Page 22 of The Story of Us
“Sorry if Echo woke you.”
“Sorry if I kicked you out of your bed. I mean, did you … Where did you sleep?” Eloise closed her eyes. It’d be great if the ground would stop moving.
“The couch.”
“Oh.” Of course they hadn’t slept together. Nate would never take advantage. She felt terrible for even considering it. Although, in her defence, her brain wasn’t exactly working right now.
Echo nosed under the covers, her tail brushing against Eloise’s hip.
“Hey, get out of there.” Nate strode into the room.
Another memory started solidifying in Eloise’s mind.
Cardboard tearing.
Plastic crinkling.
The low hum of a motor.
A bunny?
Oh. Sweet. Jesus.
Eloise dropped her drink, the hot liquid stinging her bare legs as it seeped through the sheet before the mug toppled off the bed, shattering against the wooden floorboards. She lunged forward. Said a prayer to all the gods she didn’t believe in.
But it was too late.
Echo sat up with the rabbit vibrator clamped in between her jaws.
* * *
Last night’sheels dangled from Eloise’s fingertips. The coffee burn on her thigh protested as she crept forward. She pulled the gauzy material of her dress away from the wound.
Pots and pans clanged in the kitchen, the scent of fresh bread adding to the smell of bacon that was doing its best to break through the cloud of stale alcohol and bad decisions lingering around her.
The front door was tantalisingly close, but there was no way to get to it without Nate seeing her.
Eloise also didn’t have a car. Or her jacket. And she couldn’t walk back into town in her heels. It wasn’t that far but even being upright was a challenge right now.
She’d have to face the man who knew she’d … she’dyou-know-what’din his bed. An orgasm in Nate’s bed was one of the top items on her bucket list, but she’d never anticipated it would be a solo endeavour.
Had she mentioned she was never, ever drinking again?
“I can hear you thinking,” Nate said.
Thank goodness he hadn’t heard her last night. Oh, God. Had he? Was she loud? She wasn’t normally but … Eloise pressed her palms into her face.
“Can we pretend it never happened, please?” she called back.
A shadow crossed the end of the hallway, and Nate appeared. Still in his pyjamas. Still delicious. A little smirky, but well, she’d give him a leave pass on that.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I was writing all night with my headphones on. Didn’t want to disturb you.”
Her shoulders drooped, and her breath rushed out of her mouth. “Thank you,” she mumbled, walking down the hall into the open-plan kitchen-living-dining room.
“One thing, though.”
She paused. Here it came. If the situation was reversed, she would’ve had alotof questions. God knows she’d imagined it enough.
