Page 78 of The Upgrade

What if we gave us a chance?

My brain bubbles over as my pulse rate picks up. I need to talk to Kit. To see if we’re on the same page. If there’s even a chance he’d consider this crazy idea.

Grabbing my phone, I scroll to the Crystal Bliss app. I’ll start with dinner. Nothing sexual or kinky, just a chance to talk one on one.

I tap all the options for requesting a date. Then I set down my phone, feeling a powerful sense of relief. A fresh wave of hope for a future.

A future that could include Kit.

CHAPTER12

KIT

Well, that was something.

My sexy bubble bath enchantment—dubbed “Blissful Bubble of Trouble” in the Crystal Bliss app—definitely wasn’t.

Sexy or blissful, I mean.

The guest was a pretty Swede with kind, brown eyes and a soft voice. At least until she started shouting.

“I don’t see why he didn’t want me!” She took a swig of champagne to punctuate bursts of anger as I held her in the sudsy tub. “I’m a nice person.”

“You are,” I agreed, prying the flute from her hand and setting it safely on the rim of the tub. “And passionate. And smart. And?—”

“So why didn’t Nils want me?”

Having never met Nils, I didn’t have answers.

But I do have a psych degree, so I gave it my best shot.

“Nils’s rejection isn’t a reflection on you. It’s all aboutNils, and whatever he feels like he’s lacking.” I might’ve sounded wiser if I hadn’t been naked and covered in suds. “There’s some crucial hole he’s trying to fill, and it was never your duty to fill it.”

My guest craned her neck to peer up at me, her pretty brown eyes filled with tears. “But I filled all his holes. We got into pegging and?—”

“Um, that’s fantastic.” God help me. “Not what I meant.”

In the end, we skipped any fooling around. She told me she’d rather just cuddle. We talked for an hour and I made her a grilled cheese sandwich. There wasn’t quite time to squeeze in a massage, but I gave her a foot rub while curled on the couch together.

“You’re nice to talk to,” she said as we sat together eating our snack. “I promise to leave you a nice review. I like that you listen.”

“You’re great, too,” I said, doing my best not to think about Eve. How easy our conversation flows. “An amazing lady.”

But she’s no Eve. I know that’s a dick thing to think. I shouldn’t get hung up imagining one woman while spending time with another.

But I can’t seem to help it.

Eve’s filled my thoughts for nearly two weeks. Even before I realized she’d be here, I kept replaying our night together. Instead of diminishing my desire, spending time with Eve has only intensified it.

As I walk to my room ensconced in a cloud of rose-scented bubble bath, I pull out my Crystal Bliss pager.

Room 24: Dinner date request.

Eve.

I’m smiling before I get my key in the lock. Looks like she thought about me today, too.

Pushing through the door to my room, I double-check the time she requested. Her dinner reservation is for seven, but she made the request nearly two hours ago. That must’ve been after she got off the boat.

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