Chapter 7 #3
I stood up and grabbed one of my silicone straws. Fuck it. “Yes, please.”
While Luna called for food, I flicked open my phone.
PMS:
I regret our unfortunate lunch interruption. I hope you’ll be returning tomorrow. On time.
I propped my head on my hand. Only PMS would put a reprimand into an apology.
Do I get any bonus points (bucks) for dealing with a douchey dad?
PMS:
My father is the head of this law firm. He’s not a… All right, perhaps his lapse in judgment would be considered ill-advised.
I blew raspberries at my phone. That was an understatement.
“You wouldn’t be blowing raspberries at me, would you?” Lu tossed her phone on the table.
“No.”
Her eyebrow winged up and her blue eyes sparkled.
I slurped the last of my wine out of my cup. “If you must know, it’s PMS.”
“Oh? Texting after hours?” She picked up her deck again.
“Would you quit it?”
“Did I mention glowing red aura?”
I refilled my cup. “I’ll admit to a teensy bit of attraction, but again, he’s my boss. That’s a no fly zone. I might be out of the loop when it comes to office politics, but even I know that much.”
She shrugged. “Only for a week. Bang it out when the week is over.”
I toyed with the end of my straw. “Tempting.”
What was I saying? It was not tempting. The idea was abhorrent. Even if certain parts of me didn’t seem to get the correct message.
That part of me was a horny cow.
“I don’t want to suck up all that prissy stuck-up suit energy though,” I added.
“Then don’t blow him.”
“Luna.”
“What? Just sayin’.”
“Stop being obtuse.” I stood up and crossed to my desk where that blasted cat was staring up from my tablet. I flipped it over. “You know how energy exchange works. You’re the one who practically takes on the personality of the person you’re sleeping with.”
“I can’t help if my empath abilities get heightened with sex.”
I wasn’t that bad, but it definitely could adjust my mood post sex sometimes. The way my system pinged and zinged around Preston, I wouldn’t be surprised if our aftermath was pure insanity.
I really didn’t need any more insanity.
It didn’t stop me from going back to my phone when his text chime rang.
PMS:
I shouldn’t have brought you into personal business in any case, and for that, I apologize. It was a rare moment of weakness.
After a moment, another text came through.
PMS:
I hadn’t had anything to eat yet, and my coffee was delayed.
Unbelievable. This dude was blaming being hangry and missing his coffee as the explanation for a genuine moment of vulnerability.
I chucked my phone onto the couch and went back to Lu.
“Draw me some new cards. How is my week going to go?”
Luna scooped up the cards she’d been throwing. “Podcast?”
“I might be a little drunk for that.”
Luna popped up and ran for my bedroom area. “Best time then.”
I leaned forward and rested my forehead on the table. “I say stupid shit when I’m drunk.”
She came back and set the microphone in the middle of the table. “Yes, but those are our best podcasts. Now where’s your laptop?”
I refilled my cup and pointed to the end table.
“Excellent.”
She set up everything along with my little recording board. And because she was Luna, she circled the mic with her crystals and lit candles.
Guess we were going all in.
“Heyyyyy. Welcome to Tarot Tramps, we are your cardslinging hosts, Luna and…”
I dragged my chair to the other side of the microphone so I would sound semi-professional. “And Ryan.”
“Don’t mind Ry. She’s a little down in the dumps. We’re going to do a reading for her to cheer her up. And maybe pour some water into her to combat the bottle—or two—of wine.”
“Really good wine. Really shitty day.”
“And what happened today, Ry?”
“If you don’t take that Carol Brady tone out of your voice, I’m going to stab you with your wand.”
“Stop threatening my wand.”
“Then why did you bring it?”
“Because I knew we needed a little extra today before I even came over. You see, dear listeners, Ryan has a wee little problem with her love life.”
I tried giving her all the signals for cut and hell no, but she ignored them. I slurped more wine. “I don’t have a love life.”
“Which is your problem.”
“Bottom drawer boyfriend begs to differ. We can take care of ourselves, right, ladies?”
“And gentlemen.”
“And non-binary,” I added helpfully.
“Either way, we all know we can take care of business, but it doesn’t make up for that delicious weight on top of you. Or you can be the weight.” Luna’s voice went smoky and low.
“I do prefer to be on top.”
“See. Now we just have to get you—”
I gave her a hard stare.
She cleared her throat. “A man to play with. Shall we throw some cards?”
“Can we look in the Tramp Box instead? I’m sure there’s listeners that have much bigger and better problems than mine.”
“Nope. Special episode. Let’s see what we can do with Ryan’s troubles. I already did her love spread with a certain someone and it came up full of fire. She just doesn’t want to face it—or him.”
“We’re not talking about that.”
“Ry, you need someone to pin those long legs behind your ears and do you good.”
I was in the middle of taking another sip of my wine and choked. “What did you say?”
Luna shrugged. “Don’t sound so surprised. There’s nothing wrong with needing a good di—”
I held up my hand. “Got it.”
“Do you though? Do you really?” She threw down three cards and picked up the middle one. “Look at that Ace of Wands coming up again. Fire, girl. All the fire is coming your way.”
“What if I don’t want to get burned?”
Luna reached over the table and covered my hand. “But what if it’s a beautiful bit of amazing in the ashes?”
“What if it’s just ashes?”
Luna sighed. “We have so much work to do.”