Page 119 of Always

911. Call 911. And tell them what? That I’d choked a woman in my bed? Not the best idea.

I patted her cheek. Soft at first, and then harder. “Come on! Wake up, Addie! Come on!”

Time passed in a trance. Minutes ticked by like hours. After five minutes had passed, I grabbed my phone. Yeah, I’d probably go to prison, but I couldn’t let her die.

I was ready to push in the numbers, when— “Sir?”

Addie’s voice. Soft and raspy, but still her voice. I heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank God!” I touched her cheek. “Are you okay? Can you breathe?”

“Yeah.” She sucked in a breath and then let it out in a squeaky wheeze. “What happened?”

“You lost consciousness for a few minutes. Fuck. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Her voice was still a mess. “It was amazing, sir. Amazing.”

“Amazing? You pass out and call it amazing?”

“Isn’t that the point?”

“For fuck’s sake, Addie, you could have died!”

“No, that’s the point. Lose consciousness and the orgasm. God, sir, the orgasm…”

“I don’t give a shit if it was the most amazing orgasm in the world and you flew to fucking Jupiter. We’re never doing that again.”

“But sir, I want—”

My relief morphed into anger. “You’re forgetting something. This has never been about what you want. It’s about what I want. And I say we’re done with this.”

“Sir, if you only knew how it felt.”

“I think I just said I don’t care. I’m taking you to the ER to get you checked out.”

“I’m fine.”

“Your voice doesn’t sound right.”

“So I’m slightly hoarse. It’ll heal.”

“We’re going to the ER.”

I stood over her as she got dressed, and then we drove to the nearest emergency room. I was honest with the doctor and told him exactly what happened.

“You’re a lucky woman,” the doctor said to Addie. “I recommend you never engage in this behavior again.”

Afterward, I drove Addie home in my truck. “I think we need some time apart,” I said to her.

“Time apart? Why, sir?”

“Because I’m not comfortable with what happened. I need to think about what we’ve been doing. Think about whether I want to be a part of it anymore.”

“But, sir—”

“Do I need to remind you again? This has never been about what you want.”

“Will you call me?” she asked.

“No,” I said adamantly. “I won’t.”

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