Free Playing With Power - Book 2: New Adult Office Romance by Adele Huxley

tub.”
    “It just popped into my mind but pretty much, yeah, I’m a nerd. Most of my job is looking for ways to optimize things. Faster, smaller, slicker.”
    “You own it. I like that.” He ran his wet fingers through his hair and sat up. “I can’t stand women that pretend to be vapid around men, as if that’s something we want.”
    “I think most girls have a phase like that, mostly in high school but college was the exact opposite for me. I fought for people to acknowledge my intelligence and not my gender. You remember Sahra Gilson from the conference yesterday?” Landon rolled his eyes and nodded. “She was actually pretty clever in school but decided it was easier to get the boys to do it for her. I guess that in itself is clever but I could never.”
    “It’s a cheap trick that she won’t be able to use much longer. You’ve got the real skills. It’s rare to find someone who is both intelligent and socially fluent. It’s a powerful combination. People like you run the world. I hope you’re planning on taking over the world one day.”
    “Oh god, I don’t know about that,” she laughed. “I’m afraid all the power would go to my head.”
    “Look at you two all snug in there,” Dane called out as he approached. Ali was two steps behind securing her hair with an elastic. With a secret smile and bright pink face, Lauren instantly knew she’d just given him a taste of what was to come later.
    They each took a corner of the hot tub, Ali sitting diagonally across from Lauren, Landon to her left and Dane to her right. Snug was a good word. Between buoyancy and the powerful jets, it was difficult to stay in one place. Legs tangled in the center, feet found their way to awkward crevices, but it added to the sensual mood already brewing. They chatted about the party and the rest of the weekend. Lauren discovered that Dane and Landon had been roommates just after college in Berkeley but now Dane owned a rock climbing gym and also played bass in a local band. Oh here we go, Ali’s gonna fall in love with this one. He and Landon were incredibly funny together and before long, Lauren’s stomach hurt from laughing.
    “You really don’t want me telling any stories about Dane, trust me.”
    “Dane doesn’t want you telling any stories about Dane!”
    “No, I have to hear these stories. I know! Let’s play Never Have I Ever,” Ali declared.
    “Oh come on, Llama. That’s as bad as Spin the Bottle.”
    “I don’t think I’ve ever played it,” Landon said looking at her with a mischievous grin.
    “Yay! It’s easy. Basically we all take turns saying something we’ve never done but suspect someone else in the group has. Buuuut if you have done it, you have to drink. For example, I’d say ‘Never have I ever had sex in a rowboat’ and she’d have to drink.” Both men looked at Lauren with something akin to surprised approval.
    “Thanks,” Lauren said sarcastically.
    “Okay, this is happening. I’m getting drinks,” Dane said leaping out of the water.
    “Just grab the cooler! It has a load of beers in it still,” Landon called after him.
    Lauren kicked Ali under the water. “Okay, we’ll play but on one condition. You aren’t allowed to bring up you-know-what.” She flashed her eyes and gave her a knowing look, as if trying to communicate telepathically.
    “The thing that happened with the stuff on the you-know-where?” Ali said with a frown.
    “No...well, that too, but the other thing. The one that ended up in the ER...”
    “Oh yeah! Okay, fair enough. Nothing about my time with you-know-who then. Like, literally nothing from that period of my life.”
    “That doesn’t give me many options, hon.”
    Landon had been looking at each girl in turn as they spoke, finally interrupting with, “Yeah, so what game do we play where I get to hear those stories? Those ones sound good.”
    Dane returned and handed out a can of beer to each person, wheeling the cooler close to the