Page 4 of Unexpected

“Who was that?” I probed, unable to keep the hesitation from my voice.

“A coworker. We’re leaving, so I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later, baby.”

He hung up abruptly, and I stared, gobsmacked, down at my phone. Overwhelming doubt slammed into me from all directions as I contemplated redialing his number to see if he would answer. I knew he wouldn’t, though, and it would only make my panicking worse and him angry.

He could have been telling the truth, and it could have been a coworker in his room retrieving him for whatever outing they had planned. But I couldn’t shake the suspicion twisting in my gut as the seductive sound of the woman’s voice repeated in my head.

The lilt in her tone wasn’t one that you used with a coworker. I chastised myself and began dissecting all our recent interactions. Was Michael cheating?

It couldn’t be true. We had too much invested in this relationship for him to throw it all away like that. He loved me, and I focused on his sweet words and caring eyes that I wished I saw more often.

The distance didn’t do us any favors.

My phone started vibrating in my hand, and a little hope blossomed in my chest that it was Michael calling back to apologize and continue our conversation. Maybe even eliminate some of my doubts.

But when I eagerly went to answer, it was my older sister’s name scrolling across my screen. I didn’t want to talk to Delilah, especially at that moment. She was Michael’s biggest critic; she always believed and had no problem telling me that Michael was cheating and wasn’t a good fit for me.

I couldn’t talk to her. I needed to calm down and think rational thoughts, soothe my own doubts before she brought up the topic as she always did. My concern was always worse when Michael was out of town, but I was put at ease when he returned. He’d only left a few days before, but I was ready for him to be home.

I declined the call and tossed my phone on the chair next to me just as I spotted Sadie, Luke’s dog, rolling around in my front yard. Her tongue hanging out, having the time of her life.

“Seriously? You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me…” I muttered before taking another sip of my coffee and tossing the blanket to the side.

THREE

Luke

I couldn’t tellthe difference between the pounding in my head and the pounding on my door until Josh’s yelling pushed through the fog of sleep surrounding me.

“Dude, Hazel’s at the door, and she’s pissed,” he said, opening my bedroom door just enough to peek inside.

I groaned against my pillow, damp with drool, and attempted to rub the sleep out of my eyes. “You can deal with her. It’s your turn,” I croaked, my voice still thick with sleep. My head was pounding before I even opened my eyes, and I instantly regretted the several shots I took after Hazel left last night.

“No can do. She’s asking for you.” Of course she fucking was. If I had to guess, the woman was trying to kill me or at least make my life miserable for the time she was in it.

I groaned again and popped a couple of pain relievers before I threw my legs over the side of the bed.

“Shit, dude. Do you ever sleep with clothes on?” Josh asked, his face twisted in disgust, before slamming the door.

“It’s my fucking room. I can sleep naked if I want,” I bellowed and immediately regretted it when the pain in my head spiked.

I was not prepared for another Hazel confrontation after the previous night’s showdown. She strutted into our kitchen, heels clicking, and tits pushed up, making demands, and after I was able to suppress my initial reaction to drag her to my bedroom, something in me wanted to knock her down a peg.

Apparently, I hadn’t completely suppressed my attraction, though, because I was stupid enough to propose she play that stupid game. Watching her pretend to have an orgasm made me rock hard and curious if the faces she made and her little sounds were accurate.

“I swear he’s coming. I just woke him up. Do you want to come inside?” I heard Josh inviting her in while I quickly pulled on the closest pair of sweats I could find.

Walking down the hallway, the sun was too damn bright, and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. I swear I could smell the alcohol seeping from my skin.

After Hazel left, I took to drinking more than I usually would to dissolve the memories of her moans. It didn’t work.

“There’s the man. I’m gonna go,” Josh said, patting me on the back before heading back to his room.

“What can I help you with?” I asked, leaning against the doorframe and still squinting against the morning light.

“I found Sadie in my yard again.” I glanced behind me, and Sadie was curled up at the end of the sofa like usual.

“Well, thanks for bringing her back. You didn’t have to get me out of bed for that, though. You could’ve just left her with Josh.”

---