“Lacey, you’re gross.”

“No, I’m just honest.” She laughed. “I bet he wants you to suck on—”

“Lacey,” I groaned. “Please do not continue with what you were going to say.”

“Why not?” She giggled. “It’s good for me to talk out my ideas for when I write my book, Play the Player.”

“I thought you were joking about that.”

“I was, at first,” she said. “But now… now I’m thinking that I’m going to write it.”

“I thought you were writing a literary masterpiece, that was going to go on to win a Pulitzer and a Nobel Peace Prize?”

“Yeah, but maybe what I really need to write is a good-old sexy book.” She giggled. “And make some money and move out of my parents’ house and move and live with you.”

“I’m totally down for that.” I grinned. “And that is a book I would want to read. It would be great.”

“Hmm,” she said. “Do you really think so?” Her voice was soft and I knew then that she wasn’t just joking around. She was being 100% serious. And I have to admit that a part of me was excited as hell.

“I really think so.” I nodded. “You could even self-publish it. You don’t have to get an agent or anything. My friend Betsy-Sue—well, an online friend I met in a wanna-be actress forum—told me that her best friend is an author as well and that she self-publishes books and, girl, she made five thousand dollars last month.”

“Five thousand dollars?” Lacey squealed. “Okay, sign me up.”

“But what about your other book? Your magnum opus?”

“I can write it later. You know I love romance and, honestly, after coming up with my ‘play the player’ title, I’ve been writing down some notes and stuff.”

“Oh, really?” I smiled into the phone, suddenly happy and a bit curious as to when she’d made the notes. She’d only just told me about the idea in the first place. “Then yes, you can tell me ideas you have as you’re writing the book, even those that include descriptions of sucking.”

“And fucking?” She giggled.

“Don’t use the term fucking. It’s so unromantic.” I frowned. “I just said that to Scott as well.”

“You talked to him about fucking?” she said, her eyes wide and I wondered how she was going to write a filthy book if she was so shocked at everyday talk.

“Yes, he talked to me about it. I told him I preferred the term ‘making love’ or ‘having sex’. Well, I kinda told him that.”

“You did not.” Lacey frowned. “Eliza!”

“What?”

“You sound like one of those wishy-washy girls.” Lacey shook her head. “That is not how you play the player.”

“I’m not playing him. You know my plan. Flirt casually, do the lap dance, embarrass him and peace out.”

“But you could make this even more exciting.” She giggled. “You could really give him a taste of his own medicine. It seems to me that he thinks you’re up for the taking, anyway.”

“He does, doesn’t he?” I said and pursed my lips. “He thinks that just because I slept with him easily once, that it’s going to happen again. He even told me to wear no panties to work tomorrow.”

“Do it.” Lacey giggled.

“What?”

“Do it.” She nodded knowledgably. “The last thing he expects you to do is to wear a skirt tomorrow with no panties. He was testing you. He is playing games with you. He will be shocked if you actually take control of the situation and do what he says.”

“What?” I stared at her. “Are you joking or being serious?”

“I’m being totally serious.” She nodded. “He thinks he has you where he wants you right now. And he’s teasing and testing you and he knows that he is in control. You need to gain that control back. You need to make him think about what he is saying and doing. You need him to take a step back and think, ‘Shit, this girl is sexy. I want her. But I don’t know if I can have her.’”

“But he’s already had me.”

“Yeah, but guys are dumb. It doesn’t matter if he’s had you every night for two years, as soon as he thinks he can’t have you, he’ll suddenly want you even more.”

“Am I your test subject for your book?” I asked her with a giggle.

“No,” she said, but she laughed. “I’ve decided not to write a full book, maybe I’ll just release a novella first and see how that goes. If I think I’m going to become a hot romance author, then I’ll expand it.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” I said and paused. “Will you still come here to write it?”

“Are you still willing to buy my flight?” she asked softly and I nodded, beaming into the phone.

“Done.” My voice expressed my extreme excitement. “I can’t wait. When are you going to come?”

“Whenever you can get the flight.” She grinned back at me. “I figure it will be easier for me to let my inner slut fly and write this book if I’m away from my parents. I don’t need my dad walking into my room asking me to read a scene out loud and it’s about some guy anally penetrating some girl for the first time.”

“Lacey,” I groaned. “You’re going to write anal in a romance book?”