Page 50 of Tiers of Joy

On the ride home there’s an awkward tension in the truck.

“Listen Esme, about last night. I…” I interrupt him.

“It’s fine, honestly. I promise I won’t say a word to anyone. I promise you that. Amy seems like a nice woman. I won’t ruin that for you. As Eric said, maybe we just needed to get it out of our system to clear the air.” I smile.

He pauses for a moment.

“Yeah, thanks. I appreciate that.” He says firmly.

We pull up outside the shop and I sigh.

“Thanks Gaige, for the baking and, well, you know.” I blush.

I lean forward to kiss him on the cheek. He moves so our lips connect. We kiss each other softly.

“Bye Esme.” He says softly.

I frown, confused at the way he said bye.

“Bye Gaige.” I whisper as I climb down out of the truck.

I don’t look back, I get inside and lock the door behind me. I rub my chest, feeling my heart hurt.

“I need Sally.” I mumble to myself.

Chapter Twelve

“So that’s it. What do I do?” I ask.

I rang Sally as soon as I got in and woke her up in the middle of the night. She was pissed at first but then when I mentioned that I slept with Gaige, she was all ears.

“Well first off, next time you want a few days of no contact, let me know in advance. I was worried sick on Jay’s anniversary. You do that to me again and I will jump on a plane just to punch you in the tit.” She threatens.

I roll my eyes.

“Don’t you roll your eyes at me, my tit punches are deadly. Now back to the matter in hand: you finally having your way with the delicious lumberjack, who, by the sound of it, has a very impressive bit of wood.” She snorts at her own joke. She knows me too well. She doesn’t have to see me to know how I react to what she says.

“Sally.” I beg.

“Right, sorry, anyway. Number one: shame on you two for bumping uglies when he's clearly dating this Amy girl. Whether they’re exclusive or not, it’s still not cool.” She chastises.

“I know, I know. You know I’ve never done anything like this. I don’t know what came over me.” I sigh.

“The dick. The dick is what came over you.” She states.

“His dick did not come over me!” I point out.

“Fine, the dick came in you then. Potato/Patato.” She sighs, clearly irritated.

“Jesus Christ Sally! Can you stop focusing on his dick and where he came and focus on the matter at hand.” I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“Okay, but you saying dick and matter in hand all in the same sentence doesn’t exactly help take my mind off it.” She mumbles.

“God damn it Sally! Focus!” I yell.

“Alright, alright. Bloody hell! You know, for someone who just had an amazing night of multiple orgasms you’re surprisingly snappy.” She points out.

I don’t respond. She will make anything I say about Gaige’s dick.

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