“That’s pretty accurate,” was what Reese settled on after she’d taken in Hallie’s words. Because Hallie was absolutely right. She, and by extension Sydney, was party to something that was making her more uneasy by the day.
Hallie hopped down from her seat behind the desk. “It’s a gift. Anyway, Candace called out today, so I’m about to go restock the rooms. Something about Greg’s third eye being in an emotional affair.”
Reese looked at Hallie, who was staring back at her. “Are youserious?”
“They invited me out to The Lobster Trap last night, so do with that what you will,” Hallie answered, seemingly nonplussed.
Reese hadn’t been to the local dive bar, The Lobster Trap, since she’d been twenty-one and briefly home for a summer in college. She doubted very much that it had changed in the last decade, and her face scrunched up reflexively.
But more importantly than remembering the patina of grime coating all the surfaces at the bar, she really needed to work on finding a balance with Hallie between being a good boss and being a pushover. But that was a conversation for another day.
“Let’s go,” Reese said, rapping her knuckles on the countertop. “We’ll be done faster if we tag-team it.”
Plus, it would give her something to focus on instead of the empty feeling that Sydney had left in her wake.
After the sixth lap, Reese was glad she’d taken Hallie up on the recommendation to use the pool after hours. The sun had just set, and Reese glided through the water with a practiced, albeit rusty, ease.
The pool was at the edge of the property, secluded by rows of hedges that created a privacy barrier between it and the large lawn next to the inn. Her master key card opened it even after hours, and the combination of setting sun and fairy lights created the perfect blend for relaxation. It was like Reese had stepped into her own little world, and even though the pool could use a little love and care, it was a gorgeous and heated addition to The Stone’s Throw.
In high school, she’d loved swimming. Built for distance, she was almost unbeatable at the 500-meter freestyle. But swimming was something she’d never considered a professional pursuit, though she still made time in college and at her gym in San Francisco to do laps whenever she had a free hour.
Right now, she needed to do as many laps as her body could handle. For the last ten hours, she’d been straddling some sort of invisible line between exhausted and wired. After working with Hallie until about six p.m., she’d been hoping to hear from Sydney so they could pick up where they’d left off.
Sadly, all she’d received was a text that Sydney’s visit with her family had taken on a life of its own, and without a car of her own, Sydney was at their mercy.
Which left Reese feeling… adrift. After grabbing dinner and returning to her room, with still no word, she’d tried to distract herself.
A book, which she’d kept losing her place in.
A movie, whose lead looked way too much like Sydney.
She’d even tried to do a crossword puzzle, but groaned in frustration and threw her pen onto the floor when a question about a certain formerly retired tennis player came up.
So instead, she focused on her stroke, on her exhale like a metronome guiding her along. Swimming used to be the one thing that allowed her mind to blank out, and it was devastating that not even her comfort activity could dampen her thoughts.
What had she done to deserve this? It wasn’t like she’d gone looking for Sydney or had asked to be thrown into this sexually frustrated limbo where she was so keyed up and had nowhere to put her energy.
She paid her taxes. Donated to nonprofits. Stopped for pedestrians crossing the street—which was no small feat in a tourist town like this one.
So… why? Why did the fates seem intent on keeping the two of them from having more than five minutes alone together?
Hell, they’d even talked about what was happening between them. Like responsible adults!
This was all so… foreign to Reese. She’d never considered herself an especially sexual person. She was driven. Focused. Usually unaware of her baser instincts.
But now? Now, all she could think about was Sydney backing her up against the next flat surface they found and finishing what felt like a month in the making.
Maybe it was all the touching, she’d considered between laps four and five. The playing at something from the start that was deeper than where they’d truly been, like it had been priming Reese before she’d been fully aware of what was happening.
Which meant that as all the pieces were clicking together, her mind and her body in sync, she wasready.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
