AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Five
After another nightof working past ten, this time isolated in my office, and with an entire floor of developers between me and Luke, morning came too soon.
Taking a seven o’clock flight should get us into the Sacramento offices by about ten, which only meant a few hours of missed work. Still time I dreaded not having, almost as much as I missed the sleep I wouldn’t be getting anytime soon.
At least I could dress in comfortable clothes, rather than business attire. Our company dress code was basically clean, and make sure your genitals don’t hang out.
I sleepwalked my way through a quick shower, checking in online for my flight, and doing one last inventory of what I’d packed.
All set.
My phone buzzed with a new text.
I’m here. It was Lyn, my other best friend, who was dropping me off at the airport.
She’d been Sadie’s friend first, and when the two of them met, I didn’t know what to think of Lyn. She had that Sadie-confidence I envied, but something less self-assured hid underneath, and back then, I didn’t know if I was jealous of her for covering up the insecurity, or hated her for not owning it like I did.
Lyn and I had moved past that, partly thanks to a little experimenting, that was physically incredible but emotionally didn’t have the spark either of us wanted. Now, I was glad for her friendship.
Speaking of—if Lyn and I worked things out, Luke and I could still be friends too, right? Except my heart didn’t want Lyn, and I was pretty sure it was interested in more from Luke.
I grabbed my suitcase, laptop, and purse, gave the house one last look—not that I’d spent enough time here in the last few months to miss the place—and headed out to her small SUV. After setting my luggage in the back, I joined her up front.
“I brought you a present,” Lyn said in a sing-song tone as she held up a coffee cup.
I kissed her noisily on the cheek, and took the drink as I dropped into my seat. “My hero.” The coffee scalded just a little going down, and left the burn of extra sweet in its wake. “Perfect.”
“How’s work?” Lyn pointed us toward the airport.
I made out with my boss two nights ago. You know—Luke, the hot one—and now I can’t stop thinking about fucking him. I wanted to spill everything, but I needed to wrap my brain around it first. “It’s work. How ’bout you?”
She drummed her fingers rapidly against the steering wheel and let out a subdued but happy squeal. “So, you know how I was talking to Roxie?”
I rolled the name in my brain until I made a match—names weren’t my specialty. “The podcaster Sadie knows?”
“That’s her. She came by the café yesterday, and she loves it. She’s going to have me on her show, because—and I quote—everyone needs to know about this place.”
That was a happier wake-up call than the coffee. “Yay.” I clapped as best I could with a cup in my hand. “Tell me when, and I’ll make the whole office listen.”
Lyn twisted her mouth. “That won’t be necessary, but you can listen and tell me how awesome I am.”
“Duh.” I was excited for the news.
Lyn owned a gaming and anime café called Loading Java. For a long time, she’d only spent what the business could afford, to keep it open. But almost a year ago, she took out a loan to expand. Business slumped off right after, and she struggled to stay in the black since. Christmas rush helped. A shout-out from a gaming podcaster with a huge platform could help even more.
We chatted about other random things while she drove. The airport was less than fifteen miles from my place, and this early in the morning, there was no traffic. Before I knew it, she was pulling up to the drop-off curb.
“Thank you for the ride,” I said as I hopped out.
“Anytime. Try to have a little fun if you can, and text us when you land.”
Usbeing her and Sadie. Thanks to a shitty home life when I was younger and my having severed all ties to my blood relations, Lyn, Sadie, Chase, Jax, and Grayson were my family.
I grabbed my bags from the back of her car and headed inside. It was the middle of the week, so the only people here were other business travelers. Going through security was fast and painless, aside from the fact they made me guzzle my coffee or I’d have to throw it away. Within a few minutes, I was heading through the terminal toward my gate.
My feet slowed when Luke came into view. He was leaning against a pillar, flipping through his phone, looking as gorgeous in profile as any other time. The flutters in my stomach spread, dancing across my skin, tingling in my lips, and lingering every place he’d touched or kissed.
When he looked up and flashed me a lazy smile, it was tempting to swoon and faint away.
