AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Maybe not. But I can’t see you being into kink if me wanting to spank you sent us into the biggest argument we’d ever had and us breaking up.”
Her gut clenched. “I can’t help what you think. And you need to leave me alone.” Dani turned back to the box, fighting the urge to crush the teacups between her fingers. Why should she explain everything to him now? He was the one who’d refused to listen. The room was silent, and when she turned, Gabriel was gone. She gripped the counter. Life moved on, and she had to as well. He didn’t fight for her then, and apparently, he wouldn’t now either. She tried to convince herself she didn’t care.
It was after five when Dani finished the last box in the kitchen. She was happy but tired. And hungry. She’d eaten breakfast, but it had been so busy she totally forgot about lunch. Maybe she’d call for pizza or something to be delivered.
The doorbell rang, and she jumped. That bell was so much louder than the one in her other apartment. She walked over to the door and opened it to see Allyson, Sierra, and Crystal standing there.
“Hey, what are you guys doing here?” Max had told her not to worry about working the desk tonight; he’d help Ralph out. “And how did you get in?”
“We brought food.” Each of them held up bags.
“And your neighbor saw me earlier and was happy to let us in,” Allyson said.
The smell of noodles, tacos, and shrimp filled her senses, and her mouth watered.
“You are lifesavers.” The women traipsed into the apartment and, within minutes, were seated around the family room, the coffee table covered with food.
“I figured you’d forget to eat.” Allyson dished up some noodles into a bowl.
“I did.” She used tongs to take some of the fried shrimp, then picked up a taco. “Such a mixture of food.”
Sierra laughed. “We all wanted different things.”
“Oh, and I almost forgot…” Crystal pulled out two six packs of beer.
Dani laughed. “Where’s Tessa?”
“Damon is working at the club tonight,” Crystal said.
“So are Zeke and Jordan,” Allyson said.
“Yet you’re here?” She tilted her head, perplexed.
“Damon and Tessa don’t always get a lot of playtime together in the club, so when he’s on duty, she’s usually there,” Sierra said.
“Oh?” Dani hadn’t been around the women that much to know the ins and outs of their relationships.
“Let me clarify,” Crystal said. “Tessa’s mom has been visiting again. So it’s really hard for them to play at home with her mother there. Tonight, she told her mom that she and Damon were going out on a date.”
Dani grinned. “Now I see. Does her mother visit a lot?”
“She doesn’t know the story,” Allyson said, looking at her friends.
As they ate, Sierra and Crystal took turns telling Dani about Damon and Tessa’s courtship and how Tessa’s dad tried to blackmail her into denouncing Damon and the club. And how Tessa stood in front of town hall at a press conference and told her father to back off. She loved Damon and the people in the club. Plus, she knew her father was having an affair.
“Her mother divorced him?” Dani was astonished. She’d been so busy helping her grandparents with the business after she came home, she hadn’t paid that much attention to what was going on.
“Oh yeah.” Sierra waved her hand in the air. “Her mother had had enough of Tessa’s father’s crap. Tessa and Damon had the whole town backing them.”
Dani sighed. “Now that’s romance.”
They all laughed and talked in general. Once they finished eating, everyone helped Dani put the leftovers away, and Crystal pulled out another six pack of beer. Dani wasn’t sure she should drink another one; she’d already had two. But what did it matter? Tomorrow was Saturday.
“So you and Gabriel?” Sierra prompted with raised eyebrows.
Dani groaned; she should have known this was going to happen. “Yes. A long time ago.”
“Are you going to get back together with him?” Crystal asked.
