Page 26 of Wren's Winter

“What are you saying?” My voice now was lower as I raised my hand, brushing a thick curl back over her shoulder. Her skin was softer than all my fantasies could have imagined.

“I would have looked up at your window the whole time and done the same thing.” She didn’t let that statement settle. Instead, she said the thing that stopped me cold. “But you’re not asking the right question.”

I stared down at her, the night replaying in my mind. What question? What could she mean? What…Oh. Running a thumb over her lips, I bent lower. “Who were you thinking about?”

Her word was air against my thumb, hot and ready. “You.”

Wren

Canned wine was a mistake. I scanned the empty can in the recycling bin. Not that I was a lightweight. But between the beers at The Horse and Trails, my girl dinner of crackers and cheese, and the hot tub, the can was enough to make me act like a complete idiot.

Did I know Adrian was watching me? Not exactly. But in my buzzed and lusty stupor, I rationalized him watching me as the same as me watching him. I stood up in the tub, flashing him all my goodies. I couldn’t see his face. For all I knew, it was his back, and he didn’t see a thing. Embarrassment should have overwhelmed me. Instead, as I fell asleep, I pictured he was watching me. That he liked what he saw. And I took care of myself for the second time that night.

I was losing my mind.

With my head pounding, I shuffled out of the bathroom, catching the frightful sight of bags under my eyes. At least I had enough sense the night before to wear my bonnet, so my hair wasn’t as bad as the previous morning. My head still pounding, I pulled my bonnet off and fluffed out my hair. Still pounding, why was my head so loud?

Not my head, Summer calling me.

“Hey.” Ignoring the daily affirmation that Autumn sent in the group text: I gift myself with time spent in nature, I put it on speakerphone. The phone balanced on the counter as I finger combed my curls. “How’s London?”

“Wet. So, you’re still alive!”

After slathering my face with the vitamin-C serum, I fanned my skin to dry. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I wasn’t sure if you drowned in your can of wine or were carried off by an elk.”

“Nope on both accounts.”

“How’s the hot neighbor?”

I dotted moisturizer on my skin, tapping it into my face. “Still hot and likely has a girlfriend or a fuck buddy or something.”

I recounted the events of the day to her, telling her about being caught naked, but not what I was doing. “There’s no way he’s interested, right? He must be a flirty guy with everyone.”

Summer hummed, considering my story. “Yeah, that’s a tough one. I mean, what kind of guy sees a naked lady in the hot tub and doesn’t want to join her? But maybe he was embarrassed about being caught? Or doesn’t think you know he saw?”

“All that doesn’t matter if he has a girlfriend.”

On the other end, there was a loud conversation and then a sudden quiet. Glancing at the time, I deduced that it was close to dinner time over there.

“Or he could be a good guy who is helping a friend.”

Picking up the phone, I walked back up the stairs to the loft to dress. “Right. Weren’t you telling me thirty-six hours ago that I only attract terrible guys?”

“No.” I heard the soft shuffle of clothes and a zipper. She was likely unpacking. “What I said is that you don’t date nice guys. I’m sure you’ve attracted plenty of nice guys, but you don’t end up dating them.”

“Well, this guy is way too hot to be a nice guy. It would disrupt the universe of something. He had to have a friends-with-benefits situation at least.”

“You could still fuck him, you know,” Summer said casually. “If what he has is casual, it’s on him to be honorable, not you. Make sure he wraps it, of course, but you can still get that dick.”

“You’re impossible. You know that?”

“Oh, please, don’t act like you weren’t thinking about it. You’re into him. Why do you have to make it a big thing? Ride him cowgirl style and, in a few days, come home sore and happy. No harm.”

“But I’ve never…”

“Yeah, I know, but this guy sounds like a good bet. I know you. I doubt a man had made you come in years.”

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