Page 2 of Her Pucking One Night Stand

I cross the street to the bus stop and wait. Soon, I’ll be boarding a plane and grabbing ahold of my second chance with both hands.

It’s only once I’m aboard the bus and sitting in the next-to-last seat that I’m able to watch as the other riders notice what I’ve done. There are snorts and a handful of giggles. It’s downright glorious.

DEAN MASTERS HAS THE TINIEST OF COCKSis emblazoned across his glass storefront for everyone who passes by to witness.

To be fair, the cock thing isn’t technically true. He has a perfectly average-sized dick. But he has acted like such a prick for so long that stating it this way feels damn good. It taps into the resentment—and, okay, vindictiveness—that’s been festering inside me like a life-threatening parasite.

A rush of triumph surges through me when the bus brakes hiss as they release and the engine roars to life. This is my moment of victory. And now, as I’m finally free of him, the divorce papers I filed this morning are sitting on his desk, waiting for him to find them.

Admittedly, I’m being a chickenshit for not doing it face to face, but I have no clue what his reaction might be. I know it won’t be pretty. While Dean has never actually struck me, I’m not at all sure that he wouldn’t if given enough provocation. And showing him papers that prove I want to permanently dissolve our marital union could very well push him right over that edge.

No need to be there for that.

If he fights it, I’ll have to get an attorney involved, but by then, I’ll be away from here. Long fucking gone.

The only thing tying me to this place is Leighton, and while I’ll miss her, having my best friend in a state this tarnished makes it impossible to stay in Newark any longer. Not with Dean here. I have an escape hatch, and I’m taking it.

Maybe that sounds selfish, but other than my friendship with Leighton, Jersey holds few cheerful memories for me. Mostly, it’s been childhood neglect, followed by Dean accusing me of being a waste of space. My bestie has reminded me time and again that I deserve better—that I’m worth more than being his unpaid servant, and that being treated like a doormat isn’t really living.

I’m trying with everything I am to believe her.

Even if it’s hard.

Saltwater stings my eyes as I let the momentousness of what I’m doing roll over me. But these tears are different—they’re a baptism, cleansing the old me and awakening the new. I’m running from painful memories and poor choices, and while it’s scary, it also feels liberating.

So, as we chug away from the impoverished downtown area I’ve lived and worked in for so long, I grin to myself and wipe the moisture from my cheeks. All my preparations are paying off, and everything is working out.

Even if it never has before.

I bring up every peaceful thought I’ve ever had. Each pink and tangerine sunrise. Each view I’ve had of the Jersey Shore. Each confidence I’ve shared with Leighton.

I’m going to be okay. I have to trust in that. Even if there’s this ominous anxiety building under my skin telling me otherwise.

2

AVA

Stepping onto the thoroughfareof the airport is an unnerving experience. The place is crowded and bustling, and everyone seems to know exactly where they’re going.

Well, everyone but me.

Yes, I have my ticket and have a rudimentary understanding of what gates are, but I’ve never had to navigate to one on my own. I’m scanning left and right when I get a notification on my phone.

Since I’m supposed to check in an hour ahead of my flight time and I’m thirty minutes early, I peer down at my screen. It’s probably just Leighton sending one last hug emoji before I have to put my cell in airplane mode, anyway. But it’s not her. It’s the headhunter I’ve been dealing with in California.

I open the email and then halt dead in my tracks. No. No, no, no. This can’t be right.

I read through the contents of the message four separate times before it sinks in. Even then, I don’t want to accept it.

Dear Ms. Sterling,

Thank you for your interest in A Healing Caress, the largest chain of therapeutic massage and bodywork on the West Coast. Unfortunately, all positions have been filled by other applicants. We wish you well in your future endeavors.

Best,

A Healing Caress Hiring Staff

At first, I’m in utter shock. Then, as the reality of my situation sinks in, I rewind what the person I spoke to on the phone said. I couldn’t have misunderstood her. Could I? In a panic, I dial her number.

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