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Reconnection
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด:
2025-01-12 09:03:58บทที่เกี่ยวข้อง
Pretend to be mine Rekindling Joy
“I’m growing to like elevators quite a bit,” she said as the doors opened for his floor.He fumbled in his pocket for the door key and realized two things. One: he wanted to pick her up and throw her on his bed again. Two: he really had to pee. Shit. He’d better make it quick.He pulled her inside the room.“Don’t move. Give me one second. I’ll be right back.” He flew into the bathroom and hoped that the look on her face hadn’t been irritation or—oh God—a change of heart. Maybe she’d remembered she was mad at him? That thought made him zip his pants quickly, in case he had to convince her to stay.When he opened the door, she wasn’t standing in the entryway where he’d left her. She hadn’t left, had she? He looked around the room and . . . holy shit.She was propped up against the pillows on the bed, wearing that leather jacket, those heels . . . and nothing else. He unbuckled his belt.“I thought I told you not to move?” he asked her as he approached the bed.She nodded, her fingers
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2025-01-12Pretend to be mine First meeting
Lucia hills walked into the Lacoste hotel in Berkeley that Wednesday night wearing her favorite red heels, feeling jittery from coffee, and carrying a bottle of champagne in her purse. She took out her phone to text her sister, Susan, upstairs in one of the guest rooms. It was always good to give Susan a little more advance warning than most people. It didn’t matter that Susan had just made partner at her New York law firm; some things didn’t change. Oh no, was just about to get in the shower. Lucia got Susan’s text just as she stepped into the elevator. She laughed out loud as she pushed the number of her sister’s floor, the laughter calming her nerves. Lucia couldn’t wait to celebrate with her older sister, despite . . . no, maybe because their relationship was still tricky after all these years. The elevator glided in the air, in that smooth, noiseless way elevators in expensive hotels do, while lucia checked her purse for the second time to make sure she’d tossed the fanc
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-12-07Pretend to be mine Be my date
“Which way is she?” They both looked up at the arrow signs by the elevator bank. “This way,” she said, pointing to the left. He consulted his room key. “Ah, I’m that way.” He pointed to the right. They smiled at each other and didn’t say anything for a moment. “I can honestly say that I’ve never had a more entertaining time in an elevator. Thanks for that.” He reached out a hand. “Likewise.” Lucia shook it. “Good luck at the wedding.” He laughed and grimaced. “Don’t remind me. Congratulations to your sister.” She thanked him and walked down the hall toward Susan room. She wished she knew what else she could or should have said to keep talking to him longer. She sighed and kept walking. “Lucia. Wait.” This was crazy. Avon knew, objectively, that what he was about to do was crazy. But as she turned to walk away, he shouted for her to stop a split second later. “Yeah?” She turned. “You can’t have the rest of the cheese, not even as a parting gift.” Okay, here was his opport
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-12-07Pretend to be mine Reminder
Lucia stepped off the elevator and onto the bustling floors of city halls. She took a deep breath, feeling the familiar hum of the office energize her. It was good to be back at work. As she made her way to her office, Lucia couldn't help but think about the previous night's dinner celebration. Her sister Susan made partner at a firm. She had just been promoted to senior partner, and they had decided to celebrate in style. They had dined at one of Berkeley top restaurants, indulging in champagne and fine wine. Lucia chuckled to herself as she remembered the two of them stumbling out of the restaurant, giggling and holding onto each other for support. They had definitely had a bit too much to drink. As she settled into her office, Lucia’s phone buzzed with an incoming text from her colleague and friend Diana. "Hey, want to grab coffee and catch up?" Diana asked. Diana smiled, happy to take a break from her usual routine. "Definitely," she replied. "Meet you at the coffee shop down
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-12-11Pretend to be mine Perfect Dress
Lucia stood in front of her closet, staring blankly at the clothes hanging before her. she was feeling a little anxious. "What am I going to wear?" she asked herself, feeling a sense of panic rising up. Just then, her phone buzzed with an incoming text from her friend, Diana. "Hey, girl! What's up?" Diana asked. Lucia smiled, feeling a sense of relief wash over her. She quickly typed out a response. "Hey! I'm freaking out about what to wear on my date tonight. Want to come over and help me pick out a dress?" Diana responded almost immediately. "OMG, yes! I'll be right there." Few minutes later, Diana arrived bearing a bottle of wine and a determined look on her face. "Okay, let's get down to business," she said, setting the wine down on the coffee table. "Show me what you've got." Lucia laughed and led Diana to her closet. Together, they began browsing through the racks, pulling out dresses and examining them critically. Diana held up a bright red dress. "What about this one?"
