“I love you, too,” Cyren voiced.
Nia leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Feel better. Make sure you drink some water and get some electrolytes in your system. Andpleasemake it to work.”
Cyren laughed. “I’ll try.”
“Trying doesn’t pay the bills, Missy.”
“That doctor’s salary should hold us over.”
Nia playfully rolled her eyes. “Girl,” she said, laughing, “see you later.”
“Have a good day at work!” Cyren yelled behind her.
“You too.”
Once her aunt left, silence reclaimed the room. Cyren sat there for a moment, staring at her closed bedroom door before forcing herself out of bed. Her body protested every movement as she made her way to the bathroom. While the hot water from the shower hit her skin, she thought about what she would wear for the day. Of course, Kansas City’s weather was bipolar and was in the high fifties and had the nerve to be windy, so no showing of skin today.
Cyren stayed in the shower longer than necessary, letting it wash away remnants of her weekend and Heavy’s touch that still lingered in places she refused to think about before 8 a.m. But no matter how far she tried to put him out of her mind, he remained. Claiming a spot that he’d rightfully and respectfully earned, along with being fine. Cyren was doomed in the worst kind of way.
By the timelunch rolled around, Cyren was starving. She was in such a rush to make it to work on time that she’d forgotten to grab her lunch from the fridge. Thankfully, she had a few snacks at her desk to hold her over. Today had already been long, having answered a ton of emails, sitting through two meetings that felt entirely too long, and pretending she was far more focused than she actually was.
She wasn’t. Her mind had been disrespectfully occupied all morning. Every time she thought she’d moved past it, another memory of him crept in uninvited.
Heavy’s hand sliding over her waist made her press her thighs together. The way his mouth felt against hers made her lick her lips. He had easily unraveled her, and she willingly let him. Cyren stared at her computer screen, blinking at numbers that had begun to blur together. Her client was talking, but her thoughts were somewhere else entirely.
“And I was wondering if refinancing would?—”
“Yes,” Cyren answered quickly before realizing she had no clue what the woman had actually asked.
The older woman blinked. “Excuse me?”
Cyren straightened in her chair. “I’m sorry. Let me slow down and walk you through your options.”
She never wanted to come off rude, so she got it together. By the grace of God, she made it through the rest of the meeting without further embarrassing herself. The second her lunch break hit, she practically ran to her car, calling Gabi. She hadn’t gotten around to telling her the details of her weekend, but she’d hinted atsomethinghappening.
The moment Gabi answered her FaceTime, Cyren knew she was in for it.
“You look guilty,” Gabi said without greeting her.
Cyren laughed despite herself as she adjusted her phone against the steering wheel. “Hello to you too.”
“Don’t ‘hello’ me. Start talking.”
Cyren shook her head. “How do you know something happened?”
“Because your face is glowing and you look stressed at the same time. That only happens when a man is involved.”
“That is not true.”
“It absolutely is. Now tell me what happened this weekend.”
Cyren slightly twisted her head to the left, scratched her scalp, and took a dramatic breath. “I had sex.”
“What!”
Gabi screamed so loudly that Cyren jerked back and lowered the volume on her steering wheel.
“Lower your voice,” she said with a giggle.
