Page 38 of In Your Wake

What a stupid start to a new business. But in a town like Oakwhite, finding a one-night stand you’ll never see again is sort of harder than finding gold.

Once I get to Kayla’s, I stand outside the two-story red-brick building and glance up. A light is on in a window, and I half expect her to be peeking out of it, waiting. But then I tilt my head and peer down the alley at the side. There’s a parking lot, and beyond it is Maxine’s apartment. Her lights are on, too.

I rub my eyes, suddenly exhausted. My phone vibrates.

Kayla

The downstairs lock is jammed, so come right in when you get here. I’ll leave my door unlocked. I’ll be “asleep.”

So you can pretend to break in ;)

“Ah, fuck,” I say with a groan, shaking my head. She’s one of those role-playing girls. I’ve met a lot of those lately. Women who want to play games, want to test the limits of danger.

I consider myself to be a pretty open-minded guy. I’m willing to experiment in bed. I sometimes like it rough, too. But I also like it gentle. I like it from every angle. But rape-play is where I draw the line. Especially when I hardly even know the girl.

Chalking it up to just one more reminder that this is a bad idea, I accept that I’ll have to go another night without getting laid.

Me

Sorry. Something came up. Maybe another time? Have a good night.

I turn onto Oak Street to head back toward the brewery where my car is parked, but stop and glance back toward Max’s place. I’ve been excited tonight, anticipating sex, and there’s this uncanny pull in my gut, telling me to go see her. She’s still up, I’m sure. She’s always been a night owl.

My phone vibrates and my heart flutters inexplicably.

Kayla

Your loss.

“In more ways than one,” I mutter, tucking my phone into my pocket and heading toward the brewery with my head down.

9

The Truth

Mitch

Pulling up to Spencer’s new home fills me with a certain sense of pride. I loved his former beach-side house, or rather his mother, Marilyn Perry’s mansion, but this house means more because it’s all Spencer’s. And Bethany’s, of course. They’ve just bought it together. But considering that a year ago, before he’d met her, Spencer was one step away from being an eternal bachelor, this change in him is new and very surprising.

After parking in the driveway, I round the pale gray house and head toward the back, spotting Spencer lounging in a chair on the dock. Save for his dog, Bruno, who comes running up to me, Spencer’s by himself.

“What, no Missus today?” I tease, giving Bruno a scratch behind the ears.

“Bee had to help her parents with a catering gig.” We shake hands, then do our quick bro-hug. “Want some iced tea?”

“Nah, I’m good, thanks,” I answer, waving off the offer, but actually, I’d kill for a fourth cup of coffee.

All my pent-up energy from last night is lingering in my body. I tried to jerk-off, to get it out of my system, but thoughts of Maxine in those damn jeans kept popping into my head and killing the mood. Or maybe I just didn’t feel right imagining her that way.

So now, I’m carrying this extra stress on my back, I’m exhausted, not to mention I’ve got a massive case of blue balls.

“You sure?” Spencer asks. “Looks like you had a rough night.”

I guess the dark circles under my eyes give me away. “Must have drunk too much,” I reply with a shrug.

He smirks, then pours some iced tea into a glass. “Or maybe it’s because of a certain redhead.”

I never explicitly told him about the crush I used to have, but he’d sort of figured it out. He’s always been quite perceptive about these things. He used to tease me about it, but he never told anyone, either.