The sensation in my stomach grows unbearably hot as electricity sweeps up my spine. I move my fingers frantically now, chasing the high. My breathing stops as my whole body tightens.
“Elias!” I cry out as my orgasm wracks my body, my pussy tightening and feeling unbearably empty.
As my breathing evens out, my senses return. Heat prickles my face as my throat grows thick. I don’t know how it’s possible, but I feel more unsatisfied after that orgasm than before.
What the fuck did I just do?
Steam curls around me, thick and stifling. My pulse still pounds between my thighs, but something sour knots in my stomach. I scrub myself clean and wrap a towel around myself.
This isn’t me.
Stepping out of the shower, the chill from the window seeps into my bones. I press my palms to the tile, letting my forehead rest against the cool surface. Just moments ago, I was scrubbing Kirk’s touch from my skin. Now I’m getting off at the first guy who showed me a little care and concern? Is that all it takes? A pair of piercing eyes and basic human interaction?
Wiping away the steam, I look at myself in the mirror. I know I should stay away from him, but it feels impossible. Everywhere I turn, he’s there. And I don’t want to run anymore.
“I bring goodies,” says Harper cheerfully as she swings my apartment door open. She holds up a bag of doughnuts and two coffees.
“You are my knight in shining armor, Harper Milano,” I say as I take my coffee from her hand, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. We make our way over to the couch, and she placesthe doughnuts onto the table, taking one for herself and using her palm as a plate.
“How was your date?” I ask, taking a long sip of my americano, enjoying the feeling of the warm liquid sliding down my throat.
“Eh,” she sounds with a shrug of her shoulders. “It was okay. He’s just as dry as the Sahara, Kat. The conversation is zero.”
“Then why do you keep him around?” I laugh, cradling the hot paper cup in my hands.
“Because the sex is amazing, duh,” she exclaims with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
I roll my eyes, pushing back the shame of my earlier shower.
“But he has been a little MIA recently,” she continues, her eyes downcast.
“In what way?” I ask, quirking a brow.
“Well, there have been a few times when he’s not been reachable. He says his phone died. Who lets their phone die in the twenty-first century?”
“Maybe his phone did actually die,” I reply with a smirk, which earns me a glare.
“The messages were delivered. They wouldn’t deliver if his phone was off.” She sighs. “We’re not together or anything, but I’d like to know if he’s fucking someone else. I don’t want to catch any STDs.” She shivers before taking a sip of coffee. “Or maybe,” she says, the sound muffled by a bite of doughnut. “I can tell the other girl, and she and I will become best friends and team up against Nathan and then go for world domination.”
We both laugh, my head coming to rest against her shoulder.
“That’s impossible.I’myour best friend,” I say with a small smile.
“Of course, Kat. Forever and always.” She places a small kiss on my forehead.
I want to be more supportive of her, the words are lodged in my throat. But I can’t seem to push them through with the weight of everything else sitting heavily on my shoulders. So I don’t say anything. I just stay there, leaning into her, listening to the faint sirens in a distant part of the city through my windows.
“So, how’s everything with you?”
I sigh, pulling myself up to a sitting position. “Weird,” I confess, taking a deep breath, ignoring the look of concern painted on Harper’s face. “After you all left the other night…”
I tell the entire story through blurred eyes, the setting sun casting dramatic shadows across my apartment by the time I’m finished.
“Kat…” Harper sighs before pulling me into a hug, my ribs tightening at the contact. “Why didn’t you call or text me?”
“I didn’t think. Everything happened so fast,” I whisper.
She gives me a sympathetic look, and I bite down the reaction that comes with the look. “And you still don’t know what happened to Kirk?”