Page 26 of Swipe Right for Orcs
“Are we okay?” he asks, and I can hear the worry in his voice, the uncertainty.
“Yeah, we’re fine, Osric. But when I wake up, I still need to know everything.”
I sigh. “I need to call in to school.” My legs tremble as I slide out of the bed and grab my phone from my purse on the floor. The reality of the situation starts to sink in as I dial the school’s number.
When the voicemail picks up, I force myself to sound composed, leaving a quick message. “Hi, it’s Fairlie. I’m not feeling well, so I won’t be in to teach today. I’ll follow up tomorrow.”
As I hang up, all I can think about is getting back into bed. I climb back in, the sheets warm and comforting against my skin.
Tonight has been a lot—overwhelming, intense, but undeniably incredible. There’s a tangle of emotions I know I’ll have to sort through later—how I feel about Osric, about Ovivia. I need to unpack what that means for me. But right now, my body is too tired to process it all. I just want to sleep.
Eyes closing, the mattress seems to pull me in as my mind drifts away. Sleep quickly takes over, drawing me into a deep, dreamless slumber.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
OVIVIA
I wake up, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I actually feel... good. As I stretch, I become acutely aware of the soreness between my legs and the sticky residue on my skin. My mind starts replaying the events of last night, like someone pressed rewind on an old VCR, and everything floods back in vivid detail.
No! Shit!
I can’t believe this happened. I rode out my heat with my brother? He let me fuck Fairlie, and she pleasured me, too. He never mentioned she was into women. Not that I asked, but I’d think he’d have mentioned it in passing, since we’d have that in common.
A checklist starts forming in my head, the anxiety mounting with each item. I need to shower, find Osric and Fairlie, and make sure they’re okay. My brother really likes this woman, and if I’ve messed that up, I don’t know if I’ll be able to live with myself. I'll go back to the village and just suffer through their old minded ways.
I get up and leave Osric’s room, darting down the hall to mine. When I step inside, everything looks normal—except for the heavy scent of sex that hangs in the air, a reminder of what happened. My dildo is lying on the bed, right by the edge, next to my laptop that’s still open to a porn site.
Grabbing my phone, I head to the bathroom, turning on the shower with shaky hands. While I wait for the water to heat up, I dial the clinic’s number, needing to cross at least one thing off my mental list.
“Heat Retreat. We put the safety and fun back in your heat. This is Dian. How can I help you?”
“Dian? It’s Ovivia West,” I reply.
“Hi, honey. How are you? Do you need to come in early?” she asks, her voice sickly sweet.
I clear my throat, trying to get a grip on my emotions. “No. I need to cancel my appointment. And please take me off your patient list. I won’t be back.”
There’s a pause, and I can almost hear the confusion in her voice. “Oh no. Can I ask if everything’s okay?”
“Not really,” I reply, a bitter edge creeping into my tone. “I went into my heat yesterday and called to come in early, but the woman who answered the phone said you were full and then hung up.”
“Did you happen to catch her name?”
“Karen,” I say, remembering the curt voice that left me scrambling to figure things out on my own.
“Let me look and see what happened,” she says, and I can hear the clicking of keys as she checks the records. “It does look like we were full, but you could have gone to the clinic in the next town over. We offer transport, so there shouldn’t have been any issues. Did she not offer that?”
“She didn’t. I was left to figure it out on my own, last minute. Luckily it went okay, but isn’t it your clinic’s job to make sure we’re safe and taken care of?”
“It is, and I’m so sorry, Ovivia,” Dian says, her voice full of genuine remorse. “I’m going to speak to our supervisor about this because it’s not how we handle things. Again, I apologize. Can I help you with anything else?”
“No. Thank you,” I say, hanging up before I can lose my nerve. I set my phone on the counter and step into the shower, the hot water washing over me as I try to cleanse away the remnants of last night, both on my body and in my mind.
I let the water run over me until my skin feels clean, though my mind is still a mess. I turn the shower knob once I’m finished and step out, wrapping myself in a towel as I dry off. Pulling on a pair of pants and a tank top, I quickly comb through my wet hair before twisting it into a makeshift bun.
I head out into the main part of the house, determined to find Osric and Fairlie. As I walk through the rooms, I notice the silence; they’re nowhere to be seen. Anxiety creeps back in, but I push it down, focusing on the small things to keep myself grounded. After grabbing a bottle of water and a peach from the fridge, I remember my phone is still in the bathroom, where I left it on the counter after calling the clinic. My next plan is to head back and call Osric.
Just as I step into the living room, the front door swings open, and there they are—Osric and Fairlie, hand in hand, laughing. Their hands are full of coffee and bagels, and they look... happy. Relief washes over me, though it’s tinged with a strange, bittersweet ache.
