Chapter Eleven #3
Was there anything better than a fantastic orgasm? Watching him orgasm was a close second. Just thinking about it sent heat flooding through her. She couldn’t wait to see him again. Maybe she should call him.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Spending time with him was great and all, but she should probably dial it back a bit.
Especially since she was the one who’d insisted things remain casual.
Everything with him was shiny and new right now, but she knew the shine wore off pretty frigging quickly.
And when it did, she’d be the one left trying to pick up the pieces.
She refused to put herself through that again.
Her phone chirped. She locked the door behind her and reached into her bag. A text message.
Thanks for last night. It was great to get on the ice again. We should really do it again sometime. ??
Disappointment pricked her, and she didn’t know why. Okay, another lie. She knew exactly why. She just didn’t want to admit it. Why was this so hard?
She chewed on her lower lip. He was obviously playing it cool, which was perfectly fine. She’d just spent the last five minutes telling herself she needed to keep things casual. Why was she overthinking a stupid text message? She started typing.
Yeah, it was fun. Thanks for being so sweet to the girls. Em has a hockey game tomorrow. Care to join?
She pushed send. Then stood there like an idiot, eyes glued to the screen.
Needy much? She slipped her phone back in her bag and headed to her office.
With her coat hung on the hook, she tossed her bag into the bottom drawer of her desk and tried not to be disappointed that he hadn’t gotten back to her.
Get a grip, Alex. It’s been like two freaking minutes.
Her phone chirped. She dove for it. Way too eager. And, she was not going to examine that reaction too closely.
Em is actually playing? Did she get her cast off this week? ??????
She laughed.
Nope, she’s still the walking wounded. Cast stays on for at least another couple of weeks. Sorry, that wasn’t clear. ?? Em’s team is playing tomorrow and we like to go and be supportive. You in?
She sat back in her chair, kept a death grip on her phone. Watched and waited. She was so pathetic. It would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic.
Chirp-chirp. Her stupid traitorous heart did a cartwheel.
I’ll be there. Dinner after?
Was he asking her out again? No, probably not. He was asking if she and Em wanted to go out after the game.
Sure, sounds great. I’ll text you the details later.
A few heart-stopping moments later, her phone chirped again.
K. Looking forward to it. See you tomorrow. ????
Her heart actually fluttered, like it had suddenly grown wings. Jeez, she was such a mess. It was a cartoon Pac-Man guy making a kissy face. He probably hit it by accident. The keyboard on a phone was super tiny. It wouldn’t be the first time a rogue reaction ended up flying through cyberspace.
She stared at her phone, waiting for him to send a funny gif or another emoji showing he was kidding or embarrassed or didn’t mean it.
But nothing more came. She checked the network strength, because surely, she’d slipped into a blind spot.
When the signal strength increased, his retraction would come flying in.
She had slightly more than half on the signal strength.
Five minutes passed. Nothing.
She stood and wandered back into the waiting area. Maybe the signal would be better out there. She waited a few minutes. Still nothing.
Someone rapped on the door. She started and glanced at her watch. It was still twenty minutes before opening. She slid her phone onto the counter and walked over to the door. Peeked through the blinds.
A courier stood on the doorstep. She unlocked the door and pulled it open. The little bell tinkled. The sound always made her smile.
“Hi there,” she said, holding the door open with her hip.
“Morning.” The courier thrust a letter size envelope toward her.
She took it. The sender showed it was from a bank, but not the one they dealt with. Weird. She signed the electronic signature thing he shoved at her. He turned and hurried back to his truck without another word.
Locking the door again, she turned the envelope over and over in her hands. It was addressed to the clinic. Double weird. She opened it and pulled out a single sheet of paper.
Dear tenant,
We regret to inform you…
With every word she read, her heart sank further and further south, until it was lodged somewhere near the earth’s core.
She read the letter three times and still, the words didn’t register.
How could they be getting evicted? They had a lease.
And they’d done all the renovations to make the space perfect for their business.
And they had a lease. A five-year lease. How was this possible?
She sank into the chair at the front desk, the letter still clutched in her hand. There had to be some sort of mistake. When Janelle got here, they’d get to the bottom of it and everything would be fine. It would be fine.