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My mind wandered to Henry once more—and okay, yes, how his massive dick had felt in my ass, damn it all—as Cameron and Ethan headed into the kitchen with their empty plates. Nate and Anson devolved into their usual playful—Nate—and grumpy—Anson—banter.
I sighed to myself so I didn’t trigger Anson’s Daddy tendencies. Why couldn’t I let this go? Every day, something reminded me of Henry, of our night together. Every day, I remembered how amazing it’d been, how right it had felt. Every day, I wished I was different, able to allow myself to be loved, ready to love a man as incredible as Henry.
Glancing around the room at my friends—at Anson and Nate’s good-natured shoving match, at Cameron and Ethan coming back into the room and clearing more dishes—I realized I might never be able to forget my one night with Henry. And that made my aching heart wish for things that could never happen.
***
That afternoon, I was scheduled to stop by Lakeside Tranquility for another Halloween party prep session. When I arrived and the receptionist buzzed me in, I headed for Natasha’s office. We hadn’t had a chance to talk since I’d inadvertently come out to her, and I hoped it wouldn’t be a thing. Considering her reaction in the moment, I suspected it wouldn’t be.
Natasha wasn’t in her office, but the light was on and the door was open, so I just took a seat to wait. She could be anywhere, and this facility was rather large.
I pulled out my phone while I waited, seeing a message that Nate had tagged me in a few minutes ago on our gaming server. You down to play?
I shook my head, smiling at my phone as I typed back. Busy right now. Maybe in a few hours?
Boo, his response read. I’m gonna be busy then. Hit me up if you want to play later, and I’ll see if I can join.
I gave his message a thumbs-up emoji then clicked my phone shut.
Nate and I played a first-person shooter game set in the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world where our avatars were humans fighting hordes of zombies while trying to rescue other humans and not get turned into zombies ourselves. I found it a good way to decompress. I would’ve preferred a bit more of a story, but Nate loved it, so I went along with it. It was fun having an online gaming buddy in my real-life friend circle.
Natasha came rushing into her office a few minutes later, her hair a little messy. “Hi, Tris! So sorry for making you wait. We had a near elopement, so we were all hands on deck until we could get the resident calmed down.”
My eyes shot wide, having been part of a similar event in the past. Residents would sometimes get leaving the facility into their head when it wasn’t safe for them to do so, and it was hard for staff to redirect them, help them focus on something else until they were more relaxed. “Oh no! Is everything okay now?”
Natasha nodded, patting her hair as she dropped into her office chair. “Yes, thankfully. No harm, no foul. Just a bit of excitement.”
She smiled sweetly, if not exhaustedly, at me, and I returned it.
Leaning back in her chair, she flipped the top of the reusable water bottle on her desk and took a long sip. “Sorry, I just need a minute to decompress.”
I propped an ankle up on my opposite knee and settled into my chair. “No worries at all. Take your time.”
As Natasha sipped on her water and pulled out some trail mix—offering me some, of course, though I declined—we shared some small talk, passing the time pleasantly. I learned about her penchant for gardening, though she only had a planter box on her balcony because she was in a small apartment while saving up for her first house, and I shared my love of gay romance books. After she teased me about being in love with love, which I wholeheartedly affirmed—at least fictional love—she asked, “So any progress with your two guys? Last I heard, you were still trying to decide between them.”
Oh, right. The last few times I’d been here, things had been so chaotic that I’d jumped right in to help. “Well, actually . . .”
Natasha leaned forward, her eyes sparkling. “Ooo—share!”
I chuckled. “Turns out, those two guys were actually just one guy.”
Her brow furrowed. “Huh?”
I leaned forward, eager to share this information. Since I’d admitted my crush on Henry and MrFox43 to her, I’d come to realize Natasha was really fun to talk to. “My online crush and in-real-life crush were the same damn guy.”
My words swirled around the room for a millisecond before Natasha gasped then squealed. I laughed at the over-the-top reaction. “Oh my god, Tris! Your life is so dramatic!”
I pressed the back of my hand against my forehead and sighed loudly while I fell back into my chair. “I know.”
She laughed then, a happy, twinkling sound, and I joined in because it felt too good not to. After we’d calmed a bit, Natasha pushed to her feet. “Okay, break’s over. Let’s head up to the activity room so we can spread out, brainstorm all the ideas, and make Halloween Fest the best one these residents have ever seen.”
Stomach bubbling with excitement, I nodded emphatically and followed her upstairs—using the stairs this time—where we stuck to her plan. The prep as well as the event itself promised to be insane, but by the time I needed to leave to make my planned evening live stream, we already had several things in the works. Her relieved smile was full of gratitude as we scheduled another time for us to meet again.
This party was gonna be epic.
Chapter seventeen
Tristan
