Page 56 of One Last Run

Kiera blinked. “You what? When did that happen?”

Danica closed her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.” She took a deep breath and recounted the big details to Kiera, who watched her with an intense stare.

Kiera stared at her with a concerned look on her face. “Are you okay?”

“I’m not really that upset,” Danica admitted. “I feel kind of... relieved.”

“So, is Pete like, a rebound thing? Are you ready for that?” Kiera asked, her voice quiet. “Are you okay?”

Maggie waved her hand in the air. “She’s just having a bit of fun. Tell us more about it. I’m boring and married, let me live vicariously through this.”

“It was...” Danica cleared her throat. “Yeah, it was good.”

“I always imagined Pete to be a good kisser,” Maggie said wistfully. “And like, really good in bed. She has that energy.”

Danica snorted in amusement, and almost told Maggie she was exactly right, but quelled the urge.

Kiera shook her head, but Danica could detect a bit of amusement. “Can you not?”

“You wouldn’t get it because you’re woefully straight,” Maggie said with a heavy sigh. “It’s a thing.”

Danica did not think it was entirely appropriate to agree with Maggie’s questions about Pete’s skills in bed, but she caught Maggie’s eye and gave her a small wink when Kiera began to pace the room.

“So, what happens now?” Maggie said with a giddy grin. “You gonna make out again today?” She waggled her eyebrows. “Going to go to fourth base?”

“Home base,” Kiera corrected.

“Whatever,” Maggie said, shrugging. “I thought it was nicer than asking if she was ready to get railed on a bunk bed again.”

Danica choked, but Kiera finally laughed. “I did not need that mental image.”

“I don’t… I’m not entirely sure. Maybe?” Danica said after a moment to think. “Probably.”

Kiera and Maggie voiced immediate and opposing opinions.

Danica pulled at a loose thread in her sweater. “I don’t think it’ll turn into anything serious, you know?”

“You’ve already had a thing with Pete, so it doesn’t have to be that serious,” Maggie stated. “Besides, Pete is like the Mayor of Unserious Town.”

“I think you’re being pretty casual about the fact that a month ago Danica was going to get married to someone else,” Kiera argued.

“Is it that weird to have a few carefree days before having to go back to real life?” Danica asked, feeling defensive.

Kiera sat on the edge of the bed again. “We’re in Telluride, not Vegas.”

“I support women’s rightsandwrongs,” Maggie said with a firm nod.

Kiera crossed her arms. “I worry about you, Dani. I was there when Pete broke your heart. I saw what it did to you.”

Danica deflated. Kiera had a point.

Maggie frowned, leveling Kiera with a look that said she thought Kiera was being absurd. “Yeah, but she was twenty-two. So, now Danica knows that Pete doesn’t want anything more than a casual thing, and Danica doesn’t need anything serious, either. Why can’t she just enjoy herself judgment-free for a few days?”

Maggie and Kiera were like the little angel and devil on her shoulders, and Danica could see both sides of what they were saying. Maggie wanted her to have fun while she could, and Kiera was afraid of her getting her heart broken again.

But if she went into it knowing it wasn’t forever, that it would only last a few days, maybe she could keep her heart from getting broken. They only had one night left on the trip. Surely that wasn’t enough to start actually feeling things for Pete again, right? She could just appreciate it for what it was. Maybe she could just enjoy how fantastic of a kisser Pete was, — among her many, many other talents — and then go back to Denver and her real life.

“What if it isn’t over with Eddie?” Kiera said, with a strange look on her face.

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