Always.
And, according to her, today was one.
“To moments,” I repeated.
She took a drink from her glass, and then she crossed her arms over the table and leaned in closer. “Tell me all about your day. I want to hear every detail.”
I had known this question was coming. That was partly why I’d wanted to cancel. “I woke up, went for a run, and went to work, and now, I’m meeting you. There’s not much else to tell.”
“Alix …”
She didn’t say my name in a reprimanding way.
She said it as though she were encouraging me to talk about it. Because Rose forever assumed I needed to get something off my chest.
“Work was fine,” I said. “The entire shift was rather uneventful, honestly, and for the most part, it was a shockingly safe day in Boston.”
Her face began to relax.
I certainly hadn’t missed how tense it looked.
“And it was a sunny day,” she said.
I nodded. “I’m thankful for that.” I took another sip, hoping I’d satisfied her enough that she would change the topic.
“I have news.”
Relieved that I’d gotten my wish, I reached forward and grabbed a cube of cheese and a slice of prosciutto. “Oh, yeah? What kind of news?”
“I picked a man.”
“What?” I said, chewing the bite that was in my mouth. “You already have a man, so why in the hell would you be looking for another one?”
“He’s not for me. He’s for you.”
I shook my head. “Oh no.”
“You know I’ve been dying to set you up with one of the art directors in my office, and now, it’s finally time. Don’t think I forgot the promise you made me.”
Three months and one week ago, Rose had asked if she could set me up.
I’d told her I would consider it in three months.
She had been smart not to ask me last week.
She was even smarter to ask me now.
I set down the almost-empty glass I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
Just as I was about to respond, she said, “I’m not asking you to get serious with the guy. I just want you to meet him for dinner. The same thing we’re doing right now. If there’s chemistry, pursue him. If there isn’t, then at least you tried.”
“You really want to get me laid, don’t you?”
“Is that a bad thing?”
I opened my mouth and then instantly closed it. I needed to think about what I was going to say before something unforgettable came tumbling out of it. “No, I suppose it’s not.”
“Good.” She grinned. “Then, let me get you laid.”
I didn’t know if I’d actually go on the date with the art director. But, to avoid one of Rose’s talks, I smiled and made sure my tone was convincing when I said, “I can hardly wait.”
The first time I had seen Alix Rayne, she had been walking into the restaurant I was dining at. She was there with a girl, who I later learned was Rose, her best friend. I was there with another woman.
I didn’t mean to watch Alix move across the room. My date just wasn’t holding my attention.
And, because I was used to taking in my surroundings, my peripheral vision more sensitive than most, once Alix entered from my direct right, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
She was absolutely fucking gorgeous.
Both women landed at a table less than ten yards from mine.
Alix sat, facing me.
Then, she laughed at something Rose had said and glanced down at the wine menu.
“Dylan?” my date said.
I turned my head, staring at her now but listening for sounds coming from the other table. “Yeah?”
“Didn’t you want to order some wine with dinner? I think it should be here soon.”
I didn’t want to be rude, but I no longer wanted to have dinner with her.
Not even if that meant a guaranteed blow job in the backseat while my driver took her home.
I wanted to be with the beautiful woman at the other table. The one with long chocolate-colored hair and a curvy waist and lips that naturally were pouty and pale pink.
Just as I was about to respond, a vibration came from the inside of my jacket. I reached into my pocket and took out my cell. When I saw the name on the screen, I said to my date, “I have to take this.” My finger swiped the phone, and I held it up to my ear, “Yes?”
“I have a situation,” my assistant said.
“Talk.”
“One of the pilots showed up, under the influence. He’s been sent home, and boarding has been delayed. The plane is scheduled to leave Logan International Airport in thirty minutes. I’ve contacted all of the other pilots in the area, and none are available. How would you like to proceed?”
“Where’s it going?”
“Las Vegas.”
She wanted to know if I would fly the plane or if she should book the passengers a commercial flight and issue them a credit for the inconvenience.
My customers used my airline for many reasons.
One of those was that we always got them into the air, and it was never on a commercial vessel.
We figured it out.
No matter what that looked like.
Therefore, she knew my answer before I said, “I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
“I’ll let the airport know.”
I put the phone into my jacket and reached into my back pocket for my wallet. I took out three one-hundred-dollar bills, knowing that was more than enough to cover everything we had ordered, and set them on the table. “I have to go.”
“What? Seriously?”
