Page 32 of My Hottest Obsession

“I’mglad we’re finally getting to do this,” Lottie says as I climb into her car.

“Me too. It’s been too long since we had a girls’ night.”

She smiles, cranking the music up a bit as we head towards downtown Los Angeles. We’re meeting with our friends Dillon, Aria, and Quinn at our favorite Mexican restaurant before we head to see a movie.

“What’s new with you?” She asks as we pull off the highway and turn into the parking lot.

“Nothing much. How are Honor and Anson?”

“Perfect,” she says, a dreamy tone to her voice, and I wonder if I sound like that when I talk about Adrien.

“How’s work and Boss Man?” She asks, and I clear my throat.

“Good,” I say vaguely.

She doesn’t seem to notice since our friends are all headed our way, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I’m still not really ready to talk about him and whatever we are just yet. I know that Lottie will have questions, and I’m not sure that I have the answers.

“Hey,” I say, giving Aria a hug.

“Hey! It’s been too long,” she says, squeezing me back.

I do the same to Dillon and Quinn before we head into the restaurant. It’s a little crowded, but luckily, we get seated quickly.

“How are you feeling?” Aria asks Lottie.

“Yeah, how’s your head?” Dillon adds.

“It’s good. I was fine, but you know how overprotective Anson is,” she says with a small smile.

The other girls at the table all have knowing smiles on their faces because their husbands are all the same way. They were all in the military together, and when they got out, they started their own protection and security company called Knight Security.

A pang of loneliness hits me, and I wish that Adrien was here with me.

I’m the only single one left in our friend group, and usually I pretend that it’s fine and I’m loving the single life, but tonight, it’s just not in me. I wish that I was at home with Adrien. I wish that we were in his big bed.

The waiter comes over, and I order a margarita. He drops a few bowls of chips and salsa on our table, and I grab one.

“How’s work?” Quinn asks me.

“It’s good. We’ve been busy.”

“Yeah? How’s Boss Man?” She asks me, and I shove another chip in my mouth to avoid answering right away.

“He’s good,” I say finally, grabbing another chip.

She gives me a weird look, and I glance away. Normally, when they ask me about Adrien, I go on a mini-rant about whatever he’s done that week so my short answer must seem strange.

“Which movie are we seeing again?” Aria asks the table, and I’m grateful for the distraction.

The girls start talking about the movie and TV shows they’ve been watching. I try to add things here and there to keep up appearances, but the truth is that my head is a million miles away. Or rather, it’s twenty miles away, in a penthouse apartment on the beach.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and my heart leaps into my throat. It must be Adrien. Everyone else that I know is already here.

I pull it out, already smiling at the screen. That smile drops off when I see my mom’s name there instead.

I wish that I had my journal.

“Who is it?” Lottie asks, leaning over. “Ugh, what the hell does she want?”

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