Page 82 of Playing Flirty

I swallowed, but it did nothing to soothe the stark dryness.

We kept moving until we were in his car and on the way out.

We drove in silence as I ran through thoughts of what I’d seen. A quick glance at William had his full focus on the road, his chest rising and falling as quickly as mine.

He pulled into Neema’s parking spot, and I turned to face him. Anger lingered in his flared nostrils and deep frown.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

He nodded, swallowing hard. “Are you?”

I nodded.

“I didn’t mean to react. I…” He blew out a long breath.

His phone vibrated, and he let his head fall back on the headrest as he dug it out. Shaun’s face covered his screen.

“Shaun’s going to kill me.”

When William didn’t answer, my phone rang. “We should take this.”

William nodded through closed eyes, and I slid my finger across the screen.

“Rose, are you with William?” Shaun asked without preamble.

“Yes,” I answered, controlling my breath.

“Could he turn around? You have my car keys in your bag.”

I forgot about that.

William was close enough to hear Shaun’s request and released a loud huff.

“Oh, and we won Best-Dressed Couple!” Shaun happily announced before hanging up.

“I don’t think he knows,” I said to William.

He opened his eyes and shook his head, his white knuckles gripped tightly around the steering wheel. “Guess we’ll see. I think you should stay here.”

I dropped the keys in the console and then leaned over and kissed the spot I knew would be bruised in the morning.

Round 27

Anxious thoughts ran free as I walked into the office the next morning. William and I hadn’t chatted last night, and neither had Neema and I. I’d been too afraid to ask them anything.

My desk was as I’d left it. Thank goodness the party hadn’t moved inside the office as it had a few years ago when, the following morning, everyone arrived at work not only tired and hungover, but then had to clean up dirty cups and leftover pizza from their cubicles.

One guy even found a used condom. No one ever owned up to it.

After dropping off my bag and setting up my laptop, my next stop was the kitchen. I turned on the coffee machine and inhaled the delightful aroma of freshly ground beans. The tapping of footsteps carried over the purr of the machine and paused. I glanced over my shoulder in time to see the back of Mr. Markham as he sped away.

When I got to my desk, Shaun’s lips were drawn down in a deep frown. I swallowed hard, waiting for it.

“Rose, was it William? They’re saying one of the Batmen assaulted Mr. Markham. Was it William? Is that why you left?”

It must have been written across my face. Before I could answer, Shaun dropped his head into his hands. “Oh no, oh no, oh no.”

“Did he not speak to you last night?” I managed, taking my seat.

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