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-12-12Pretend to be mine Waiting for Lucia
Avon checked his watch for what felt like the hundredth time. He had arrived at the restaurant 15 minutes early, eager to make a good impression on lucia. But as the minutes ticked by, he began to feel a growing sense of unease. Where was she? Avon had tried calling her, but it had gone straight to voicemail. He had also sent her a text, but she hadn't responded. Maybe she's not coming, Avon thought, feeling a pang of disappointment. He had been looking forward to this date all week, and the thought of being stood up was not pleasant. Avon took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Maybe there was a good reason why Lucia was late. Maybe she was stuck in traffic or had an emergency.He’d questioned the lack of exclamation points in both texts—women, in his experience, tended to use a lot of exclamation points. Did that mean she was feeling like she should have backed out?He was certainly feeling like he should have backed out. Not from the date with Lucia —no, that was
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-12-15Pretend to be mine Tensed up
A pleasure to meet you, Josh. Congratulations on the wedding! I’m honored to be here.”A blonde with soft curls and a knee-length white eyelet dress walked up to them. Lucia knew she was the bride as soon as she’d walked into the room.At her approach, Lucia moved closer to Avon. He picked up his drink and sipped it, but she knew he noticed, too, because he slid his arm around her waist. Damn, there was that tingle again.Avon, is this Lucia? Lucia, I’m Anna.It’s so nice to meet you.”Anna gave her a huge smile that felt genuine, and not for the first time, Lucia wondered what the whole story was between the Anna and Avon breakup. Did Josh and Anna feel guilty for what they’d done to Drew? Did they ask him to be in the wedding to assuage their guilt?She wasn’t going to get an answer to that question right now (if ever), so her job was just to stand here next to Avon and turn on the charm. Luckily, she worked in politics; “charm” was her middle name.Avon increased the wattage of h
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-12-17Pretend to be mine A night to remember
Lucia and Avon laughed, standing up to hug the couple. “Thanks for having us” Lucia said. Josh grinned, wrapping his arm around Anna’s waist. “Thanks for coming to celebrate with us." He said As they said their goodbyes, Avon turned to Lucia . "Would you like to walk out with me?" he asked, offering her his arm. Lucia smiled, taking his arm. "I'd love to," she said. As they strolled out of the restaurant, Avon couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement. He had been drawn to Lucia from the moment he met her, and he found himself wanting to spend more time with her. "Hey, Lucia ?" Avon said, turning to her as they reached the sidewalk. "Yeah?" Lucia replied, looking up at him curiously. "I was wondering if you'd like to come to my hotel room and hang out tomorrow?" Avon asked, trying to sound casual. Lucia’s eyes widened slightly, and Avon could tell she was surprised by the invitation. But then, a slow smile spread across her face. "I'd like that," Lucia said, her
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด : 2024-12-18
บทล่าสุด
Pretend to be mine Rekindling Joy
“I’m growing to like elevators quite a bit,” she said as the doors opened for his floor.He fumbled in his pocket for the door key and realized two things. One: he wanted to pick her up and throw her on his bed again. Two: he really had to pee. Shit. He’d better make it quick.He pulled her inside the room.“Don’t move. Give me one second. I’ll be right back.” He flew into the bathroom and hoped that the look on her face hadn’t been irritation or—oh God—a change of heart. Maybe she’d remembered she was mad at him? That thought made him zip his pants quickly, in case he had to convince her to stay.When he opened the door, she wasn’t standing in the entryway where he’d left her. She hadn’t left, had she? He looked around the room and . . . holy shit.She was propped up against the pillows on the bed, wearing that leather jacket, those heels . . . and nothing else. He unbuckled his belt.“I thought I told you not to move?” he asked her as he approached the bed.She nodded, her fingers
Pretend to be mine Reconnection
Avon was pretty sure he was going to like Diana. She seemed cool. “Hi,” he said, once they were alone. He touched her bare arm and this time didn’t let go. “Can I, um—can we talk for a minute?” Now that he’d seen her, he couldn’t just walk back to his barstool. She looked in the direction that Nolan and Diana had disappeared in, and then back at him. Shit, was she going to tell him to go away? “Sure,” she finally said. He grabbed her hand and pulled her deeper into the corner. “Look, I’m sorry about what I said. In the texts, I mean. I wasn’t thinking,” he said, once the din around them was a little quieter. He wanted to step closer but didn’t want her to back away. She squeezed his hand. “No, Avon, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have started all of that. It wasn’t . . . I didn’t want . . .” He looked down at her. That strapless dress she was wearing . . . he wanted to pull down the neckline and kiss her in that hollow between her breasts. “I wasn’t,” he blurted out. “I mean, I’m not.
