Page 5 of Taking Denver

The woman in the gym came out of left field. After a tense flight, I’d grabbed a few hours of sleep in the room I was sharing with Sebastian, and when my friend was still asleep, I’d gone to the gym in hopes of beating back the thoughts that had surfaced.No work meant no distractions, and no distractions meant memories. Memories I can no longer bury in the way I want.

So, I’d needed to run, to lift weights, to hit a bag if they had one.

Instead, I’d bumped intoher.

And fuck, what a first meeting. I can still taste her sweat, can still smell her, can feel the way she squeezed my cock with every pulse of her orgasm. She’d brought something out in me. Someone stronger than the Ethan I allow others to see. The memory brings a rush of blood back to my crotch.

I haven’t told anyone. Not even Sebastian, and we’ve shared every detail of our lives since we were kids. But that woman, whoever the hell she is, is the first person I’ve slept with in over a year, and I want to keep it to myself. Just for a little while.

But it’s been twelve hours, and I’m choking on the secret.

“I had sex with a woman in the gym,” I blurt out, and Sebastian pauses his hand at the mini fridge door.

“Sorry, you did what?”

Luckily, Zeke and Ace are in the room next door, so I can spill the details without an audience. I just need to tell someone, and I know from experience that Sebastian won’t tell a soul.

I tug off the useless tie and throw it onto the sofa bed. “She was rude to me. I stole her earbuds. She threatened to beat me up. Then… she kissed me. We had sex against the wall of the gym, then she left.” I think for a moment. “Yep, that’s pretty much it.”

“Well, fuck.” Sebastian folds his arms, blue eyes wide. “Was she hot?”

“Incredibly.”

“Did you use protection?”

“Yes,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Do not tell Zeke or Ace. They’ll want a play-by-play, and I’m still trying to get my head around it.”

Sebastian pauses, eyes rounding. “Wait. This woman. She didn’t happen to be a redhead, did she?”

My skin chills. “Yes.”

“Around five foot six? Freckles? Gave off an adorably dangerous vibe?”

“Oh god. Yes. Why?”

Sebastian opens the refrigerator. “I passed her in the lobby earlier. I thought she was your type.”

I arch a brow. “How is she my type?”

“I don’t know, but I thought you’d like her when I saw her. Until she started shouting.”

“…Shouting?”

“Yep. She was yelling at a guy near the front desk. Really yelling at him.”

A pit of dread yawns open in my stomach. Have I had sex with a Karen?

“What was she angry about?”

Sebastian takes two drinks from the small refrigerator and checks each label before holding one out to me. “I didn’t hear the whole conversation, but I think she said he was following her.”

I frown, taking the beverage but hardly feeling the chill of the bottle against my palm. “Following her? Did she tell the hotel staff?”

“It looked like she was handling it pretty well herself.” Sebastian twists the cap off his beer and swigs it. “She said if he didn’t leave her alone, she’d feed him his own dick.”

I pause the bottle at my lips, torn between genuine concern for a woman being stalked and amusement at how she’d defended herself.

“You should probably know…” Sebastian releases a breath. “She was wearing a wedding ring.”

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