“Well, clearly you’re fucking, but is it more than that?”
“No,” I answered quickly. Too quickly.
“Do you want it to be?” he pried further.
“No. We’ve both agreed it’sjustsex.”
“And she’s cool with that?” he asked in surprise.
“Yeah. Surprisingly so.”
“Wow.” He gave an impressed nod, but he didn’t seem entirely convinced in the way his lips pulled down slightly at the corners. I ignored it and sipped my drink, enjoying the smooth burn of the amber liquid.
My phone buzzed in my pocket just then and I pulled it out quickly, somehow knowing who it was. I was right. Gabriella’s name appeared on the screen, but I left it unopened, knowing Wyatt was eyeing me knowingly.
“What?” I said sharply, meeting his eye.
“I won’t blame you if you leave to go get some.” He nodded toward my phone that I had set on the bar top.
I rolled my eyes and waved him off, though I really wanted to see what she had texted. I could hold out. I wasn’t a slave to sex. I lifted my head with pride and took another sip of my drink. Wyatt just chuckled and shook his head, knowing my curiosity would get the better of me in a minute or so.
When I couldn’t hold out any longer, I picked up my phone and slid open the text.
Gabriella:Synergy Enterprise Xpedite meeting was moved up. Meet me at my place.
She was forward, and I fucking loved it. I pulled my wallet from my jacket pocket and set a hundred-dollar bill down. Wyatt watched me smugly.
“Do me a favor,” I said as I stood up from my barstool.
“What?” he asked curiously.
“Take that chick home.” I nodded toward the bartender who was showing off her cleavage to another patron. “So you have something to distract you from putting your nose in my business.”
Wyatt gave me a shit-eating grin and a profane gesture as I left him at the bar. I could hear his low chuckle behind me as I headed out the door. As I called my driver, who was just down the block, I thought about how this was so unlike me. Never did I drop everything for a woman, but there was some strange magnetic pull with Gabriella. She called, I came. In more waysthan one. Any chance I had to hook up with her, I took. It felt like I was losing my damn mind, but it felt too good to stop.
Chapter 21
Gabriella
I rolled over in bed, my hand searching for Chandler, but wasn’t surprised to find the other side of the bed empty. The cool sheets met my hand as my eyes fluttered open. I could still smell the remnants of his cologne, and could still feel the touch of his hands against my skin. It made me feel even more alone now in the early morning hours.
He must have slipped out, as he always had. It was like he had some rule about not staying over. For some reason it annoyed me more than it should. I pushed down the feeling of hurt that I was being used. I had no right to feel hurt because we used each other. I was the one who had texted him two nights ago, going along with his ridiculous made up meeting for some made up company that spelled S-E-X. He was something else.
But last night, he had come over again. Unannounced this time, with that same look in his eyes that had me dropping my clothesright there at the door. We must have had sex on every surface of my apartment at this point, eager to try every position and angle we possibly could to see if we could top how good the last time was. We somehow found a way each time, leaving us both writhing with pleasure.
I rolled toward my nightstand and checked the time. It was barely 6 a.m., so he must have left in the middle of the night. We did have work today, so maybe he just wanted to get home so he can do his morning routine. There I was, making up excuses for him.
I sat up in bed and my head started spinning as if I were hungover, though I hadn’t had a drink. I gripped the sheets around me tightly, pulling them close to my naked body. The room was moving, but I was sitting still. Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit me like a truck, making me keel over and clutch my stomach. I groaned as I crawled out of bed. Another wave hit me and had me running to the bathroom, my feet slapping against the hardwood floor.
Thankfully, I reached the toilet in the nick of time, before spilling my insides into the porcelain bowl. I gripped the sides as I wretched loudly, the sound echoing off the walls. I hovered there for several minutes, making sure to get everything out before I curled up on the nearby fluffy, bath rug. I wanted to get back in bed, but didn’t trust my stomach.
I must have fallen asleep there, completely exhausted from being up the night before to follow it up with puking my guts out. When I woke up, the sun was pouring through the small bathroom window and warming my skin. I pulled myself to asitting position, my stomach not agreeing with the movement. I took a deep breath, trying to keep down the bile in my throat.
What the hell was going on with me? I had been feeling a little sick the past couple weeks, but chalked it up to the stress at work. My emotions had been all over the place since my father retired, leaving the company to a stranger. A stranger that I was now sleeping with. That little detail also had my anxiety at an all-time high, as I was terrified of getting caught. But this was the first time all of this had taken such a physical toll on me.
I gently held my stomach as I glanced around the bathroom, looking for anything to distract me from the nausea that was rolling through me again. That was when I spotted the box of tampons on the shelf above the toilet, staring down at me. I swallowed hard. I couldn’t remember the last time I had used one. I couldn’t remember the last time I had my period. My heart started pounding.
Calm down, Gabriella.
