Page 25 of Untethered Heart
Everything feels wrong. This feeling unsettles my gut. I couldn’t get Lex out of my head because I thought I needed more, wanted to figure her out. I thought it was a feeling of unfulfillment, that there was too much left unknown from our first night together. But that’s not it at all. It’s deeper. It’s haunting me.
She found a way to penetrate the carefully constructed world I’d placed myself in and disrupted the balance. She took my tidy soul and untethered the pieces, tying them back together with hers. And now I can’t handle the distance. I’m used to going after what I want.
And what I want is Lex.
Chapter fifteen
What does one do when they can’t fall asleep because they’re tormented by thoughts of someone they can’t have? And when they do finally fall asleep, they then dream of all the ways they want them?
Asking for a friend.
Okay, I’m asking for me because I have no freaking idea.
I spent the weekend doom-scrolling every article I could find about Heart City’s most eligible bachelor. He’s eleven years older than me, which was a surprise. He’s very passionate about his family’s business endeavours. That was a trait I couldn’t help swoon over, especially when I read about all the ways he collaborates with each of them. And he looks damn fine in a suit.
I saw all the evidence of that as he was photographed with woman after woman. A new one every time he left some high-profile event.
I wasn’t at all surprised that the women he was with were my total opposites in every superficial way. That didn’t stop the doubt from seeping in. I shouldn’t compare myself to them, though. It’s the thief of joy after all. I personally think laundry is the thief of joy, but comparison can ride shotgun.
I have no idea why the hell he entertained me for a night. Well, two nights. He’s a charismatic, billionaire playboy, and I’m a small-town girl with abandonment issues.
I’m at Hallucinogen’s early today. The nightclub looks so different during the day compared to at night when the neon lights take over the space.
The faux willow tree that sits in the centre of the room looks far less enchanting when the trailing lights woven amongst the branches are off. The glass and mirror fixtures reflect the normal white lights overhead instead of the hot pink from the LED signs and spotlights. If it weren’t for the greenery that lines the roofline and wall seats, it would look more like a warehouse in here.
I make my way into the manager’s office to fire up the computer next to Gen’s. There’s a coffee cup on her desk and a half-eaten protein bar, so she must be floating around somewhere. Probably annoying her brother.
I take a seat, waiting for the computer to load, when my phone chimes with a text.
CLAIRE:
OH MY GOD!!!!!
ME:
What??
I watch the bubbles dance on my screen as she types back, but after a few too many seconds, I go back to the computer and start opening up programs for our rosters and inventory. Rapid-fire chimes sound on my phone.
CLAIRE:
The thorn in my side
CLAIRE:
The source of my afflictions
CLAIRE:
The bane of my very existence
Good God.
ME:
Yes…
CLAIRE:
