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3 - ADDISON
My neck… My back…
Not in a good way, like the aftermath spent in the arms of a man who could take your troubles away or a massage. It was like I turned thirty last month, and my body couldn’t handle sleeping like this for a second longer. One leg rested on the floor and the other stretched past the edge of the couch, while one arm was thrown over my eyes and the other laid across my waist.
I lifted my head off my couch that went out of style twenty years ago and tried to find the source of the incessant beeping that woke me up. Ugh, my phone was the source of the beeping. I groped around the floor for it but had no luck. Lifting my head a fraction of an inch more, I grabbed my phone from the coffee table and turned off the alarm, swinging my feet to the ground.
I never made it to my bedroom after the party. Mr. Gray Eyes had me so pissed I threw myself into research mode and fell asleep sometime after three in the morning. My purple dress was wrinkled and clung to my body like a second skin, making me crave a shower more than coffee or an extra half-hour in my comfy bed.
I’d also lost my gold tennis bracelet. It probably fell off when I was on the beach and was long gone. The stupid clasp had been loose for ages, and I’d been putting off fixing it because I’d been preoccupied with a hundred other things.
Rubbing my eyes and grimacing when my hand came away with last night’s mascara, I stood up and stretched, working loose my cramped muscles before making my way to the master bathroom. I heard a knock on the door on the third step, and my shoulders sank.
Who the hell would be knocking at six in the morning?
The doorknob turned, and my best friend Annaleigh walked in, looking far too perky for this early.
“Let’s go,” she called, jogging in place as I stumbled back down the stairs, glaring at her. “Why aren’t you dressed? Are you hungover? Remember, you promised to help me train for my ten-k.” She stopped to retie her blonde ponytail before putting her hands on her hips and giving me a once-over. I was too tired to take offense at her assuming I was hungover, so I swished my hair over my shoulder and rolled my eyes.
“Fine. Give me ten minutes to change. Remind me why you signed up for a ten-k on the day after Thanksgiving again, please?”
I motioned for her to follow me up the stairs, and she did, hip-checking me with a smile. “It’s called a Turkey Trot, and it may or not be because Max can out-sex me right now, and that is unacceptable.”
I stopped on the stairs as she looked over her shoulder with a wink, walking into my bedroom and tossing me a pack of makeup wipes. I pulled one out and tried to scrub my face as she dug through my drawers and threw workout clothes and a sports bra on my bed.
“Out what you? I’m going to need coffee or context. Maybe not in that order.”
“Ugh. That broody man has so much stamina I can barely keep up. I need to get in better shape for our sex-capades, and he gets up too early for me to run with him on the beach,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed with a frown.
I couldn’t help the snort-laugh that escaped my lips at her brazen admission, but she had a point. There was nothing worse than a guy who couldn’t keep up in bed and made you do all the heavy lifting. I usually preferred hot yoga or Zumba to stay in shape, but running did the trick, and I’d take any chance I could to spend more time with my best friends.
Tugging down the zipper of my dress, I stepped out of it and pulled on the clothes Annaleigh had sat out before doing my hair in a fishtail braid.
“You sure you’re up for this, babe? You kind of look like hell this morning.”
“Yeah, sorry. I didn’t sleep for shit last night and had a weird experience at Grayson’s party.”
“What happened? The dick was only subpar?” she asked, standing up and waggling her eyebrows before tossing me a half-full bottle of water from the bedside table.
“No. I’m sure the dick would have been well-above average if it had gotten that far. Think you can make it to the coffee shop off of Magpie Boulevard? I’ll tell you all about it over macchiatos. This freaking guy threw me for a loop, and I need your opinion on some things.”
“A guy got into your head? This I have to hear. And hell yeah, I can. Just because I don’t have the stamina of my soon-to-be husband doesn’t mean I can’t make it a measly couple of miles.”
She tried to prove her point by doing several jumping jacks in a row, but she dropped one hand to hold her boobs in place after five. I dug around in a dresser drawer until I found another sports bra and tossed it her way.
“Nice, thank you. This one doesn’t fit anymore.” Annaleigh whipped off her shirt and changed as I tossed the makeup wipes in the trash and went to the bathroom. I washed my hands and splashed some cold water on my face, feeling more refreshed than I had fifteen minutes ago. I wasn’t revived enough to run three miles before a full day of work, but that was what hot showers and expensive concealer were for.
“You got it. Let’s go downstairs and let me shotgun an iced coffee before we leave.”
“You are hardcore, babe.”
“Thanks,” I said, winking at her with a smile. We made it to the kitchen, and after I threw back an iced coffee I had in the fridge, my head was clear enough to focus on our run and not the asshole from last night.
The run did the trick, so did the second coffee, and after some well-placed jabs from Annaleigh about Mr. Hot and Cold getting under my skin, I was ready to tackle the day. She restored my shaken self-confidence, reminding me why she was one of my best friends, and encouraged me to talk to my bosses about their plans for the three real estate firms I was primed to take over.
My bosses, also known as my parents.
I should have gotten the go-ahead after my dad had his hip replaced, but I didn’t. I thought I’d get the offer when my mom booked a three-week cruise to Alaska and left me in charge, but nope. Then I closed on Grayson and Stan’s four-point-two million dollar house, right on the water. That was my golden ticket, my coup de grâce, but the closing happened a week ago, and I hadn’t heard a peep.
