"Travis Kelce just showed up."
"Oh."
"I'm so sorry, Darby. Are you sure you don't want me to call the fire department? I really want to get you out of there."
"Please, don't. I will die of embarrassment. I can handle this in front of you, I couldn't in front of a bunch of strangers."
My chest warms at the inadvertent slip. He doesn't think of me as a stranger.
"It won't be that bad," I assure him. "They deal with way worse."
"No. You don't understand."
He stops himself.
Every single fiber of my being is screaming to find out why he doesn't want me to call for help, but I force myself not to. Hedidn't push me, and it allowed me to open up to him in a way I felt comfortable to. I want to extend the same grace to him.
"I…um, I had a bad experience. As a kid," he stammers.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
He breathes in and out a few times, deep, heavy breaths.
"Our house caught on fire, and when the fireman rushed into my bedroom to get me out, I was having a panic attack and couldn't move. I've had this guilt ever since that by freezing up like that, I almost killed him and me."
"That obviously didn't happen," I say softly.
"Yeah, but…whenever I see a firefighter, I get flashbacks of the smoke and of being trapped in the house and of being so weak and stupid."
"You weren't weak or stupid," I say. "You were a child, and you were scared. Like anyone would be in that situation."
"I guess."
I didn't think it was possible, but now he's told me that, I hate that he's locked in that damn dressing room even more.
"Are you sure I can't get you anything?" I ask, feeling utterly weak and stupid myself.
Why couldn't I get the damn master key to work?
Why did I have to go and install an electronic door system in the first place? It's a freaking dressing room, not a bank vault. An old-fashioned latch would have been sufficient.
"I'm okay, really. Thanks, though. I might have some water, but I've got a bottle in my bag."
I hear unzipping.
I hear some shuffling.
And then…
A neon-orange dildo slides under the door.
8
Darby
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
