Page 118 of Falling Offsides

Oh my.

I swallow the gasp that balls in my throat when I find my favorite pen underneath, nestled in a black heap of lace trimmed cotton. My panties.

Oh. My. God.

He took my panties the other night. My soaked panties.

Holy shit.

I pull them out, balling them in my free hand while I take in the other objects inside.

A crumpled receipt with the logo from the airline I flew to LA with.My receipt.

A paper napkin with light pink smudges on it.My napkin.

A black hair tie with a daisy charm on it.My hair tie.

A brand new tube of lip gloss.My lip gloss.

All hanging out with my favorite pen. Baby blue with an enamel daisy on the clip. It’s got bright baby blue ink that matches his notes.

Oh my.

I’m… speechless. Unsure of how I feel orshouldfeel. My head says freak out.

Freak the fuck out.

The rest of me is a whole different story. My heart is giddy. My stomach fluttering like mad. And the goosebumps breaking all over my skin are electric.

“What the fuck is wrong with me?” I throw the panties back inside, slam the lid down and walk away.

I’m out the door. Slamming it behind me right as the elevator doors ping open and a tall blonde steps out. Her black leggings cut off short of her belly button, leaving her toned abdomen in plain view all the way up to the top of her ribs, where her sports bra fails to contain her very generous tits.

My jaw hits the floor.

What the actual fuck?

“Oh hey,” Barbie croons with a finger wave while she strolls past me to Auguste’s door where she pauses, smiling over her shoulder at me. “Guess you’re the new neighbor. Rio moved out fast,” she chuckles to herself, pushing the door open and disappearing inside.

Did she just casually let herself into his place?

I’m frozen on the spot for a moment before I rush for the elevator. Totally gobsmacked.

What is happening?

How can he leave me flowers and—I glance down at my hand still clutching the iPad before shoving it into my crossbody purse.

This is insane.

Mercury must be in retrograde.

Or maybe Venus has gone bonkers.

Regardless, I march out of the building in the direction of the beach across the road. I’m in dire need of caffeination as I meander to the short pier where the small coffee shop Auguste took me to that first morning is situated.

My purse weighs a ton while I order a breakfast panini and coffee. Then I sit and it’s like the damn thing has a voice. A siren call.

I’m here. Don’t forget about me.

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