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I reach down and squeeze his ass. “This ass.”
“That’s the one.” He kisses me deep and bold. I open my legs so he can settle between them.
I ask breathlessly, “How long is this break?”
“Not long enough.”
“Then stop getting me all hot. I’m still worked up from getting you off.”
He grinds into me a bit. “That? That’s getting you hot. How about this?” He kisses my neck.
“Stop it. Get out there and tell the people the good news.”
I push him, and he opens the door to leave. “How do you know the news is going to be good?”
I sit up and riff. “Because there’s good in everything. Go preach to the people that the world will go on, and new voices will rise and be heard, and it’s time to let the old voices fade into a tattered democracy that’s seen better days. It’s time to reinvent how the world relates to us and us to the world. We do not need to stay beholden to the established two parties that were contrivances of long-gone white male patriots. It’s time to reinvent how we relate to each other because currently, there’s no actual communication, just shouting or being affirmed by your close-knit circle of shared ideals. We once created an America that disagreed but didn’t hate. Go inspire a nation to remember nothing can be accomplished alone, and believing in something doesn’t invalidate someone else’s beliefs. We can heal and be heard, so it doesn’t matter who wins tonight. It’s someone’s good news.”
“HOLEEE shit. What the hell?” He throws his hands in the air.
“It’s just what I’ve learned from being around you and listening to the podcast.”
“That was off the top of your goddamn head? Your fucking vocabulary is so fucking hot.” I grin.
From the hallway, I hear Mikey, “Damn, girl, you good with the pretty words. You should do the pod.”
I roll my eyes and say, “Cuz everyone wants a contemporary romance writer pundit. Please remove him from my sight.”
“Fine. America needs me is what you’re saying. But at some point, you’re doing the pod. That was way too eloquent for just Mikey and me to hear.”
“Ok.”
“And you?” He waggles his eyebrows at me, and I’m about to not let him go.
“Gag. Man. Come on, let’s go,” Mikey screams.
“I’ll wait until America is done with you tonight. But not a moment longer.” He kisses me quickly and adjusts himself to make me laugh.
“Write down what you just said. I’m stealing it. Promise me you’ll speak about life, liberty, and the American way when you are naked.”
“Depends on the returns.”
He’s so fucking cute I can barely stand it. I stand up and rummage through my purse to reapply makeup and run a brush through my hair.
I come across Vanessa in the bathroom. She’s trying to leave as I enter.
“Excuse me,” she says, pushing past me.
“Look, Vanessa. I’m sorry I was so bitchy earlier, but you were snippy too.”
“What is your point here?”
“I’m also sorry to walk into an awkward thing with Alex. I didn’t know about your previous relationship. But I’m not a conquest.”
“Thank you for that. Alex and I haven’t been anything in the run-up to the election. He’s been so focused, traveling a lot more. But when there was more time, I thought... Now I find out he’s dating.”
“Oh. You thought that the two of you—”
“I did. When the election was over. He’s so busy and focused. I was staying out of the way. I’m not sure where you came from or how he made time for you.”
