“Coffee? Don’t you hate coffee?”
I grimace. “It’s growing on me.”
He chuckles. “Thank you, doll, but I’d better get home. I’ve been waiting here for about an hour. Shell will start worrying.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“It’s all good. Anything for Lex.”
“Same.” I smile.
We exchange a warm hug, during which he says, “Come visit us sometime, yeah? Have dinner with us.”
“I’ll let you know when I can.”
He lets me go to look down at me with appreciation and what looks like pride. “I’m here if you need me, okay? Remember that.”
“Will do. Say hi to Shelly and Maddy for me.”
“Will do.”
I stay there and watch him leave. I wait until he’s completely gone to walk to the elevators.
My secret operation is slowly becoming common knowledge, which isn’t how I envisioned it. But for now, I can take comfort in the fact that everyone who knows is solid. The word won’t spread. They’re all devoted to the cause.
Ihaven’t been to the apartment I share with Tammy in about three weeks. But I need a few things from my room, which is why I’m here. Then I’ll let Oli know I’ve found something, something big, and that we need to meet up to brainstorm.
I’m very close to starting work on the heist, familiar enough with Nammota’s past work to impersonate him, confident enough about my hacking skills to pull it off. Well, I’m nowhere near as good as him, but I’ll learn on the job, right? And in a few weeks, by the time I’m done preparing everything, I should be good enough to fool everyone. Or at least the people I need to fool. There’s a code of honor among the hacking community, and I don’t think any of them will snitch if the heist isn’t as flawless as Lex would make it.
The key easily turns in the lock, and I enter the place that used to be my home. It feels like months have gone by since I left to live at Lex’s, not weeks. Probably because my days have been long and busy.
Two steps into the hallway that leads to the common space, a sound reaches me. Shit, I should have let Tammy know I was coming by. Before I can worry about it, another sound. A moan. Aloudmoan. Fuck. She isn’t alone. And she sounds very busy. Blissfully busy.
Achildish giggle bubbles up in my chest, despite my attempt to quench it.
While I lived here, Tammy rarely brought men home, but enough for me to notice she’s very vocal in bed—possibly because she can’t hear herself. But it was never this intense. Even from where I stand, I can tell they’re in her bedroom, and the door is closed. But they might as well be in the living room with how loud she is.
Should I leave and come back? Ugh, the thought of wasting an hour on this bothers me, so I decide against it. I’ll get my stuff and scoot. She’ll never know I was here. I gather myself for a second and discreetly kick off my shoes.
When I arrive in the living room, I can’t help but notice clothes scattered all over the place. A pair of men’s jeans, a T-shirt, a blouse, a thong… It looks like the fun started here before moving on to Tammy’s bedroom.
By the time I reach mine, I can’t help the twinge of envy that gnaws at my core. Homegirl is getting railed in there, and as happy as I am for her, I miss when it used to happen to me. Headboard banging on the walls, flesh slapping, irrepressible moans and cries flying around… Exactly like what’s going on in there.
“Focus,idiota,” I mumble to myself.
I grab what I came here for and shove everything in a backpack. My hard drive, some skincare products, more clothes… I hesitate for a moment, glimpsing at my nightstand. I haven’t been in the mood for sensuality since Lex’s arrest. But hearing Tamika and her friend having fun reminds me of how nice the whole thing can be. Plus, knocking myself into sleep with a good orgasm has always worked wonders for me, and I’ve been struggling with that lately. Maybe it’s not completely absurd to take Idris and Jensen back to Lex’s place. Just in case.
Impulsively, I take them out of their drawer and shove them into my bag, along with their charging cords. I don’t have to use them, but I can if I want to. They can help me forget about this whole situation, even just for a few minutes, as I lose myself in fantasies of Lex.
Once I have everything, I return to the living room, closing the door behind me as discreetly as I can. Now that I’m closer, I realize they’rebothnoisy. Whoever she’s with, he got the memo that men moaning is a big turn-on for women. Too bad Tammy can’t enjoy it. Though she seems to be enjoying herself quite a lot as it is.
Oh, I can’t wait to tease her about it someday—revenge for the time she caught Lex coming out of my room, buck naked.
When I’m back in the entrance hallway, I take my phone out to text Oli. If he’s interested, I can pick him up on my way back to Lex’s place. I send the text and grab a shoe, but a ding in the living room stops me.
Wait… Why did that sound like a Mario coin? And why the fuck do I know that notification sound? I think my brain figures it out but refuses to accept it because I retake my phone to send another text to Oli, an inconspicuous follow-up to my, “Are you available?”
The sound echoes in the living room again, barely audible over the ruckus in Tammy’s bedroom.
