Chapter 22: Radical Honesty

Natalie looked good in a burnt yellow two-piece.

She’d always been stacked, but this outfit made her into a piece of art. The top of her bikini consisted of two pieces of yellow fabric that covered most of her breasts, but the straps crossed her chest before wrapping around her neck. It meant that her breasts were lifted and cinched, giving her cleavage a depth it usually lacked when left unrestrained. A blood-orange skirt wrapped around her waist, obscuring the other piece of the suit, but left a slit up the side, showing off a beautiful amount of thigh and hip. A few bangles dangled from one wrist and matched the gold hoops she wore in her ears.

Erin escorted Natalie to me, both of them looking my way occasionally as they talked to each other. Natalie laughed at something Erin said, which was a green flag. Considering Erin was one of the most important people in my life, having Natalie like her meant a lot to me.

“Hey, boss!” Erin said as they approached me. “Guess who I found hanging out inside!?”

“Glad you could make it!” I said, grinning at her as I gave her a once-over.

Fuck. She was gorgeous. It always astounded me how Natalie never seemed tempted to follow in the footsteps of so many other women with above-average looks. She could have easily had as many followers as Venus or one of the other girls. She possessed a unique blend of African and Native American heritage that made her beauty truly exotic. Her almond-shaped eyes could destroy me with a look, and I wanted to drown in eyes so dark that you could barely distinguish irises from pupils. Her lips were gorgeous and perfect for so many illicit things.

Her long hair was piled on top of her head, leaving her graceful neck bare. I wanted to chase its gentle slope with my tongue.

I tried not to be too obvious as I stared back at her, but there was no doubt that both ladies noticed me eyeing Natalie like I was a starving man confronted with a seven-course meal. No one could blame me ... especially after that dream.

Only ... now, I had the real thing standing in front of me.

“Thanks for inviting me,” she said, glancing at the ground before cutting her eyes up at me. It made her look bashful, which was so strange considering how long we’d known each other.

Erin placed her hand on the small of Natalie’s back and gave her a little nudge. My old friend’s eyes grew wide in surprise as she stumbled forward a step or two before putting a steadying hand on my chest.

“Sorry,” Erin said. “You two are hopeless, so I thought I’d give you a little help.”

Natalie blushed and looked up at me ... her lips dangerously close to mine. “You gonna let her get away with that?”

“It’s part of her job,” I said, glancing back at Erin. She was staring at Natalie’s ass, and her eyes traveled up the woman’s bare back until she caught me watching her. She grinned and mouthed, “If you don’t get between those legs soon, I will!” Then she promptly went back to staring at Natalie’s ass, biting her lip.

I snorted.

“It’s part of her job to shove women at you?” Natalie asked

“Only the ones I like.” I let another few heartbeats pass between us before stepping back to give us a little more space but still held onto her hand. “So, what do you think?”

“Of the place?” Natalie said, looking around. “I’ve been here before.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to you last time.”

Natalie winced. “Yeah. I remember that. Sorry if I came off a little bitchy to ... what was her name?”

“Danni.” I recalled the way those two had been at each other—nothing overt ... just a handful of comments and looks that resembled two alley cats circling each other.

“Ah, yeah,” she said. The way she looked at me with a mixture of apology and playful coyness created a lump in my throat. “She was pretty. Whatever happened to her?”

I could feel it. This was one of those small moments that could contribute to shaping our relationship.

I could take the easy way—gloss over what happened with Danni and make Natalie feel more important. It’s something I would have done a month ago.

Or, I could be honest and give her the real story.

“She wanted something I couldn’t give her,” I admitted, opting for honesty.

“What was that?” Natalie asked.

“My undivided attention,” I sighed. I tried to give her my best lopsided, roguish grin, but I could feel the regret in it. I didn’t want to break Danni’s heart. I didn’t want to break Natalie’s either. I just wasn’t sure I could commit to an exclusive relationship the way Danni had wanted, which was something that Natalie was used to.

She stared back at me, the playful look in her eyes fading a little as she worked through my meaning.

Then she said something that surprised the hell out of me.

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out, but if she wanted things you couldn’t give her, then maybe she just wasn’t meant to be.” She fixed me with a meaningful look and said, “There’s someone out there better.”

And with that, the groundwork had been laid. Without saying it outright, I’d let Natalie know that there wasn’t an exclusive relationship in my future, and she’d just let me know that she was interested despite that.

