Page 36 of Fire

Gwen awoke the next morning, alone in her bed, head pounding. She placed the heels of her palms to her temples and squeezed, hoping to lessen the pain. It didn’t work. Rolling cautiously to her feet, she staggered into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She couldn’t remember the last time she drank so much. Hell, she wasn’t sure she’d ever drunk so much.

She got under the hot spray, closed her eyes and thought back to the events that had led her to such a state and ending up in her own bed instead of Blake’s.

He had never come back.

After leaving Blake’s office, she’d found Allie still on the dance floor. Relaxed after an awesome orgasm and not in the mood to dance, she’d half-shouted-half-pantomimed that she would be in the VIP section.

Allie hadn’t left her hanging long. Full of excited energy, she plopped herself into the booth Gwen was sitting at. “That was quick.” She fanned a hand at the sheen of perspiration that coated her face.

“Blake had to deal with something, but he should be back soon.”

“Well, in the meantime, I can tell you about the hot guy I met. I gave him my number.”

After an hour-long play-by-play of Allie’s adventures on the dance floor, Reggie showed up at their table with a message from Blake. “He had to leave suddenly and said he’d call you tomorrow.”

He was gone again before Gwen could ask any questions.

She threw Allie a look. Confusion stealing her afterglow. “What the heck?”

Allie shrugged. “Maybe there was an emergency.”

“I get that, and that’s fine, but why wouldn’t he call me?” She pulled out her phone to double check she hadn’t missed a call.

Nope. Nothing.

“If it was an emergency, he was probably in too much of a rush.” Allie shrugged again, clearly not understanding the situation.

Gwen filled her in. “You don’t understand. Things were going so well. We were finally communicating. He gave me a mind-blowing orgasm in his office.”

“Hang on.” Allie held up a hand, palm out. “You had sex in his office?”

Of course, that was the part Allie latched onto. She shook her head. “We were interrupted before we got that far.”

“But you still had a mind-blowing orgasm?” At Gwen’s nod, Allie smiled huge. “It’s been a while. This calls for a celebration.” She held up a hand, flagging down a waitress.

Gwen grabbed her wrist, pulling her arm down. “You’re still not getting it. I was supposed to go home with him tonight. If it were that big of an emergency, shouldn’t he have called me and explained?”

Allie grabbed her hand, her expression turning serious. “Maybe he didn’t have time.”

“But he had time to tell Reggie?”

The waitress appeared, and without asking her preference, Allie ordered a Long Island Iced Tea for each of them.

Yikes!

As soon as the waitress left, Allie turned her attention back to her. “Maybe Reggie was there when he got called away. Give him until morning before you get upset about it. I’m sure he’ll call you by then.”

Their waitress arrived, dropping off their drinks. Allie grabbed hers, holding it up high. “To the end of a long dry spell.”

Gwen shook her head and smiled. Allie and her one-track mind. But hell, she’d drink to that.

And she had, but unfortunately, it hadn’t stopped there.

Gwen tipped her head back, closing her eyes to rinse the last of the conditioner out of her hair. Allie had kept ordering—and the waitress had kept coming—until the place had shut down.

The Uber trip home was a blur of flashing streetlights and Allie’s chatter as was the trek into the house, holding each other for support while giggling. She barely remembered getting into bed, but she did recall the room spinning at an alarming rate. She swallowed down the nausea the memory evoked and took a deep breath. She needed Advil and coffee. Both in high doses.

Grabbing the first pair of leggings and tee she found in the drawer, she pulled them on then turned to her nightstand for her phone to see if Blake had called. It wasn’t there.

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