Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
LOLA
All night, I had to listen to Violet getting railed by Xavier in the bedroom next to mine. At one point, the damn walls were shaking.
Meanwhile, I lay there with a pillow over my head, replaying every touch Hunter left on my skin. The way he kissed me. The way he held me afterward. The way he said he’d chase me.
I barely slept, so when I finally creep out of my room, my first stop is the coffee machine, praying caffeine will somehow turn me back into a functioning human.
The first sip barely hits my bloodstream when there’s a knock at the door.
Nine a.m. on a Saturday.
My stomach sinks.
Reese?
We agreed to meet at lunchtime.
I cringe. I cannot do coffee with him today. Not when my brain is still stuck in the back seat of Hunter’s truck.
I shuffle to the door anyway and open it. Instead of Reese, there’s a huge bouquet of red roses sitting on the doorstep. And I mean huge. The kind of bouquet a man sends when he’s stuck his dick in another woman and wants forgiveness. I shiver, remembering the time that actually happened to me.
With a sigh, I scoop them up and carry them into the kitchen, setting them on the counter. An envelope with my name scrawled across the front slips loose.
My heart stupidly flutters.
It can’t be Hunter.
He doesn’t even know where I live. I didn’t give him my last name. Or anything about me, other than letting him fuck me.
Still… this is a small town. And he strikes me as the kind of man who could find anyone if he wanted.
I rip the envelope open.
And my stomach drops.
Reese.
Lola,
A second date requires flowers. I can’t wait for our coffee today.
And hopefully, many more to come.
Love,
Reese
I exhale slowly, dropping the note on the counter.
Jesus Christ.
This is… a lot. Or maybe it’s just a lot coming from the wrong man.
Maybe coffee—I refuse to call it a coffee date—needs to happen so I can set things straight. Tell him we’re better off as friends before this gets more awkward. He’s my landlord, after all, and I just don’t see a future with him.
And yet, something about Reese always makes me hesitate about pushing him away too firmly. That glint in his eye. The way he subtly steers conversations where he wants them to go. Like he’s always one step ahead.
Behind me, a door creaks open, and Violet shuffles into the kitchen wearing Xavier’s shirt, hair a complete mess. “Morning,” she croaks, heading straight for the fridge.
“You and Xavier kept me awake half the night,” I mutter.
She smirks. “You’re welcome, did you use your toys listening?”
“Fuck off.” I snort.
Then she notices the flowers and her brows shoot up. “Holy shit. Who died?”
“Reese,” I sigh, handing her the note.
She reads it and grimaces. “Wow. That’s… intense.”
“Right?”
She leans against the counter. “I saw him last night, by the way. Right when I assumed you and cowboy were off somewhere having fun. Reese walked in, then turned straight back out again.”
I blink. “What?”
“Yeah,” she says, wiggling her brows. “Then he came back in with Hunter, that’s when I grabbed you, and we left.”
Heat creeps up my neck.
“Wait. Hunter and Reese are friends?”
She shrugs. “No idea. Hunter’s face looked thunderous, so hard to tell. They don’t exactly look like they’d hang out together.”
I drag a hand through my hair. Maybe they just know each other. Small-town thing. “You could’ve told me this on the drive home,” I hiss.
She laughs. “Xavier was just a hookup. Didn’t need him overhearing our business. He might know one of them. We don’t need rumors starting.”
I hesitate, then admit, “I fucked Hunter in the back of his truck.”
Her grin stretches wide. “I knew it.”
But then her expression shifts as she looks back at the roses. “But this? Reese sending flowers already? That’s a bit extreme. What if he saw you in Hunter’s truck?”
My stomach twists. God. I feel sick. “Way too much,” I groan. “And I’m meant to go for coffee with him today.”
“Then go,” Violet shrugs. “Tell him you just want to be friends. Easy. Complication solved, and then you can go back to railing your cowboy.”
I hesitate. Hunter’s voice drifts through my memory.
I can chase, darlin’.
Violet studies my face. “You’re thinking about him again?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re going to see him again, whether you admit it or not.”
She’s not wrong. I grab my phone from the counter and shoot Reese a quick text confirming I’ll meet him at the coffee shop at midday.
Violet leans closer. “Want me to come with you? I’ll sit in the background like a creepy stalker. You won’t even notice me.”
I laugh. “I’ll be fine. You go and have fun with your new friend.”
“I’ve had my fun with him. He’s leaving. I’m coming with you.” She doesn’t leave room for arguments.
“Fine. Perhaps we can get beers after?”
“Yep.”
With that, I turn and head back to my room.
“What are we doing with the flowers?” Violet calls after me.
I don’t even slow down. “Leave them there and watch them die.”