Damn it. What should he do?

“Why don’t we go out? I have a babysitter, and I think Audrey and Tate want to go.”

“Sure,” he said, even though he had no desire to go out. Claire was home tonight; he should go and sit with her, but she was studying for mid-terms and said she couldn’t be bothered. That was why he was at Erik’s, to give her peace, and maybe that was good because the more Piper kept smiling, the more he knew he had to get her drunk and find out what she heard.

And then beg her not to tell Reese.

And then ask her what she thought he should do.

Because he had no clue.

“Nice of you to answer my calls!”

Reese let out a breath. “You called six times in a row. Then you were smart and called me from Erik’s phone, so yeah, I answered. I’m guessing everyone is okay?”

“Oh everyone is fine, why are you screening and ignoring calls?”

Reese shrugged, pulling her sweatshirt down. “No reason, just being lazy. Been working hard, we have Chicago coming up for competition.”

It was all a lie. She was tired and being lazy, but Chicago wasn’t the reason she was ignoring everyone calls. Chicago may be huge for the studio, but it was a cakewalk for her dancers. They always dominated, and she was actually surprised that Piper seemed to believe her lie.

“That’s cool. Yeah, I thought maybe you were upset or something.”

“Why would I be upset?”

“You sound upset, and I haven’t seen you in two weeks.”

“Yeah, I’ve been busy. I’m fine. Great even. Ready for Chicago.”

“That’s wonderful. I’m glad, but it would still be nice to see you. What have you been up to, other than working?”

Absolutely nothing.

“Oh you know, the regular stuff.”

She laughed. “Do I even want to know how many men you’ve been messing with?”

Zero, but who was counting? Oh no, wait, she took that back, Ben and Jerry counted, right? That was two!

Reese laughed to cover up the fact she wanted to cry. She never cried. Never over a guy, except for Kevin. He was the only guy she had ever cried over as an adult, and then Phillip comes along and it was like he ripped her apart when she told him to leave. Why did it hurt so much? Why did she care? She told him to leave and instead of living the way she had been, she had been holed up in her apartment. She was a sad excuse for a single woman.

“You know how I am.”

Piper paused, and Reese didn’t know why. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said quickly, maybe too quickly.

“Yeah, well, come out with us tonight. We are going to go party it up for the night since Mom has Dimitri. I think Harper is going, maybe even Elli and Shea.”

Ugh. Reese did not want to leave her couch, but she knew Piper was on to her. She did not need her sister coming to her house and discovering that she had become one of those people from Hoarders. Ben and Jerry tubs laid all over every surface. She had been wearing the same sweatshirt since he walked out of her apartment.

His sweatshirt.

Ugh, she was like a heartbroken teen, and it didn’t make any f**king sense! She kicked him out, she didn’t want what he did and, now, all she wanted was to call him and beg him to come back. Why though? She didn’t want a relationship. She didn’t want a man in her life… but she wanted Phillip.

God, she was f**ked in the head.

Letting her head fall back, she let out a breath. “I don’t know.”

“What? Why don’t you know? You are never one to turn down a party! Come on, it will be fun.”

“I’m being lazy.”

“Boo whore, get up.”

“Did you just go Mean Girls on me?”

“To the fullest, don’t make me come over there.”

“You’re a bitch.”

“I love you more; see you at the Cowboy at nine! Tootles!”

The line went dead, and Reese made a face. Tootles? Her sister was a dork. Dropping her phone, she stood up and watched as candy wrappers fell from her lap.

Well, shit.

With a shrug, she went to the bathroom and took a hot shower, making sure to scrub and shave before going to her closet. Standing in a towel, she looked at her many dresses. She hadn’t been out in weeks. Hadn’t done anything, and she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. Maybe the reason she wasn’t letting Phillip go was because she hadn’t tried. Maybe tonight, she needed to try. She could get her a hot guy, bring him home, ride him like a horse, and not only feel better, but show her sister that she was just fine. Yeah, that was what she was going to do.

Reaching for her favorite black lace dress, she slid it up her body and admired herself in the mirror. She had put on weight, which was inevitable with as much sweets as she had been eating, but it was mostly in her ass, which was good. The sheer black lace covered her arms, went up around her neck, and covered her back, stopping right above her ass. Black fabric made the skirt, and there was strip that went across her breast but wasn’t in the back, showing off her tattoo perfectly.

She reached for her favorite pair of nude Jimmy Choo pumps and slid them on before going into the bathroom to finish getting ready. She was trying too hard she realized, as she straightened her hair and put her makeup on to perfection, but she couldn’t risk it. Piper saw through her like a window, and she didn’t want her sister knowing she was aching inside. Especially since it was over a guy she pushed away.