I had one of those—the potential for one at least—and I walked away. Back here. I got what I wanted.

Maybe that’s why this feels like a letdown, not a victory.

I shove away my messy emotions, roll over, and splay out on the sheets like a starfish—spent and satisfied.

So, that’s sex.

Voices wake me. I blink, trying to orient myself in the strange surroundings. The room is dark. I roll onto my back. The twinge between my legs breaks through the fog of sleep.

I fell asleep in Gray Phillips’s bed after having sex with him.

If only my younger self could see me now. She’d be so proud. For a while, that was the only item on my bucket list.

More details trickle in. I’m in bed alone. And naked.

I strain to hear what the distant voices are saying, but all I can make out is the timbre. It’s enough to recognize them though, since they’re both familiar ones. Gray and Emmett.

Will he tell Emmett about me? I doubt it, since he didn’t want to go anywhere we might be seen together. Didn’t want Noah to know. I don’t think he planned for me to sleep here either. I must have fallen asleep before he came back to his room.

Footsteps sound.

“Yeah. Night, man.” Gray’s voice is louder. Closer.

I turn back onto my side, trying to keep my breathing deep and even. The door opens and closes. The bed dips as he climbs back into it. I keep my eyes closed.

I’m not sure if I fall back asleep before I become aware of light. I crack one eye open, then both. The sun hasn’t risen. Gray is lying beside me, typing on his phone. I read the messages appearing on the screen, just inches from my face.

“What are you doing?”

He startles, not realizing I’m awake. “Nothing. Go back to sleep.”

“You’re arranging a hookup?” I say it like a question, but it’s not one. I’m looking at the evidence.

His jaw flexes as the accusation in my voice registers. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to, Evie.”

Shock stills me for a minute. I know Gray has slept—sleeps—around. I didn’t expect this.

“Wow. I thought I’d seen you at maximum asshole. Con-fucking-grats on outdoing yourself, Gray.”

At first, his only response is a sigh. “You knew what this was. I’m not a rose petals on the sheets kind of guy.”

I laugh, but it’s not a happy sound. “No. You’re the kind of guy who plans your next hookup while the last one is still in your bed.”