Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
STELLA
The soft instrumental music trying to lull me into tranquillity has got nothing on the chaos that is my friendship group.
“I still can’t believe you had sex in Arden’s bathroom,” Emily says, adjusting her towel as we settle into the plush recliners in the lounge at Lotus Day Spa. “At a work function. With everyone outside.”
“It wasn’t a work function,” I argue, folding my legs beneath my fluffy robe. “It was a barbecue. And we were very discreet.”
“Discreet?” Megan snorts, hair piled in a messy bun under a wrap. “Stella, you came back with sex hair and a dress that looked like it lost a fight with a tumble dryer.”
“Plus,” Yasmin adds, smirking, “Jake had that smug ‘I just got laid and she screamed my name’ look for the rest of the arvo.”
“He did not,” I say quickly—then immediately picture his shit-eating grin when we sat back down. Damn it.
“Oh, babe, he totally did,” Ella laughs, reaching for her champagne flute. “He looked like the cat who got the cream—and licked it clean.”
We all groan, and Ally raises a hand from her massage chair. “Can we talk about how hot it is that you two can’t keep your hands off each other? I swear, I nearly ovulated just watching him look at you.”
I choke on my bubbles. “How does he look at me?”
Emily leans in conspiratorially. “Like you hung the moon and invented coffee.”
“It’s disgustingly romantic,” Megan says, smiling into her flute. “Honestly, I’m torn between being turned on and needing a barf bag.”
“You’re all ridiculous,” I mumble, trying not to smile too hard.
We’re midway through a full-blown spa day that Ella insisted on after the chaos with Doc and my emotional unravelling.
Massages, facials, manis, pedis, unlimited champagne—the works.
Arden apparently offered to foot the bill without hesitation.
Something about Ella’s puppy eyes and well-timed blow jobs. Her words, not mine.
“Speaking of romance,” Yasmin sighs, settling in for her facial, “how are things going with you two? Like… really going?”
I glance around the group and exhale. “Good. Really good. Better than good.”
“Okay, but give us something,” Emily pleads, waving a cucumber slice like it’s a mic. “We want the full vibe check.”
“I am not giving you details about my sex life.”
“Not those details,” Megan clarifies, grinning. “Although, if you want to share those too... we wouldn’t say no.”
“Relationship stuff,” Ella prompts. “Is he still doing that thing where he kisses your temple every time he thinks no one’s watching?”
“Yes.” I can’t help the soft smile curling at my lips. “He makes me feel… safe. Seen. Like I can just be, and it’s enough.” Five matching sighs, and Ally fans herself with the spa menu. “And yeah, we’ve talked about future stuff,” I add. “Marriage. Kids. The whole white-picket-fence fantasy.”
“Oh my God,” Emily gasps. “You’re going to marry Batman’s kinky cousin.”
I burst out laughing. “Nothing’s decided. We’re just exploring possibilities.”
“You’ve got it bad,” Yasmin says with a knowing smirk. “And he’s got it worse. That man is obsessed with you.”
I don’t deny it.
My phone buzzes on the table, lighting up with Jake’s name.
Jake
How’s spa day? Relaxing or secretly redesigning the workflow in your head?
Stella
Relaxing. Mostly. Although I did think of a new filing system for client contracts.
Jake
Of course you did. You’re adorable.
Stella
How’s boys’ arvo?
Jake
At Arden’s, trying to revive Yasmin’s Beetle. José nearly blew up the garage.
Stella
So… typical.
Jake
I miss you.
Warmth blooms in my chest and slides lower. My lips twitch.
“That’s him, isn’t it?” Megan teases.
“You’ve got that dumb heart-eyes look again,” Ella declares.
“I do not have a heart-eyes look.”
“Bitch, please,” Emily laughs. “You just turned into a human emoji.”
Stella
I miss you too. But I’m enjoying girl time.
Jake
Good. You deserve to be pampered. Although… I prefer doing the pampering myself.
Heat rushes to my cheeks.
“Oh, he’s being dirty, isn’t he?” Emily cackles. “You’ve got the he just mentioned your boobs face.”
“He did not mention my boobs.”
“You don’t have to say it,” Megan says, holding up her phone. “One finger if it was boobs, two if it was his tongue.”
I shoot them a look and angle away to type.
Stella
Jake…
Jake
What? I give excellent massages. Very thorough. Very… hands-on.
Stella
You’re incorrigible.
Jake
And you love it. Just like you loved my mouth last night.
I whimper. Out loud.
“She made a noise!” Yasmin crows. “That was a sex noise!”
“She’s sexting!” Ally announces. “At a spa! During her facial!”
Jake
Getting flustered, darl? Thinking about my tongue? Or the way you rode it like you were trying to break me?
I stand abruptly. “I need the bathroom.”
“Don’t forget to hydrate,” Megan drawls. “Wouldn’t want you passing out mid-orgasm.”
