AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sophie…”
“What?”
“Nevermind. See you Sunday.”
And that right there is probably half the reason we’re divorced, apart from the cheating and the lying. For all my snark, I’m terrified of confrontation and would rather pretend to be ignorant than have a hard conversation. Communicating through my writing I can do, but communicating my feelings? I’d rather have a root canal.
I slink back to my car and head home, waving to Emma through the window before I pull out.
I’d rather choke on the words I want to say than fight. If I hadn’t caught him cheating red-handed, who knows if I ever would have had the guts to leave him. I’d resigned myself to a lifetime of suffering in silence, never telling him how I felt.
His reckless spending, inability to keep a job, constant complaining and general negative attitude never felt like reason enough to leave him. So I’d swallowed it down and sentenced myself to death by a thousand cuts. Even Lauren had almost lost patience with me over it, pushing me to speak up for myself before it was too late.
Lauren is out of town this weekend, so I head home alone, no reason to go anywhere else. “Come on Max, no more running away okay? And definitely no more running into Mr. Sutton.”
Had he really told Emma his name was Teddy? I can’t reconcile the stern Theodore I know from the office, or the sexy and suave Theo from the gala, with Teddy. Teddy Sutton. I can’t wrap my brain around it. Maybe I read Little Women too many times as a kid, but Teddy makes me think of a happy-go-lucky man-child who’s never faced a hardship greater than being rejected by a girl.
But Theo? Just the thought of Theo Sutton—of the way his stubble scraped my skin, the tickle of his breath against my ear, his hands burning into my skin—has heat building in my core and my clit aching for relief.
Driving home is torture, the need in my belly burning brighter and brighter with each memory I relive. Flashes from the limo ride haunt me as I park at home. One look at my apartment is like a bucket of cold water being thrown at me. His world and mine will never come together—the billionaire and the secretary? I cringe at the cliche, pulling Max out of the backseat.
Instead of taking care of the need still burning low in my belly, I lock the door behind me, let Max out of his carrier, and pour myself a glass of wine before pulling out my laptop.
Jessie and Cody are about to benefit from the pent up sexual tension Theo Sutton sent racing through me. If I can’t work this tension out myself, I’ll work it out through my words. I resigned myself to being the stereotypical 'frustrated housewife reading romance novels because she’s not getting any from her husband' years ago. Now I’m a divorced, single mom in my mid-thirties who has an unbearable crush on her boss. Just trading one stereotype for another.
Jessie and Cody work out their differences with a lot of tongue action, both dialogue and other, more interesting uses. In my mind, though, it’s Theo doing these things to my body.
By the time I’ve drunk two glasses of wine and written Jessie her third orgasm, my panties are soaked and I’ve done enough Kegels to keep my bladder in good shape until I die. If I don’t do something about this soon, I’m going to do something stupid. Like text my boss.
Because I saved his number off his dog’s collar and didn’t delete it the second I realized whose number it was, like I should have.
Maybe it’s the wine, maybe it’s the lava-hot scene I just wrote, but the temptation is more than I can bear. He was flirting with me, right? I didn’t imagine the way he looked at me, did I? Like he was starving and I was a feast.
My phone is in my hand and my fingers are typing before I can stop myself.
Me: If you weren’t my scary boss…
I can’t think of how I want to finish that sentence. If you weren’t my boss, I’d send you a picture of my boobs? An answering text comes in a moment later.
Other Max: If I wasn’t your scary boss what? Would I be curious why the beautiful woman who rescued my dog is texting me late on a Friday night?
I debate changing his name in my contacts. For my own sanity, I can’t use his real name. I grin as I change it, then bite my bottom lip while I try to think of a response. I’m pretty sure my brain short-circuited when he called me beautiful.
Tall, Dark & Handsome: If I WAS your boss, I would be annoyed that it’s taking this long to get a response from my employee. But since I’m pretending that’s not the case, I suppose I have to be patient.
This is followed by a gif of Inigo Montoya saying “I hate waiting.” The giggle that sounds in my empty apartment is definitely from the wine, not because my grumpy boss just sent me a silly gif. Theodore Sutton and The Princess Bride do not go together.
Me: There’s no way this is my boss. My scary boss, who walks into the office every day yelling at someone new, would never be caught dead sending a gif from The Princess Bride.
Tall, Dark & Handsome: Theodore Sutton’s favorite movie is The Godfather II—I’m sure I read it in an article somewhere, so it must be true. But Teddy’s favorite movie is The Princess Bride. It’s a classic.
Oh. My. God. There is a winky face emoji in that text. Have I entered the Twilight Zone? I curl my legs up under me on the couch, laptop forgotten on the coffee table.
Me: Have you been kidnapped? Is there a ransom note? Do I need to send help? Is there someone in the FBI I should contact? How do I know I’m not texting with a kidnapper?
Tall, Dark & Handsome: I’m not a kidnapper.
I wonder where Theo is in that giant house. Is he lounging on the leather couch I caught a glimpse of through the door? Or was he working at his desk and I interrupted him? I stop myself before I imagine him lying in bed and texting me, it’s too dangerous to let my mind wander that direction.
