long enough to make a statement like that. And, why didn’t she
already know about him.
    “ Come inside,”
Cat said and took another bite of pizza. She backed away from the
entrance. “This is Chris,” she said, indicating the sexy guy by
pointing her pizza at him. “He’s an artist. We met last night at
the West Side Gallery showing. “
    This was strange. Chris
had been around less than twenty-four hours and already he knew her
name. What the heck had Cat been telling a complete stranger about
her?
    “ I won’t stay
long,” Lauren said, figuring three was a crowd. Lauren indicated
the outfit in her hand. “I just wanted to return this.”
    Entering the apartment,
Lauren felt a renewed awareness for the glossy hardwoods and
expensive décor. It reminded her of Matt and how different his
world was from her own. He belonged with someone like Cat.
Comfortable at her best friend’s place despite the pricey
surroundings, Lauren walked to the bedroom and toward the
closet.
    Cat followed. “A year
ago,” she said from behind. “You borrowed it a year
ago.“
    Lauren deposited the
outfit on the rack and turned to see Cat hand her pizza to Chris.
“Why the rush to get it to me now?” Cat said, planting her hands in
her hips.
    “ No rush,”
Lauren said, eyeing Chris. No way was she talking with some Chris
around. He might be hot but he was still a total stranger of the
male sex. Not exactly girl-talk material. So, that left Lauren no
option. She lied. “The dry cleaners called. They were ready to
throw it out if I didn’t pick it up.”
    “ Whatever,”
Cat said and walked to the bed and sat down. She patted the area
beside her. “Come talk.”
    Lauren stood there. Had
her best friend gone insane? She wasn’t talking in front of blond
guy. Cat’s eyes narrowed and then went to Chris. “Get lost, will
you?”
    Chris stood in the
doorway watching, shoulder leaning against the frame. A slow smile
turned up the corner of his lips. “Ah,” he said. “You want to talk
about me.” He winked and turned away.
    Cat rolled her eyes and
looked at Lauren. “Talk about him?” she said with irritation. “What
an ego. Let’s just hope he lives up to it in bed.”
    Lauren let her hands hit
her legs and walked toward Cat. “How can you be so flippant about
sex?”
    “ Why do you
have to be so damn serious all the time?”
    Lauren didn’t know what
came over her. Suddenly, her mouth opened and nastiness just came
out. “I have bills to pay and a mother to take care of. All of us
can’t live the good life and never have to sweat over a dollar. One
day you’re going to get a wake-up call. You can’t live for the
moment and not have regrets later.”
    Cat opened her mouth and
shut it again. Then, after a moment, “I’m going to pretend you
didn’t say that.“
    “ Why?” Lauren
asked. “Because it’s the truth you don’t want to hear?”
    A low sound of
frustration came from Cat’s lips. “Just fuck him and get it over
with. I don’t like what this is doing to you.”
    “ I don’t want
to ‘fuck’ him.”
    “ Oh