Page 63 of Bad Enough

“And that was TB?”

“Yes, although I didn’t know him by that name. I knew him as Master Lobo.”

Kai snorted. “A wolf. How appropriate. Does he know that you write about wolf shifters?”

“I don’t know. He’s never asked, and I never offered.”

“So then, how did you end up meeting?”

“We would talk online every night at ten o’clock. If one of us didn’t show up to the private chat room by ten after, then we knew not to expect the other one. Master Lobo, I mean TB, told me that sometimes his job wouldn’t allow him to talk to me because of the time zones and duties and stuff.”

“Ha!” Kai laughed. “Yeah, it’s sort of difficult to talk BDSM when you’re stuck in a tree watching your boss get it on with his new girlfriend.”

“Huh?” Sylvan was confused. Then it clicked. “Oh. He said he worked security for you. That must have been during the fifty-three-day absence he had.”

“But who’s counting?” Kai joked.

“Anyway,” Sylvan drew out each syllable, “about two weeks into that trip, he texted me. Out of the blue. It wasn’t often, but he’d text, I’d answer. Sometimes, it took him a while to reply, but then, all of a sudden, during the last few days, it was more common. The last night we texted, it was several hours. Then I didn’t hear from him for a couple of days, and finally, he came back.”

Silence.

“Yeah. We had some excitement right before he left. That would explain the missing couple of days. He was probably on high alert.” Kai paused before prompting, “And…? Keep going.”

Kai swallowed nervously. “He said that we were sort of at a stalemate. That he wasn’t sure how much more he could give me online and maybe it was time we met for a practical lesson.”

A whistle came over the phone. “So? I’m assuming you went to the club. Did you meet up with him?”

“Yes, but…”

“Syl, it’s okay. You don’t have to give me any details.”

The two friends sat silently on the phone for a long while.

Finally, Kai broke the silence. “Did you like it?” Her question was a whisper.

“It was like flying,” Sylvan whispered back. “I’ve never felt so good in my life. And then…”

Kai sighed. “This is the part that’s going to make me want to kill him, isn’t it?”

“He ghosted me. For a whole week. No email, no chat, nothing. The stupid part is, the one night I didn’t log on in this whole floofy mess is the night he decided to log on and explain. I was so hurt. I mean, I didn’t expect it to become a relationship. But I did think I’d see him again.”

“What did the total bastard say when he finally contacted you?”

“That he didn’t really have an excuse for not contacting me, but that he figured he’d given me all he could for my research, and he wished me good luck. Six weeks later, you and Waters take me to his boss, and there’s Master Lobo in the flesh.”

“Crap on a cracker and hold the cheese! No wonder you passed out.”

“It was just the last straw, Kai. It was too much.”

“Are you okay there with him now?” Sylvan could hear the worry in her friend’s voice.

“Yes, it’s awkward. But there were moments yesterday where we were okay.”

“But there were also moments where you weren’t,” Kai surmised.

Silence.

“Do you want to fuck him again?”

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