Page 47 of Fracture

I stop him and put my hands on his shoulders. “Hey, if you need me, let me know. I’ll be right there.”

He gives me a soft smile, and puts a hand over mine. “Thanks. I’ll keep you posted.”

I’m overcome with the desire to pull him close, to let him know I’m here,here. But I resist, and watch him leave the garage in a hurry. I feel bad for hoping that his grandfather dies quickly, so that Dylan can finally be free of him.

The rest of the afternoon passes uneventfully, and I keep checking my phone for a message from Dylan. Nothing comes. The sun begins to send long shadows across the parking lot, and eventually it’s time to close up. I check my phone again, and there’s still nothing from Dylan.

I start to worry, then tell myself I’m being ridiculous. He’s probably just caught up at the hospital in a mountain of paperwork.

I head home, wondering if Stella is there, and if I should take her out to dinner to get my mind off worrying about Dylan. When I pull into the drive, her car isn’t there, so I send her a text, before heading inside to wash the grease and grime from the garage off me.

My phone is flashing when I get out of the shower, and I see a text from Stella.

I’m on my way home now. Picked up some dinner.

OK great, see you soon

Where’s Dylan?

Tell you when you get home

OK

I dress and head down into the kitchen, pulling a beer from the fridge while I wait for Stella.

I should feel shame for what happened while she was with Dylan. But fuck, all I wanted was to go into that room and be with them, to watch him get her off. I wasn’t even jealous, just aroused out of my fucking mind. I want them both to be mine, I want their pleasure and their bodies, I want all of them.

And I hate myself even more because now it’s gone south for them. For some stupid reason I feel responsible, even though it has nothing to do with me.

Headlights appear in the drive, and a car door slams. After a minute, Stella appears on the back porch, two paper bags hooked over her arm. She gives me a shy smile as I open the porch door for her.

“Thanks. I got us some Thai, I wasn’t sure what you’d like so I just kind of got a bit of everything.”

“Sounds great to me.” I take the bags from her and place them on the table as she takes off her high-heeled sandals. “What did you do today?”

“I went into work actually, just to catch up on some files, and to talk to HR about changing my leave. I took it all when you got out, and well… I guess things have gone a little different. So I moved the rest of it to the Fall.” She goes to the cupboard to get out some plates. “So, I’ll be back to work on Monday.”

“I’m sorry.”

Her eyes flash to my face. “What for?”

“That things haven’t gone the way you’d hoped.”

She shrugs, crossing the kitchen with plates in hand, and I can’t help but notice how tight her black pencil skirt is, sitting around her curvy ass.

“I’m used to things not working out the way I’d hoped.” She places the plates down on the table and starts unpacking the paper bags with a bitter laugh. “Jesus, that sounded so self-pitying.”

“I really am sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She sits down and runs a hand through her hair, looking over the food laid out between us. “So, where’s Dylan?”

“His grandfather had a stroke, and he’s in the hospital.”

Stella’s eyes flash up to mine with alarm. “Oh my god. Does he want us there? Is he OK?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t heard from him.”

“Shit.” Stella snatches up her phone and calls Dylan. She waits as it rings, then exhales heavily. “Voicemail,” she whispers to me. I hear the loud beep after Dylan’s voice, and Stella turns the phone back to her mouth. “Dylan, it’s me. Let me know if you’re alright, please? We’re worried about you.” She hesitates for a moment. “I love you.” She hangs up and dumps the phone on the table. “Goddammit.”

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