We spent the next ten minutes catching up over cocktails. She told me a little more about what she’d been doing since I left for Europe, and I gave her a bit more insight into my adventures. As she began to discuss the fallout from her relationship with my brother, I noticed some of the laughter fading from her eyes with each passing moment, replaced by a haunted look.

“Let’s not talk about him right now,” I said. “We have plenty of time to cover that later.”

Our wandering had brought us close to the dance floor, which had become more lively, thanks to Natashya and my sister. Both of them moved with fluid grace and seductive precision. Natashya was currently rubbing her crotch against her girlfriend as her hands lightly brushed down Emily’s sides. Em had her arms lifted high, her curvy frame silhouetted against the last remnants of the day. Her hair tossed from side to side, and she kept throwing glances at her partner as she ground her ass against her.

I’d never known my sister to be that much of a dancer; being around Natashya must have rubbed off on her. Not only did she look like she was enjoying herself, but she was good!

“That’s your sister, right?” Natalie asked, leaning in close and pointing at the pair.

“Yeah,” I said, watching as Jonah and Honey joined them on the dance floor. Jonah wasn’t that great, but Honey more than made up for it. She had more curves than just about anyone else at this party, but she moved with Rose and Natashya’s deftness, and the look on Jonah’s face made it clear that he was aware that he’d scored a girl out of his league.

“That’s Emily,” I continued. “The woman she’s dancing with is her girlfriend!”

“Girlfriend?” Natalie said. “I didn’t know she was a lesbian!”

“Bi,” I corrected. “It’s a recent thing, but they’ve been dating for over a month, and they seem good together.”

By now, Venus had joined the dance floor, along with Kwan and a few others. Venus immediately made her way over to Honey, who was now sandwiched between her boyfriend and the internet influencer. They writhed against the curvy blonde, treating her like royalty, every grind ... every look a tribute.

“How do you know all these people?” Natalie asked.

“Ah...”

Once again, I found myself hesitant to answer. It would mean revealing more than I was comfortable with and risking that she’d see me as just another misogynistic pig ... especially after Tyler. My knee-jerk instinct was to obfuscate.

But if I wanted to give this a shot—if I wanted Natalie to see the real shape of my life—I needed to lead with radical, unapologetic honesty.

“Well, you know Jonah,” I said. Natalie nodded. She’d met the guys a few times. “I met Venus at my last party. I think she’s starting to get serious with one of my lawyers. Honey and Natashya...”

I glanced at Natalie to see her staring up at me curiously while slurping on the straw in her drink, and I took a moment to appreciate how starkly beautiful she could be even when she wasn’t trying, sometimes hovering between classically gorgeous and girl-next-door good looks.

“I had a bad Friday,” I continued, “so Erin took me to a high-end strip club. I met Honey and Natashya there ... and ended up spending the weekend with them.”

Natalie blinked and spit out the straw. “You spent the entire weekend with two strippers?”

“Three,” I corrected. “Rose is around here somewhere. And Erin ... and Danni.”

“You spent the weekend with three strippers, your assistant, and the girl you were dating!?”

Radical honesty.

“Yeah,” I said as unapologetically as I could.

“Jesus, Marcus. You’re cute, but I didn’t know you had that kind of game!”

“Oh,” I said, “trust me. I don’t. It’s the money ... and Erin. They made it all happen.”

She gave me a long side-eye. “Hm,” she said, her mouth twisting in thought.

“Is it a problem?” I asked.

“No!” She said quickly. “Why would it be?”

“No reason,” I said, eyeing her closely. I couldn’t tell whether she was trying to hide jealousy and judgment or if she was genuinely accepting of what she was hearing. This whole thing felt a little like some kind of dance, and I didn’t fully understand the rules.

Honey and Venus had started getting into it—to the point where Jonah was looking a little like a third wheel. He bowed out with grace, letting the two flirt and writhe with each other as he made his way over to Natalie and me, wiping his glistening forehead with his sleeve.

“Looks like you’ve got competition,” I said, jutting my chin at Venus.

“I mean,” Jonah said, glancing over his shoulder, “can you blame her?”

Natalie and I both checked her out. Venus was stunning—more curves than Rose or Natashya, but nowhere near as stacked as Honey. She moved with feline grace as she danced around her partner. Her dark brown hair and slightly Greek features made her particularly striking, likely contributing to the nearly one million people who followed her.

“Yeah,” I said. “You might have lost her, buddy.”

“Shame,” Jonah said good-naturedly. “I’m not great at it, but I love a good dance.” He looked back at me. “What about you? Gonna get out there?”

“Maybe in a minute,” I said, holding my drink up—it had about a third left. “If I can find a partner.”