“Want help?” Caroline asked.
“I’d love some,” Addison replied.
Addison had long dark hair, a warm smile, and kept in great shape. A few years earlier, she’d married her best friend. Two children later, she and Hawk were living their best lives.
Caroline and Addison had become friends while working at the Agency. She’d been Addison’s handler when Addison had been in the middle east. When Addison came back, they’d hung out.
After Caroline had completed her six-month assignment in Karakistan, she was told the assignment would continue for another six. Though disappointed, she’d been making inroads with the locals and learning a lot about the terror cell that was wreaking havoc on a global scale. Then, suddenly, she’d been asked to return to Langley, and was heading up a team of handlers while waiting for her next assignment.
As Caroline filled drink orders, she made a decision. Going forward, she’d play it smart and staybehindthe counter. She was done hooking up with a stranger who took forever to get it up, then even longer to get off.
Life’s too short to get caught up in everyone’s problems. Move on.
“Hey, princess, can I get a beer over here?” asked a clubber.
She poured the guy a draft beer, set down a napkin and the glass. He paid, she moved on, but the guy waived her back over.
“You’re very beautiful,” he said. “I’m here on the weekends, but I’ve never seen you before.”
“It’s Thursday,” she dead-panned.
He threw his head back and chuffed out a hearty laugh. “Damn, you’re smart too.”
Asswipe.
She held up a menu. “You want something to eat?”
“If you’re on the menu, I’ll take one of you.”
She shook her head, then moved on to serve someone else. The night continued, the sex high unable to sustain her.
At the end of the night, Addison locked the front door, returned to the bar. “What’s your poison?”
“Six-three, long blondish-brown hair, the most gorgeous ocean-blue eyes, and built to fuck.”
Laughing, Addison peered behind the counter. “I don’t have anything closely resembling that back here.”
“Damn,” Caroline said, as she sat on a bar stool. “I’ll take a chilled water.”
After setting two bottles on the counter, Addison pulled up a bar stool beside Caroline. “I owe you, Austin.”
The two women tapped their bottles together, then chugged. The ice-cold liquid felt great as it made its way to her stomach.
“How do you find time to be a wife, a mom, work full-time,andown a club where you have to put in the hours?” Caroline asked.
“We’re not usually short-staffed, but we got a bunch of call-outs tonight,” Addison replied. “It’s Hawk’s night with the kids, so here I am. We’ve talked about selling the club, but we like having it. It’s fun, plus it’s our dirty little escape.”
“I envy you. You found your person and you’re making it work.”
Addison smiled. “It helps that we adore each other, love our children, have a close group of friends. Our parents help with the kids, which is huge.”
They paused to toss back more water.
“Did I see you with someone tonight?” Addison asked.
“Yeah, I hooked up with a member, but not again.”
“Gotta kiss a lot of frogs?—”