Pretend to be mine Unexpected encounter
Avon only did this work when he was forced into it or had nothing else to do to keep him occupied, and Lucas knew it. “So I’m guessing from the look on your face that you didn’t go to San Francisco last weekend? Did you even try to fix it?” Avon kept his eyes on his computer and attempted to keep his voice level. “Leave it alone, Lucas.” Of course he’d thought about trying to fix it. But what was the point? Lucas stood up, thank God. “Fine, keep brooding. But you’d better have pulled yourself together by the time we go to San Francisco this weekend.” Avon head shot up. What the hell was he talking about? Why the hell would he be going to San Francisco? Lucas laughed. At, not with him, he was pretty sure. “The American Association of Pediatric Hospital Medicine Conference? We planned it, like, two months ago? We’re the only two junior peds from this hospital who get to go? We leave tomorrow?” Avon laid his head down on his desk, lifted it, and banged it back down. Luckily, th
Pretend to be mine Regrets and longing
Lucia spent the rest of the afternoon first furious at Avon, then at herself. Why had she decided to text him in the middle of the day on a Wednesday, for God’s sake? Did she have to do this right when she was about to go into three back-to-back meetings where she had to concentrate and be diplomatic and pay attention? Shouldn’t she have waited to talk about this in person? After the last of her meetings, not only did she have to drive her boss home, but she made her sit in the driveway with her and talk about their transportation plan for fifteen minutes. She felt like she was going to crawl out of her skin. She was angry that she had gotten so invested in a relationship that had lasted all of thirteen days, angry she’d done all of that for something that wasn’t even a relationship in the first place, angry at Avon for being such a jackass, angry at Avon for being such a great guy for ninety-eight percent of those thirteen days, angry at herself for being on the point of tears
Pretend to be mine “Text message mayhem”
Diana had a side job and business was thriving, which meant she always had great stories. Lucia laughed throughout the tale of graduation dress shopping for a whole family. Unfortunately, now that she’d been given permission to start thinking more about the Avon situation, it was all she could think about. “Should I ask him?” Lucia asked, midway through her second drink. “I guess that depends on how much you want to know the answer,” Diana said. Wednesday afternoon, Avon’s phone buzzed in his pocket while he was in the middle of an appointment with Nolan and his mom. He grinned, almost certain of who had just texted him. He and Lucia had been texting each other all week, both in innocent and creative ways, though she’d been strangely silent today. He fought the urge to pull his phone out of his pocket and concentrated on Nolan. When Abby and Nolan were walking out the door, she stopped and turned around. “Your friend Lucia’s been so helpful. She’s gotten me in touch with hel
Pretend to be mine Good news and Good company
Sure enough, she ran into him on her way into the building, a pink box in his hand. “My hero!” she said as she handed him the coffee she’d bought him. “How did you know I was going to bring doughnuts?” He eyed his coffee and the grin on her face. “I had a hunch.” She popped open the box and took out hers. “Just what I needed.” He tested his coffee for temperature, not taking a sip yet. “We all know you got lucky this weekend. Do you need to flaunt it?” She just grinned and took a big bite of her doughnut as he followed her into her office. “Before I forget, did you hear anything? Normally, I wouldn’t have even had to ask, but with you gone this weekend . . .” His voice trailed away as she shook her head. He sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk. “Okay, we’ll talk about that in a minute. First: the weekend went well, I’m guessing?” He sipped his coffee and reached for his own doughnut. “It did, thank you.” She pushed all of her anxieties from the night before away
Pretend to be mine Dim sum and departures
Avon put his arm around her and leaned back against the pillows. “This program is really important to you, isn’t it?” She nodded, her head against his chest. “Tell me about it,” he said, his fingers moving through her hair. She hesitated. Was she ready to get into this with him just yet? Or ever, really? Would he understand? Would he even care? He kept waiting, though. “I’ve always been interested in how to help teenagers. There are all sorts of programs for little kids, lots of reading groups and playgrounds and stuff like that. But people stop caring about kids once they hit the age of eleven or twelve. And everyone hates teenagers. Which sucks, because that’s just the time of life when everything is changing and scary and you need help. And then when teenagers screw up, no one ever wants to give them a chance again. Especially teens of color.” “But an arts program?” She looked up at that tone in his voice and saw his raised eyebrows. “Isn’t that just rewarding kid
Pretend to be mine Sunday morning
Lucia woke up the next morning alone in bed. She assumed that Avon was in the bathroom, but when he didn’t get back in bed after a few minutes, she sat up and saw his bathroom door open and the light off. She pulled on his robe and wandered into the kitchen in the hopes that he was making coffee, but he wasn’t there, either. She decided that he’d probably gone for a run on the beach like he said he did some mornings. She sort of wished he’d left her a note but forced herself to shrug it off. She got back in bed with her neglected phone to check her work email. But first things first: she typed out a quick reply to a text from Diana that just said ???????? Weekend so far: having fun, eating good food, great sex, don’t wish you were here. Just then, she heard Avon’s front door quietly open and close. “Oh, you’re awake.” He’d tiptoed into the bedroom, holding two cups of coffee in a tray and a bakery bag. “I thought you’d still be asleep.” She looked at the bag, and then back to
Pretend to be mine Appreciation
He took her hand as soon as they entered the parking lot. “How did you get a hug out of Abby? She still calls me Dr. Avon in that very formal voice,” he said. “Oh, I was just giving her some advice about the kinds of services they could get. She told me about the accident and that it was a drunk driver.” He dug in his pocket for his car key. What did she mean, services? “They have good health insurance, I think. Fred works for one of the studios.” She checked her phone and frowned at it before looking back up at him. “I know, she told me, but good insurance only goes so far. I meant all of the crime victims’ services that they can get from the state. Counseling, compensation, help at home, stuff like that. She said she vaguely remembered being told about it right after the accident but had no idea how to access that stuff.” No wonder Abby had hugged her. “So you gave her your card? What’s the mayor’s office going to do about a kid in L.A.?” She looked back up from her phone a
