Page 44 of All the Promises We Break

Eli sprang from bed because his call was for twelve thirty and the just-fucked look on video chat isn’t a good one, so it was a five-minute shower, dressed for success from the waist up, semi wet hair and his glasses. God, I love those glasses.

He sits in the chair that we’ve both made famous with his laptop on the table to his left. This was the perfect position to torture him some more. I hit the shower about two minutes before the call. The hot water was the best form of coffee I could have asked for today.

My wet hair trails down my back as I wrap up in a towel and slide back the barn door. The steam billows out shielding me for a minute then, as if I was emerging from a cloud-filled dream, I let the towel loose behind the screen to tease and tempt him.

Eli freezes then clears his throat while I let the towel fall lower and lower until it drops away. I can tell he’s trying in vain to wrap up, but his Irish associates are full of questions. With each one I roll around on the bed into a new pose. Arched back, letting my legs fall from side to side then open, crawling to the end of the bed, dangerously close to being caught on camera.

Eli fakes that his signal is going in and out. He appeases them by saying they’ll have an email response to everything Monday morning first thing Eastern Time. The goodbyes were nearly too long for even my sadistic taste. He slams his laptop with a growl, strips away his sweater, then crawls over the top of me.

“You’re so bad.”

“I know. You love me for it.”

“Pull these boxer briefs off with your toes and I’ll show you just how much.”

“Playful Goose is back with a vengeance. Viper is very happy.”

Wes and Hayley are each curled up on the couch with a book and lunch waiting when we emerge from our conference call debriefing.

“Jesus, we thought you’d never get up. Or was that the issue?” Wes asks, in his not so subtle way.

“Wes… fuck off,” I tell him with a smile as Eli laughs.

“You both sleep okay?” Eli questions.

“I slept great. There’s something about this place. Wes and I made lunch. It’s on the counter. I wanted to head into town and check out some of the shops. Dylan, are you down?”

I look at Eli. “Go ahead, Viper. What sort of trouble are we going to entertain?”

“The Wild are on later this afternoon. Not going to miss that. Basically, man shit. Bring back a couple bottles of wine for dinner. I’m the grillmaster.”

“Yes to the wine,” Eli says. “Hell no to the grill.”

The four of us laugh over the best chicken tortilla soup and French bread I think I’ve ever had. It warms me all the way to my toes. Wes tosses Hayley the keys and we head into town. All the shops are so cute. There are small jewelers, antique shops, bakeries, chocolatiers, and more that line Main Street and its adjoining square.

We take the last parking spot we see and start walking from one end to the other. We do a lot of window-shopping until we reach a jeweler. “Hayley. Look at that watch. Do you think Eli would like it?”

“It’s gorgeous. The platinum with the black face. He would love it, actually. Is it a wedding present?”

“I think so. Let’s go see how much it is.”

I’m so excited that it was just the right price. In New York I couldn’t have afforded it. Hayley keeps rubbing the side of her neck. There’s a hint of a scratch or something I can see between her fingers.

“What’s wrong with your neck?” I ask.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s marked up. How did that happen?”

Her hand quickly covers it all. “It’s nothing. I must have scratched myself in my sleep or something.”

“It’s not that kind of mark.”

She sighs. “I finally got the courage to talk to Rick and we’re trying to see where it goes.”

“I’d say pretty good if he’s marking you already.”

“We haven’t had sex. He said he wants to wait. He wants to make sure how we feel before we do that.”

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