The doubt stopped her.
It was nearly eleven. She wanted to tell Sloan—wanted to make it clear just how turned on she was, and how much she needed relief.
Her phone lit up as she touched the screen. She found Sloan’s last message and hit reply.
Matty:When you said no touching…do nipples count? Asking for a very frustrated friend.
She watched the screen for a moment—unread.
A knock came at the door. “You up?”
“Yep, thanks,” Matty called out. “Put the kettle on.”
“Already on.”
Matty sat upright, still wound tight. She glanced at her phone once more—still unread.
“Right. Up,” she muttered. Standing and grabbing the towel off the back of the door, she wrapped it around herself, then crossed the hall to the bathroom.
A quick shower, cooler than usual.
***
By the time she got dressed and walked into the kitchen, there was a mug of coffee steaming on the table.
“Lifesaver,” Matty murmured, lifting it and taking a sip. “Mm. That’s perfect.”
Sarah smiled up at her, eyes following as Matty took the same seat as earlier. “Got anything nice planned before you’re back in work mode?”
“Well, I was hoping to meet with Sloan, but she’s not read my text yet, so…” Matty shrugged.
“Is she expecting a text?”
“I thought so.” Matty frowned. “We talked yesterday about meeting up. I guess something came up. Hopefully nothing’s kicked off with Gloria.”
“Maybe you could just go over there and find out?”
“Yes, I could do that.” Matty nodded to herself as she considered it. “I’ll give it another half an hour and then I’ll text again or call. Maybe I’ll just call.” She took another sip. “What’s your day looking like?”
“I was thinking I’ll just veg in front of the telly for a bit. A few of my friends are going bowling later, so I might tag along.”
“Bloody expense that is nowadays.”
“I know, right? I’ll probably end up down the pub instead.”
Matty checked her phone again.
“Just call her,” Sarah said. “It obviously means a lot to you to see her, so…just do it.”
“You’re right. I’m going to.” Matty picked up the phone, found Sloan’s number, and hit call without any hesitation.
It rang.
And rang.
“No answer.”
Sarah got up and took her mug to the sink. “Maybe she’s just busy with the mother. You said she could be a handful, right?”
