I like her immediately.
“I’m also perpetually single,” Ariel says while pouring herself a glass of wine. “Do you know how hard it is to date in this city? Last week, I went out with a guy who spent the entire dinner talking about his NFT collection. Two hours of pixelated apes and blockchain technology.”
We all laugh.
“And before that, there was the guy who asked me to split the bill and then calculated my portion down to the penny. Including tax.”
“Please tell me you walked out,” Harper says.
“I paid my eleven dollars and thirty-seven cents, and I never texted him again.” Ariel takes a long drink of wine. “Men are a disaster. I'm considering becoming a lesbian.”
“It's not that easy,” Avery says. “You can't just switch teams.”
Ariel lifts her chin with a determined gleam in her eyes. “Watch me.”
We all laugh, and the swirling in my stomach eases. This is nice.
But even as Ariel launches into another dating horror story, involving a man who brought his mother on a third date, my mind wanders.
What is Ethan doing right now?
Is he thinking about what happened?
Is he replaying it the way I am?
I remember the way he looked at me when I landed on his lap. He looked at me like he wanted to devour me whole.
And I wanted him to.
“Natalie?”
I snap back to attention. “Sorry. Long day.”
“You've been distracted all night.” Avery tilts her head. “Are you sure everything's okay?”
“I'm fine. Just tired.”
She pats my hand. “You’ll get used to the pace here.”
An hour later, we settle the bill and say our goodbyes. Hugs all around, promises to do this again soon. Ariel makes me save her number and demands I text her if I ever need fashion advice or a drinking buddy.
I order an Uber and wait outside the bar. The night air is warm, and the city hums around me, alive and restless.
My phone buzzes. The driver is three minutes away.
I think about Ethan alone in his apartment. That big body stretched out on his couch, his injured leg propped up on pillows. Is he in pain? Is he thinking about me?
Heat coils low in my belly.
The Uber arrives, and I climb in. The driver doesn't try to make conversation, and I stare out the window as the city lights blur past. He drops me off at Starlight Suites, and I walk through the lobby on autopilot. The elevator takes me to my floor, and I pause outside my door.
I glance down the hall toward Ethan's apartment. His lights are off. Either he's asleep or he's sitting in the dark.
I let myself in and lean against the closed door. My heart is racing, and my skin feels too tight. The wine has made me warm and loose, and my thoughts keep circling back to the same place.
His hands. His mouth. The thick ridge of his cock pressed against me through his swim trunks.
I need a cold shower.