I got up from the table and moved around to her chair. I put my hand on her shoulder and said, “Stay. Enjoy yourself. Eat your meal … and mine. If you want. It was nice meeting you …” I stopped and cleared my throat, trying to remember her name. It didn’t come to me, and I had nothing left to say, so I walked away.But I didn’t leave the restaurant.I went to Alix’s table, stood right at her side, and put my back toward my date. “Excuse me,” I said.Rose was already looking at me.Not Alix.I had to wait for her to slowly turn to me, her gaze gradually lifting until it reached my face. “Hi.”“I want to give you something.”She smiled out of nervousness. “Okay.”“Give me your hand.”“She’s not giving you anything until I know what this is about,” Rose said.The dynamics of their friendship were defined in that moment.So were their personalities.I glanced at Rose. “What I’m about to give her isn’t going to hurt her.”“I don’t know that.”I reached into my back pocket again, took out m
“I’ve missed you.”He was here.With me.That was the only thing I wanted.“I can’t stop thinking about you,” he added.That made me shiver.Even harder.I felt movement, and the blanket shifted. Then, suddenly, he was on top of me.His smell.His touch.His presence.I loved all of it.While I stayed on my stomach, his mouth traveled down my back, peppering my spine with kisses. It forced my lips to spread almost as wide as my legs.“You’re so fucking beautiful, Alix.”Oh God.My arm shot out from under the pillow, and it feathered down the front of me until two of my fingertips were pressed against my clit. “I want you,” I moaned.My hips shifted higher to give him more access, his tip easily finding my wetness.He growled in my ear, and then I heard, “You’re going to get all of me.”I swallowed.And then I gasped as his long thickness thrust deep inside me.It was perfection.So was the sensation that consumed my entire body, the tingles that spread to each of my limbs.Emotion bur
“Why do you say that?”I waved off my assistant as she popped her head in, and I swiveled the chair around to face the wall of windows. “Most people send a text the next day, two days max. Or they scrub off the ink with no intention of ever calling. But they don’t usually keep the number and wait three weeks to use it.”“I was moving. That’s why I didn’t phone you sooner.”I grabbed a stress ball off my desk. I threw it into the air, caught it, and tossed it right back up. “My best friend owns a moving company. I could have had you relocated and unpacked within a few hours.”“I wouldn’t have accepted your offer, Dylan. My roommates and I are more than capable of handling it.”I shifted in my seat as the ball went wide to the left, and I threw it high. “It sounds like you have more than one.”“I have three.”“Three?” I said, laughing.I hadn’t lived with that many people since college, and that was ten years ago.I wasn’t sure how old Alix was. I guessed mid-twenties, which meant she s
A few months later, I’d left, too.Just as I began to unzip that memory while Rose was telling me what their plans were for tonight, I heard a sound.It was one I couldn’t ignore.One I’d been tuned in to for years.It was the sound of someone who needed help.My feet stopped, and I scanned the area in front of me and on both sides until I found the source. There were two men just steps inside the mouth of the alley up ahead. One was sitting on the ground, hunched forward. The other was hovering over him, trying to evoke a response.It took less than a second to assess the situation.My heart began to race, my hands trembling to the point where I almost dropped the phone.The man kneeling was shaking the unconscious guy’s shoulders.There was still no reaction from him.My experience told me he would only get worse without a medical intervention.He needed an EMT, and then he needed to be brought to the hospital.It was a process I was quite familiar with.But, even if I wanted to hel
“And they’re showing you that he’s …” His voice trailed off, and he lifted his hand from Joe’s neck and ran it through his hair. “Jesus fucking Christ, Joe. Open your eyes and look at me, buddy.” When Joe didn’t respond, Smith put his hand on his friend’s chest and shook it. “Open your goddamn eyes. I know you can hear me right now.”I didn’t stop him because I didn’t think movement would hurt Joe’s condition.“What the fuck did you take?” He got closer to Joe’s face. “You didn’t have to do this. We would have figured it out. I would have helped you; you know that.”Just as Joe’s pulse slowed a little more, I heard the sound of the siren. By how loud it was, it couldn’t have been more than a few blocks away.“They’re almost here,” I said to Smith.My fingers stayed on Joe’s wrist, constantly monitoring his heart rate in case it lowered to where I needed to give him CPR. My eyes were glued to him, taking in the coloring of his skin, the movement in his face, every rise of his chest. An
EightAlixPresent DayWithin thirteen minutes of entering my townhouse, I was in bed. Naked. The blanket pulled up to my neck, a bottle of wine in my hand that I rested on top of the mattress.HGTV was playing on the television.Muted.Both bedside table lamps were on.In the last several seconds, I’d played and processed my encounter with Smith and Joe.I’d celebrated the moment internally.It was another milestone after all.And it had been a big one.Now, it was time to call Rose, whose panicked texts I still hadn’t replied to.I opened my call log, found her name, and pressed it.“Alix, are you okay?”I shouldn’t have waited so long to call.I should have phoned her when I’d gotten inside my townhouse.But I couldn’t have.My return couldn’t have gone in that order.I’d had to unlock the door first, then drop the keys and my bag, grab the wine, get undressed, and climb into bed.“Yes,” I promised. “I’m fine.”She sighed, and I could tell how relieved she was. “What the hell happe
She needed to understand something, and because I was more forward than her, I said, “Listen to me, Alix. You can always say no to me.”“I’m not sure I can.”As I looked into her eyes, the truth behind that statement revealed itself to me.She felt the same way I did.I didn’t know what to call it.I couldn’t even describe it.But it was something.I’d known that from the moment I stood next to her at the restaurant.Even more so when I wrote my number on her hand.And, now, the feeling was even more intense than ever.Enough that I needed to start walking or my fucking hands were going to reach for her.I couldn’t let that happen yet.“Follow me.” My hand went to her shoulder, moving her closer, before I led her toward State Street.Just as I took a step, I heard, “Wait.”I glanced at my side, our eyes locking.“I need to know something first.”“What?”“Is she still in the picture?”She.The girl I had been with that night.It was a fair question.“She’s long gone.” My lids narrowed
She swallowed the fries. “Same—except I’m an only child, neither of my parents are pilots, and I grew up in southern Maine.”“Portland?”“Falmouth.”“Even nicer,” I said. I knew the area well, as I’d flown into Portland many times and checked out the surrounding cities. “There’s a corner store in Falmouth. I can’t remember the name, but it has the best whoopie pies I’ve ever tasted.”“Nina’s Variety, and you’re right; they do.”Her lips parted as she lifted the gyro and took a bite.A mouthful so big, it made me proud of her.Alix was cool.Much more than just a pretty face.This girl had substance.She had a story.It was one I wanted to hear.And one I wanted to be a part of.“I want to do this again,” I said.“Me, too.”Once I got up, I reached down to help her stand. “You ready for dessert?”She showed me her sandwich, which she’d only eaten half of. “I don’t think I can fit in another bite.”“Find the room.” I tossed her gyro into a trash bin along with the rest of mine and the e