I did wind up getting a new vibrator. And a monster dildo.
It wasn’t enough.
But he was gone and it would stay that way.
And I would be fine, if I could only button my fucking pants.
With a sigh, I gave up. I stared in the mirror at my protruding belly and glared.
“You choose today to be bloated?” I muttered. The weather was nice and I wanted to look hot. Was that too much to ask?
Going back to my closet, I found one of my favorite, and looser, dresses. Once the pants were off and that was on, I took a second to admire myself again.
In all the years that I’d gained and lost weight, I knew the best way to feel better was simply wearing the right size. And in my coral dress, I looked hot as hell.
“A win is a win,” I said to myself before going to the bathroom to put on my makeup.
When I was ready for the day, I headed to my car when one of the steps came loose and I fell right on my ass with a loudthunk. For a second, I stared at the baby-blue morning sky and wondered if I was cursed.
I wasn’t. As with everything else with my house, I was letting things go. And this step had been loose for four months.
I really needed to fix that.
I really needed to fix a lot of things.
It must have been the abrupt ending to Dean andme, because I’d been tired ever since he left. So tired that I was even behind at the store, which was new for me. Well, it wasn’t all that new. I’d felt similarly when Mom died.
I shook it off as the cool air hit me. I almost wished I’d worn a jacket, but it would have ruined the outfit. My car took a while to heat up, but as I pulled into the square, my eyes drifted to the newest shop in town out of habit. Theo’s had opened with an explosion of business, and while the coffee was great, I thought about the man who’d helped bring it to life.
Dean was never coming back, yet I kept looking, hoping he’d come to town to try the coffee.
It was ridiculous. Our little affair was over, yet there was something about the second time that lingered in my mind, like a puzzle waiting to be figured out. It kept me up at night, and it only added to my bone-deep exhaustion.
Hopefully, I was hiding it well. No one knew that I sometimes took naps in the stockroom, and they didn’t need to.
When I got to the front door of the Treasure Trove, Jade walked up behind me.
“Are you about to open up for the day?” she asked.
“Nah, I was just gonna go inside and hang out for no reason.”
She rolled her eyes as I smirked, but I would let her in even if I wasn’t open. She and I had known each other since we were kids. We’d been friends, but it really solidified after Gabriel left. She’d needed someone, and I wanted to help.
“Come in,” I said. “What do you need?”
I had a feeling I knew what it was, considering she was in her Converse instead of her usual combat boots.
“The soles ripped again,” she said with a sigh.
“Seriously? What thehellare you doing with your boots?”
“Going through forests, kicking men when they piss me off.” She shrugged. “Theywork hard.”
“I have another pair I could sell you,” I said. “Let me go grab them.”
“You’re the best,” she called as I walked to the stockroom. “And who let your tits look so good today?”
I laughed, but I enjoyed the compliment.