~Olivia~
The lock clicks on the door, opening to the sight of Vanessa and Charlie sitting on the couch watching television. She looks up from her bowl of popcorn, a smile of surprise lighting her hazel eyes before her lips flop into a frown.
“Jesus, who died?”
“Good to see you, too,” I retort, as Charlie bounds off the sofa, tail wagging, attacking me with a bout of sloppy kisses.
At least he’s happy to see me.
She clicks the off button on the remote, tossing it on the table. “Sorry, but you look like hell. I thought you weren’t coming back until tomorrow afternoon. It’s almost one a.m. What happened?”
I kneel down beside Charlie, hugging and patting him on his favorite spot below his belly. “It’s a long story.”
“Well….” She winks, hopping off the couch. “Lucky for you I don’t have any place I need to be. Leave your stuff. Let’s go to Heavenly Lattes. They’re still open for another hour.”
We link arms, say goodbye to Charlie, and walk out to the elevators. When we arrive in the lobby, Henry, the doorman for my building, addresses us with a nod of his head.
“Evening, Miss Vanessa, Miss Olivia.”
“Good evening, Henry,” we greet in unison, giving him a small wave as we stroll by.
It’s actually a beautiful night, and typically, I’d be marveling at all the passers-by, the bright lights, the stars in the sky. Even though I’ve been here a while, it never gets old for me. But tonight, I don’t feel very appreciative, and I certainly don’t feel like smiling.
“Okay,” Vanessa sends out into the air, “you’re awfully quiet. Are you waiting to spill it until we get our coffee? Needing your fix first?”
“Maybe.”
“Well, whoever he is, he’s really gotten under your skin. That’s pretty obvious.”
“How do you know it involves a he?” I protest, although I know she sees right through me. She has the gift of psychic ability where I’m concerned. “Yeah, I need my coffee first.” I sigh heavily, and she gives my arm a supportive squeeze.
As we round the corner, the red neon sign flashes above Heavenly Lattes, our neighborhood coffee house. This is where Vanessa and I met seven years ago, and we’ve been hanging out here ever since.
The scent of coffee beans and warm cinnamon welcomes us when we walk inside. I breathe in through my nose, the aroma serving to calm me, at least for the moment. The dim recessed lighting combined with muted green, burgundy and gold colors are both relaxing and inviting. Trent, the owner of the shop, waves us in and gets busy making our drinks. He doesn’t even have to ask. We’re that predictable. Vanessa goes over to snag us a booth, while I hover over the selection of doughnuts at the counter.
“Hey, Olivia, what can I get you, sweetheart?” Trent salutes with a friendly smile, my stomach dropping to the ground in response. Suddenly I’m not very hungry anymore.
“I’m good, thanks. Just looking,” I answer, then stalk off to the booth, sulking.
Vanessa puts her hands on her hips as I slide in next to her. “All right, I’ve had enough. You look like hell. It’s time to pay the piper and tell me what’s going on.”
“Well,” I start, flipping my hair around my finger, staring down at the table, “I met someone.”
“Yes, I got that much. Go on.”
“He was beautiful and hot as hell, funny, and…,” I glance to my left and to my right, before whispering, “his cock was magnificent.”
She leans in close to my ear. “You do realize you write erotic romance novels, right? It’s okay to talk about cocks out loud.”
I pinch her arm, tossing a sharp stare her way. “Yes, I know, but no one else does.”
“Okay, let’s get back to the cock. I need a bit more detail on that.” She giggles, finally making me smile.
“He did dirty things to me on the train, and I seriously liked it. In the hotel room, too. Oh, and he talked dirty, and I found myself liking that, too. Remember with Sean—” I stick my finger in my mouth making a gagging noise “—he would always tell me he was ‘gonna put it in.’ Ugh,” I wince, “It was nothing like that.” I shrug my shoulders, my throat sore as I say the words. “I was starting to really like him.”
“Okay, so I’m still not getting why you’re so upset. He sounds amazing,” she says just as Trent brings our drinks over, his light brown hair flapping against his green eyes.
“All right, beautiful ladies. One caramel latte for you, Olivia, and one mochachino for you, Vanessa.” He places our drinks on the table, adding two cider doughnuts to the mix. “On the house.” He winks, before traipsing back behind the register.
“He’s pretty cute. I think you should go out with him,” I suggest, taking a sip of my latte, the warm liquid gliding down my throat.
“He is cute,” she comments, “but he’s rather run of the mill. You know I like my men to stand out from the crowd. Anyway, you’re distracting me. We were talking about you.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Yeah.” She nudges my shoulder, but I take a quick bite of the doughnut before continuing.
“Well, I started to really like him, but I found out he was lying to me.”
“What do you mean?” She swirls her straw around her drink, confusion marring her brow.
“He told me that he was a developer for a software company. Come to find out, he owns the whole freaking company, and… I found loads of pictures of him with all these different women.” I huff out a sigh. “I can’t do it again, you know, V. I don’t want to be someone’s afterthought.”
“I know, Liv. I do. But tell me, what did he say about it?”
I expel a frustrated breath. “I didn’t ask him, I just took off. We only just met the day before so I guess he doesn’t owe me an explanation, but he lied and that’s a deal breaker for me.”
She props her elbow on the table, fist under her chin, glaring at me. “Did you tell him who you were?” and as soon as she poses the question, I know where she’s headed.
“Well, I told him that I write erotic novels,” I reply, as she raises one of her perfectly manicured brows in the air.
“And?” She taps her fingers against the table. “Did you tell him your real name?”
“No.”
“So, in other words,” she preaches, taking a sip of her latte, “you lied, too.”
“That’s different.” I attempt to defend myself but realize I’m failing miserably. “I didn’t lie about who I was, I just didn’t tell him my real name.”
“Autumn,” she scolds, tilting her head sideways, “a lie’s a lie. You lied too, yet you wouldn’t even give the guy a chance to explain.”
“UGH!” I groan. “You’re so frustrating!”
“Yes, because you know I’m right!” she exclaims, pleased with herself as she pops a piece of the doughnut into her mouth. “I’m always right.”
“Well, let’s not get carried away,” I joke, breaking off a corner for myself. “Wow, that’s really good.”
“Stop deflecting. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” I answer, “but I can’t stop thinking about him.”
“Finally, some honesty. Here.” She pushes the doughnut toward me. “Finish this. It’ll make you feel better.”
I doubt it.