I flip her off with a smile and escape to the bathroom, locking the door behind me. My skin is flushed, my heart pounds. I haven’t even touched myself.
I call him.
“That was fast,” he says, voice already lower. “Couldn’t wait, huh?”
“You’re evil,” I whisper.
“Evil? Nah, darl. Determined. Tell me—what are you wearing?”
“A robe.”
“And underneath?”
“Nothing.”
He groans, low. “Fuck. Not fair.”
“You started it.”
“I’ll finish it too.” His voice drops. “You touching yourself yet?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m in a spa bathroom hiding from my friends who are probably timing me.”
“Then make it quick. Lock the door. Sit on the edge of the vanity. Spread those long legs and slide your fingers where you know I’d put my mouth.”
“Jake,” I breathe, arousal trembling through my voice.
“I want you to touch that sweet cunt and pretend it’s my tongue. Imagine my fingers inside you. Slow at first. Teasing. My thumb on your clit like last night.”
I perch on the counter, my robe falling open. My hand finds heat before I can second-guess it.
“You wet for me already?”
“Dripping.”
“Good girl.”
A soft sound escapes me.
“Now rub your clit. Slow circles. Don’t stop until I say.”
I do as I am told, breath hitching.
“Wish I could see you,” he murmurs. “Wish I could kneel between your thighs and taste you. You’d grip the mirror with one hand and my hair with the other. Begging me not to stop.”
“Fuck,” I breathe.
“You close?”
“Almost.”
“Good. Slide a finger inside. Then another. Curl them like I do.”
My thighs tremble as I obey.
“You’re mine, Stella. Say it.”
“I’m yours.”
“Again.”
“I’m yours, Jake. Always.”
“Now come for me.”
I clamp a hand over my mouth as the orgasm hits, body shaking, a moan swallowed into my palm. He stays quiet while I come down, his breath ragged in my ear.
“You okay?” he asks softly.
“More than okay.”
“I’m going to wreck you tonight.”
“You already have.”
We hang up. I splash cool water on my cheeks. My reflection is flushed, hair mussed, lips bitten red.
They all look up when I return—knowing smirks and barely concealed anticipation stretching across their faces like a game of emotional strip poker. I don’t even make it to my seat before Megan fires the first shot.
“Well?” Megan grins. “How was your… bathroom break?”
I slide into my chair, crossing my legs with faux composure. “Educational.”
A beat. Then Yasmin’s smirk sharpens. “You look thoroughly educated .”
“I hate you all,” I mutter, reaching for my mimosa like it’s a lifeline.
“No, you don’t,” Emily counters. “You love us. Almost as much as you love your kinky boyfriend.”
“He’s not—okay, he’s a little kinky.” A smile tugging at my mouth. My cheeks are still warm—not just from Jake’s voice or the heat still humming under my skin, but because these women see straight through me.
“A little?” Ella raises an eyebrow, amused. “Stella, you just spent ten minutes in the bathroom having phone sex. That’s not a little kinky.”
“We did not have phone sex,” I lie feebly.
“Then why do you look like you need a cold shower?” Emily grins, eyes dancing with mischief.
I groan and bury my face in my hands, the cool press of my palms no match for the ridiculous grin I can’t stop wearing. “I can’t believe this is my life now.”
“What, being madly in love with a gorgeous mechanic who worships the ground you walk on?” Ally says, twirling her straw like she’s stirring drama. “Yeah, terrible problem to have.”
“It’s not terrible,” I admit slowly. “It’s just… new. A few months ago, I was making coffee and living a quiet, predictable life. Now I’m running a business, in love with a man who makes me feel things I didn’t know I was allowed to feel, and apparently having phone sex in spa bathrooms.”
“And?” Megan prompts, eyes gleaming like a cat that already caught the mouse.
“And it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Even the phone sex in public places?” Emily teases again, because of course she does.
“Especially that,” I laugh, full and unrestrained. “God, what has he done to me?”
“He’s helped you discover who you really are,” Yasmin says, voice softening like it does when she means it. “The confident, successful, slightly adventurous woman who was always there—maybe you just needed the right person to bring her out.”
“You think?” I ask, half hesitant, half desperate to believe it.
“I know.” She leans forward, elbow on the table. “You’ve completely transformed since I met you at Doc’s. Not just professionally, but personally. You’re bolder. More self-assured. Willing to take risks.”
“More willing to have bathroom sex,” Ally adds, entirely unhelpful.
Yasmin throws a pillow at her. “Yes, that too. But seriously—you’re glowing. You’re not surviving anymore. You’re thriving.”
The words land somewhere deep, beneath the banter and steam facials; beneath the woman I’ve been pretending to be and the one I’m finally becoming. And it hits me all at once.
“I am happy. Really, genuinely happy. For the first time in years—maybe ever.”
“That’s what love is supposed to do,” Ella says gently. “Make you feel like the best version of yourself.”