Delaney

“No! This can’t be happening!” I didn’t care if I looked like a crazy woman shouting at an empty room. This was not the time to internalize my panic.

Things had been going great, and then. . .

I couldn’t even think about what had just happened. It was too horrible. This had to be karma kicking my ass for making fun of my friend, Brook, during her time of need. Except this was nothing like what had happened to Brook. Raphael had only been a casual lover. She’d easily replaced him with one trip to the sex shop. Yes, I was talking about vibrators. I hadn’t been with a partner who didn’t need AA batteries since long before my divorce. Seriously, the Energizer bunny should send me a Christmas card every year.

With a sad sigh, I accepted the inevitable—Justin was gone. He’d been my go-to-vibrator for two years. I’d tried to get a new one so he wouldn’t have to do all the work himself, only to discover they didn’t make them anymore. I now had a drawer filled with inadequate buzzing boyfriends. Not one tempted me.

Frustrated and angry, I quickly threw on some clothes and grabbed my phone, hoping for some sympathy.

 

ME: He’s gone!

 

I gave Chelsea a solid two minutes to reply. I was trying to be patient. Patience is definitely not one of my virtues.

 

ME: You’d better not be ignoring me unless Luke is spanking you. If he’s spanking you, I’ll forgive you as long as I get all the dirty details.

ME: Pictures would be better.

ME: Are you tied to Luke’s bondage bed again? Tell me he shoved your panties in your mouth.

ME: No, don’t tell me. I need to stop thinking about sex. This is just too awful! Why do the good die young?

 

I’d recently come to the conclusion that my friends were right about my obsession with spanking getting out of hand. At first, I’d convinced even myself it was just curiosity. I wanted to write a book with spanking in it, so it made sense for me to research the fetish. Who better to give you the blow by blow details, so to speak, than your friends? Research played a role in my curiosity, but it was definitely more than that. I began to wonder if Chelsea really was ignoring me because she was playing some kinky game with Luke. My phone buzzed before I could text Chelsea again.

 

CHELS: Who died?

ME: Justin. He’s gone.

 

My phone immediately rang, proving my friend loved me. “Hello,” I answered, sounding more frustrated than sad. I’d been about to have a mind-blowing orgasm when he’d died, and I was too stubborn to even try one of my useless backups.

“Sweetie,” Chelsea crooned around a giggle.

“Don’t laugh at me,” I warned.

“Or what?” she asked, doing nothing to hide her laughter. “Are you going to threaten to have Luke spank me again?”

“I would if I didn’t know how much you like it, despite your many denials,” I muttered.

“It’s also Wednesday,” she pointed out.

“I knew that,” I lied. Since I was my own boss and worked from home, I usually had no clue what day of the week it was. Without the many reminders I had on my phone, I’d probably miss every appointment.

Having gotten her laughter mostly under control, Chelsea let out one final snort, probably at my insistence that I knew what day it was.

“How about if I take you shopping Friday to look for a new friend?” Chelsea offered. “I’m pretty sure Brook is free.”

“Doesn’t Brook watch Haley on Fridays?” I asked.

Chelsea and Luke had recently adopted, Haley, Luke’s baby sister. I’m not big on babies, but I enjoyed cuddle time with Haley. She was a sweet girl who already had two men wrapped around her little finger. Not only would Luke do anything for that baby, Chelsea’s brother, Ty, was also her willing servant.

“Luke’s off Friday, so he’s got Haley all day,” Chelsea told me. “I was planning to be in the studio all afternoon, but I had two cancellations. We can meet around one if that works for you.”

“That would be great,” I replied, trying not to sound too excited. I hadn’t seen nearly as much of Chelsea since she’d moved in with Luke. They’d been busy getting ready for Haley’s arrival, and Haley’s birth had only made them busier.

“Try not to stress too much about Justin,” Chels said gently. She’d laugh at me later, and I didn’t blame her. I was the crazy lady mourning the death of her vibrator. If I weren’t so upset about the whole thing, I’d mock myself. “I have a great idea!” she announced.

“Something tells me I’m not going to like this great idea,” I grumbled.

“You love my ideas,” Chelsea insisted.

“Chels, I love you, but your ideas tend to be as crazy as mine,” I reminded her. “Brook has the good ideas. She’s the sensible one in our group. Our ideas are like something out of a sitcom.”

“This really is a good idea,” Chelsea assured me.

“Fine,” I relented. “What’s your idea?”

“You should let me fix you up with Luke’s friend. He just moved back to the area,” she replied.

“No.” That one word was all the answer I needed to give. There was no way I’d agree to go out with Luke’s friend.

“Why not just meet him?” she asked.

“Dating Luke’s friend is a bad idea. When things don’t work out, it will be awkward with Luke,” I pointed out.

“Come on, Delaney. You can’t plan the end of your relationship when you haven’t even met the guy yet. Just give him a chance,” Chelsea urged.

“No blind dates, Chels,” I told her, refusing to back down.

“Fine,” she relented. “Since you won’t get a real guy, we’ll have to find you a new buzzing boyfriend on Friday. Try not to stress too much in the meantime.”

“I’m going to write to see if it will relieve some stress. Maybe I’ll feel better if I make one of my characters just as sexually frustrated as I am,” I grumbled.

Chelsea giggled. “You are an evil bitch, Delaney Monroe.”

“Yes, I am,” I agreed. “That’s why we’re friends.”

“Are you insinuating I’m an evil bitch?” Chelsea asked.

“I’m being too subtle if you need to ask,” I told her.

“As much as I’d like to spend the next hour sparring with you, I need to go,” Chelsea began. “Haley should be up from her nap soon, and I’m hoping to get some more photo editing done before the little princess demands all my attention.”

“Talk to you later,” I said.

“Bye. Try not to be too mean to your poor characters,” Chelsea replied before ending the call.

I let out a sad sigh as my eyes wandered to Justin, still lying in the middle of my bed. Something told me it wasn’t going to be easy to replace him.

 

CHELS: Let me know if you change your mind about meeting Luke’s friend. He might make a good replacement for Justin.

ME: Never trust a lover who doesn’t run on batteries.

CHELS: What about rechargeable toys?

ME: Are you saying Luke’s friend is rechargeable?

CHELS: Don’t be a brat or I’ll get Luke’s friend to spank you. He’s hot. Want me to send you a picture.

ME: No. I’m not getting involved with any of Luke or Ty’s friends.

CHELS: Text me if you change your mind about the picture. It will make it easier to imagine being spanked by him if you know what he looks like.

 

Sometimes, my friend really was an evil bitch. Now, I’d have the image of a hot guy spanking me stuck in my head for the rest of the day. It was tempting to ask for that picture. The knowledge that it would just encourage Chelsea is the only thing that held me back.

Determined to take my mind off of Justin, I headed into my office to get some writing done.