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Chapter Eight
Payson woke at dawn needing to pee, and by the time she returned to the couch, her mind had already done several laps around her day’s to-do list. She rubbed the back of her neck and yawned. It was another reminder that she really needed to wean herself off the whole couch and TV crutch she’d developed in her latest bout of feeling lonely and sorry for herself. Add that to a job that was taking too much of a toll on her life and it was no wonder she had been feeling a bit melancholy lately. She lay there for a few more minutes, willing herself to go back to sleep, but her jumble of thoughts wouldn’t release their grip.
“Fine.” She huffed through a frustrated breath as she rolled off the couch. “I’ll go for a run.” She had been scolding herself for weeks for slacking off on exercising. Today would be as good a day as any to reset that routine.
The early morning air was already warm but thankfully, not yet blazing. And even though her body felt sluggish, thoughts about her dinner date with Madison sent a surge of well-needed energy through her. She settled into a comfortable pace and rhythm while her mind drifted once again from Madison to Hannah. There was something so enticingly alluring and organic about her, a definite connection that she’d felt from the first time she’d looked in her eyes and again every time they touched.
“Hannah.” The name tasted sweet on her lips. “I don’t know who you are or where you come from, but you’re definitely the most interesting thing that has happened in my life for a long time.”
Thirty minutes into her run, Tegan’s name appeared on her watch. “Yeah?” she said through heavy breaths.
“You out running?”
“Yeah.” Payson repeated as she rounded the neighborhood tree that signaled her halfway mark.
“Wanna get breakfast?” Tegan asked. “I can drive you back to your house afterward.”
“Yes, I’m starving. Meet me at Bunches of Bagels in about twenty minutes. It’ll take me that long to jog over there.”
“See you then.”
Her twenty-minute ETA took over thirty. She just couldn’t shake the sluggish fatigue that had become her constant companion. As she opened the door to the bagel shop, she welcomed the smells of toasted bread and roasting coffee beans.
She ordered her usual, and five minutes later she settled into the chair next to Tegan, one hand wrapped around a cup of double-shot, almond milk cappuccino and the other gripping an egg and cheese bagel sandwich.
“How was your run?” Tegan asked.
“Horrible.” She groaned. “My body just couldn’t quite shift into gear.”
“And that surprises you? After all the hours you’ve been working, it’s kinda amazing you’re still upright and functioning.”
Payson took a sip of coffee. “I really need a new career.” She exhaled and closed her eyes in a moment of Zen as she let the caffeine begin to work its magic.
“I heard Mandalay has an open marketing position,” Tegan said.
Payson peeled an eye open as she tilted her head. “Oh, I don’t know. Part of me wants out of Vegas as much as I want out of news. But I’ll look into it though, thanks.” She grabbed her sandwich and took a bite. “Did you end up playing cards after I left?”
“Yep.” Tegan’s eyes lit up as she bent forward. “And guess who I ran into at the blackjack table late last night?”
“Who?”
“Hannah and her very delightful friend, Piper.”
A stab of jealousy and disappointment surprised Payson. As exhausted as she was last night, the thought of spending some leisurely one-on-one time with Hannah was appealing. “Delightful? Really? Do I detect a twinge of lust?” She raised a brow.
“More like a surge, but I wasn’t catching the same vibe from Piper. She seemed more interested in the cards.”
“Oh yeah? Is she as good as you?” Payson had been gambling with Tegan enough to know she could be a professional player if she wanted. She had never meet anyone who had such an intimate relationship with Lady Luck.
“Better. She cashed out at least triple what she originally had on the table.”
“Wow. Sounds like you’ve met your match. Did you guys exchange numbers?”
“No, but she did say she’d love to get together for a game of poker next time around. So there you go.” Tegan smiled.
Payson smiled, knowing that if Tegan and Piper did hook up, it would probably never last more than a few months, a year tops. It wasn’t that Tegan had a wandering eye; it was more that she had yet to find a girlfriend who shared in her love of gambling. Someone who understood the thrill of a card game and didn’t complain when she didn’t want to go home, sit in front of a TV, and do the homebody thing.
“Maybe.” Tegan shrugged as she took another sip. “How about you? What’d you do after you left? I noticed Madison walked you out last night. What was that all about?”
