Page 55 of One Last Run

“Want to talk about it?” Kiera asked, leaning against the bathroom counter.

“I was just feeling weird, and you always make me feel better,” Danica said, trying to massage her bangs into submission.

“Mmhmm,” Kiera said, pointedly looking at Danica’s perfectly made bed.

Danica’s met Kiera’s eyes in the large bathroom mirror.

“What’s on your neck?” Kiera asked, angling her head to see.

Danica could feel her entire body flush with embarrassment as her hand shot to her neck, remembering how she’d found the hickey after the hot tub… and then probably added to the collection last night. “I burned my curling iron.”

“You burned your curling iron,” Kiera repeated, deadpan.

“No, I mean, I burned my curling iron with myself.” Danica wasn’t a very good liar at the best of moments, and when she was flustered, it was even worse. She checked her neck in the mirror,seeing a bright red spot exactly where she remembered Pete’s mouth. Really, it was impressive she didn’t have more of them.

“You hussy!” Kiera chided.

Maggie popped her head in the room. “Hey Dani? Are you — Wait, who’s a hussy?”

“Danica the hussy is in here,” Kiera said, pointing emphatically into the en suite. “She has ahickey.”

Danica set down the coffee cup and held her hands over her face as Maggie walked into the bathroom, and sat on the edge of the bathtub.

Maggie giggled, kicking her feet. “Fromwho?”

“Well, it wasn’t from me,” Kiera said.

“Wasn’t me,” Maggie said quickly. “Did a hot stranger visit you after the bar last night?”

Danica was suddenly wishing she’d drowned in that frozen pond. “It’s nothing.” Her hand moved down to cover her neck.

“Tell us everything,” Kiera said, shutting the door of Danica’s bedroom quietly and then hurrying back to the bathroom. “Wait, they aren’t from Pete, are they?”

“You two are the worst,” Danica said with an uncomfortable laugh, rifling through her makeup bag for concealer. Her cheeks were on fire. Maggie was giddy with anticipation, but Kiera looked somehow both curious and judgmental. Danica applied the concealer with a few taps of her fingers, buying herself time. “Okay, fine, Pete and I… rekindled things,” she said. Both women had an immediate and exaggerated reaction. Maggie clasped her hands to her mouth, her eyes sparkling with delight. Yet Kiera looked ready to launch into a lecture about why this was a bad idea, with a PowerPoint presentation to match.

“Who kissed who?” Maggie asked, eager for the details.

“It was kind of mutual,” Danica said, biting her bottom lip to stifle a grin. “It started two nights ago in the hot tub, andthen last night…” Her shoulders nearly touched her ears as she shrugged dramatically.

“Did you have sex?” Kiera whispered conspiratorially.

Danica looked between her friends, her face splitting into a wide smile. Guilty as charged.

Maggie was bouncing — bouncing! — in place with excitement. “And how was it?”

“You are way too excited about this, Mags,” Kiera said, looking from Maggie back to Danica. “Are we just not going to talk about how Dani is engaged?”

Maggie made a dismissive noise.

“I can’t believe we’re seriously talking about cheating on Eddie as if it was a fun, lighthearted time,” Kiera said, an expression of confused contemplation on her face, like she was trying to decide if she was translating the situation correctly.

“Just tell her,” Maggie said to Danica, letting out a long breath.

Danica pursed her lips. Maggie was right, and she couldn’t just expect Kiera to let it go without the full story.

“Tell me what?” Kiera asked, her confusion turning to suspicion.

“Eddie and I aren’t together anymore,” Danica said in a rush, saying the entire sentence as if it were one long word.

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