“And that’s the situation in a nutshell,” I finish up. “Can you top me off?”

I nod at the bottle of red wine on the coffee table, but Claire doesn’t move. She’s still sitting cross-legged next to me on the couch, her mouth hanging open.

“Claire. I need more wine. ASAP.”

She slowly shakes her head.

“I… I’m speechless.”

“Then how come you’re talking?” I reach around her, grab the bottle myself, and fill my glass to the very brim.

She holds her palms up.

“Okay, so just to summarize: you had sex with a man who you thought was the assistant of your subject, found out he was actually the subject himself, then had sex with your boss. And all within twenty-four hours.”

“There’s a little bit more to it than that.”

“Like what?”

“Um… Okay, there’s not more to it than that.”

“These guys must both be super-hot, because you’ve never—”

“I know,” I interrupt, taking a big sip of wine. “I’m usually so…I don’t know. About one guy at once. I never even want to look at another guy when I’m sleeping with one.”

“Yeah,” she nods. “So who do you like more?”

I sigh.

“It’s not that simple. It’s not like I met these guys at a speed-dating event.”

Freddy, the Jack Russell terrier Claire walks, jumps onto the couch between us. He sniffs my wine glass, and I scratch behind his ear.

“Does Freddy’s owner know you’re not really walking him?”

Claire’s nose wrinkles.

“We walked over here, didn’t we? And we’re gonna walk back to his apartment after this. There’s nothing wrong with multitasking.” She grins wickedly. “You know, juggling two balls at once. Or, in your case, I guess I should say two pairs of balls.”

“Ha-ha,” I dryly say.

“Hey, if you lose your job, you can come work for me.”

“Why are you saying that?”

“Dog walking is big in this town. The average work week here is, like, sixty hours. No one has time to walk their pets twice a day anymore. Plus, the sooner I grow this business, the sooner I can quit the bar.” She makes a face.

“That’s not what I was talking about. I mean, why do you think I’m going to lose this job?”

Claire cringes. “Maybe you won’t.”

I can’t help but sigh.

“I know what you’re thinking… I had sex with my boss, and now he’s going to get uncomfortable and fire me.”

“Um, maybe? But, shit, I don’t know, Noelle. Does he know that you also did it with Zach?”

“Yeah, I told him when he was inside me.”

“Really?”

“No!”

She laughs and takes a drink of wine. “Hey, that’s something I might do. So what’s next? What are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to write this article,” I say as Freddy curls up in my lap.

“You know what I’m talking about. The men. Are you going to keep seeing them both?”

I suck in a long breath.

“I…don’t think I can. Zach… He was really mad.”

After Ethan left, I tried working on my email to Zach once more, but in the end just couldn’t send it. Apologizing over the internet felt so final, and I couldn’t stand the thought of that being the last time I ever spoke with Zach. I need to see him again, and not just because of the article.

I can’t stop thinking about him. My head’s been a mess all day, full of memories of what happened between me and Ethan, but also full of Zach as well. I keep thinking about how Ethan touched me, how he made me wild… But it’s the way Zach made me feel special that I really can’t get off my mind.

This can’t be the end.

“I’m going to finish this article,” I slowly say. “But I don’t know if I’m going to even be able to get Zach to talk to me again. He’s really mad.”

“But you didn’t really get the chance to explain yourself to him. He still doesn’t know that you weren’t trying to trick him, right?”

“Right.”

Claire shrugs. “Find him. Tell him.”

I sigh and run my thumb around the rim of the wine glass. “Billionaires like him are hard to track down.”

“Dude. You know where he lives.”

“Stop it. I’m not going to stalk him.”

“Not what I was saying. Ringing someone’s doorbell isn’t stalking.” She leans forward. “So tell me this: who’s better in bed?”

Simultaneous memories flash in front of me. Zach’s gentle touch. Ethan’s ravenous need for my body.

“They’re both amazing,” I admit. “They’re…different.”

“Mm.” Claire bites her lip. Takes a sip of wine. “Tell me more.”

“I’m not giving you a play-by-play.”

“Fine, so just answer another question. Who do you like more?”

“I already answered that, didn’t I? It doesn’t even matter. Neither one of these men is looking for me to be their girlfriend.”

“How do you know?”

“Believe me, I know.”

My bed, rumpled from mine and Ethan’s wild romp, catches my eye. I wish he was here right now. I wish Zach was here.

The thought makes me shake my head. What am I thinking? What would that even look like, me with two guys in my apartment at once? Furthermore, two guys that hate each other. What would we do, play some board games before the guys took turns screwing me?

I must be losing my mind.

“I’m just going to have to see what happens,” I announce. “I’m going to go to work tomorrow, do my job…”

“Fuck your boss on his desk?”

“Stop,” I chastise, although, honestly, that sounds like a great idea.

Claire wiggles her eyebrows.

“And I’m going to forget about Zach,” I finish. “He’s never going to agree to a second interview anyway.”

“Just try,” she insists.

I frown as I rub Freddy’s head. He’s asleep, snoring softly in my lap.

“I can’t, Claire. He was really angry. If you’d only seen his face…”

She shrugs, leaving it at that.

Hours later, even after she and Freddy have left, I can’t stop thinking about the situation. Part of me thinks I should feel guilty about having sex with both men, but I don’t. The only thing that haunts me is that look on Zach’s face, the anger there… Even though I’d only just met him, I felt like I was hurting someone I’d known for years.