SEVENTEEN
EVELYN
Despite the revelation I was still reeling from, the first day of the conference went by without a hitch. I was enthralled by the information presented and by the people I’d met in the field. I had fangirled hard when I met one of my favorite female keynote speakers, Melissa Hall, who was known for her influence with women in the tech field. Just being in her presence felt like a honor.
Thankfully, Kade was not with me the entire day except for the keynote speech in the introduction portion. I was surprised to find out that he was a last-minute addition to the guest speakers for the conference.
By the time I returned to my hotel room, my cheeks hurt from smiling, my feet throbbed from the heels I wore, and my brain was fried from all that I’d learned. However, no matter how tired I was, my body buzzed from Kade’s words this morning.
Only good girls get to call me those names.
Only a cold shower was able to break me of the lust spell that seemed to consume me.
I didn’t see Kade until the following afternoon duringthe lunch break. The conversation was professional and short, leaving me to wonder if he got as worked up around me as I did around him or if he was avoiding me for other reasons.
By the end of the day, I was eager to go home and start implementing the practices and tools I had learned.
Getting out of the shower, I heard my phone ring with a Facetime call. I wrapped a towel around myself and quickly picked up. It was Arrow, no doubt calling to check in with me.
“Oh, well, hello beautiful.” His sweet voice came through the speaker.
I leaned the phone on the dresser so I could finish drying off.
“Nice and wet, just the way I like you,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Ha ha.” I chuckled, rolling my eyes. “How’s my sweet boy doing?”
“Oh, just a miserable cranky-pants because you are gone,” he said dramatically.
“I meant Alfredo, not you, dummy,” I teased.
“You wound me! I was talking about your beloved feline!” He paused, and added, “Though I do miss you.”
“I miss you guys too. Only a couple more days.” I finished drying off and put my hair up in the towel, letting Arrow get an eyeful.
“How’s the conference going?” he asked as he threw a marshmallow into his mouth.
“Hey, you better replace those!” I pointed a finger at him with a mock scowl on my face.
He smiled, showing off several marshmallows between his teeth. “If you’re lucky.”
“The conference is going surprisingly well. I’ve beenable to network and learn a few things,” I explained, pulling an oversized t-shirt over my head, then adding black booty shorts and lime green Snoozie slippers.
When my eyes met the screen, Aaron was pouting. “Why did you put clothes on? I wanted you to stay naked. I miss that pretty pink pussy wrapped around my co?—"
Before he could finish, a knock sounded at the door. “Hold on, Aaron, someone’s here.” Picking up my phone, I walked over to the door and rested the phone on my chest.
Opening the door, I was greeted with whiskey-brown eyes that were now taking in my bare legs and my oversized t-shirt. The stare caused goosebumps on my skin. I waved Kade in, not wanting anyone else to see the minimal clothing I was wearing.
“Hey Aaron, I’ll call you guys later. Can you put little man on so I can say bye?”
Aaron rolled his eyes and placed the phone down. I could hear the sounds of shuffling and movement, before a loud hiss.
“Listen bro, take it up with your mom. She wanted to say bye to you. Don’t shoot the messenger.” I heard Aaron fight with my grumpy cat and tried to stifle a laugh while avoiding Kade’s curious stare.
He was incredibly drool-worthy in dark jeans and a black dress shirt that was rolled up on his forearms, accentuating his tattoos. Everything was paired perfectly with a watch that probably cost more than I made in a year.
When my eyes returned to the screen, I was greeted with Alfredo’s less than impressed stare.
