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The line is silent. It’s quiet for so long. I climb back down to the third floor and pace around the bedroom again.
“Fuck. I’m sorry, Sky. Whatever happened…”
I’m surprised it’s not a lie. How fucking weird is it that I can hate him and love him so much at once? Which one is realer?
His voice comes across the line. It’s just a soft rasp. “I need you.”* * *LukeI wake up and fumble in the covers for the phone. The room is pale with new daylight. The call is gone. My head aches from drinking too much. My body aches from walking thirteen miles to get here. Like a fool—a pastor fool who couldn’t catch a cab or rideshare without smelling like the man in Vance’s joke.
I roll over on my side. And freeze. Vance. The apparition gets out of the armchair, stretches out on the bed beside me. Vance is here. He’s wearing ripped jeans, some T-shirt I can’t see, and a charcoal hoodie. His eyes look tired, but he’s smiling at me.
My eyes sting.
“Hey there, Sky.” His arms wrap around me. He gives me the best hug I’ve ever gotten. He kisses my cheeks and then draws back a little, giving me a wary smile. “You smell like you have a headache.”
I can’t seem to look at him, so I look at the space between us. There’s not much of it. I have to swallow a few times to get words to come out. “How are you here?”
“I don’t know if you’re familiar with them.” His hand ruffles my hair. “There are these things, airplanes.” He tips his head back a little, so I can see his smile and wiggling eyebrows. “There was one last redeye. Caught it right after you called.”
I try to swallow. Fail, and try again. I whisper, “Thank you.”
“Of course.”
I still can’t look up at him.
“You want donuts?”
We eat the donuts he brought side by side on the bed like we ate the Greek food that first night he was in San Francisco.
I can only do one. As I chew it, I can feel him watching me. What happened? Of course, he would wonder. Later, he can maybe read about it. I’m not sure how many people noticed the harsh words I exchanged with the senator—but I know the people at the nearest tables did. Combined with how I left right after, I could see it getting picked up by some gossip rags.
Vance scoots closer, just a little, so his socked foot rubs at my calf.
“You got any clean clothes with you?”
I look down at my briefs. All my clothes are at my hotel.
Vance sits partway up, leaning over the bed’s side, then lying back beside me with a water bottle. He holds it out to me.
“I’ve got good hangover stuff, too. Hang on a second.”
Everything’s in the same general space, but the den and bedroom are divided by a half wall. He walks past the wall into the kitchen and comes back with a glass bottle and spoon. He pours it, then seems to realize if we change hands, the stuff might spill.
“Open for me, Sky.”
I do, and it tastes like shit. “Ughhh.”
“I swear, it’s magic.”
I watch as he steps over to his chest of drawers. It’s simple—pale maple with an IKEA vibe. He takes some clothes out, then comes and sits by me.
“You think you might throw up?”
I shake my head.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pack of Advil. “Toss those back.”
He shifts so he’s sitting by me. I scoot closer to him…lean my head against his shoulder. His arm goes around my back, and it feels so good.
“I wasn’t there with her. In case you saw those pictures at Page Six.”
He’s quiet for a long time. I realize he’s going to stay quiet.
That’s not what went wrong. But I can’t even tell him. Just thinking of it—of what the senator said, and my revealing retort—makes me break out in a cold sweat. Too close to exposing myself…
Vance stands up, interrupting my anxiety. “C’mon.” He leads me to his shower, and we strip our clothes off. I look down at my halfie. Can’t believe there is one.
He turns on the water. When I step under, he pulls my back against his chest and kisses my nape. “Too hungover?”
I shake my head.
He gets down on his knees in front of me and blows me nice and easy. I come hard, clutching the back of his neck.
He stands back up, his own erection jutting. “See? It’s kind of good when you’re hung over.”
Vance leans against the wall and starts to stroke himself. I watch as his eyelids sag and his chest pumps, and he comes with a hoarse moan. As cum seeps in between his fingers, I realize I’m hard again.
We shower and head to the bed, and he jerks us both off. Afterward, I lie against him, feeling so relaxed it’s unreal. He smiles at me. I smile back.
