Page 25 of Unexpected You

She laughed and kept moving faster.

* * *

Sunday I was completely useless after the hike. Reid had sent me a video for stretching and I’d done that, as well as taking a long bath and used some of the CBD lotion that cost an arm and a leg. That kind of knocked me out into an unexpected nap and when I woke up there were a bunch of messages I’d missed. Hunter was still with her parents and Reid had had a wild night at work and Danica had made up with Gavin and they were happy again.

Everyone was happy and I was… Well. I was.

I wasn’t unhappy. No, I’d been unhappy, and I’d dealt with a few bouts of depression here and there, but I wasn’t mentally there right now.

I was fine. Yeah, I was fine. Totally fine. Just…fine.

“Fuck,” I told myself, getting up off the couch. That nap had messed me up. Needing to reset my brain, I grabbed my ereader and scrolled through my options. I did have a few more of Eloise’s books, so I read a few blurbs and then picked one.

She really was a talented writer. Her books were written to appeal to a mass audience, but they had these little turns of phrase that were so unique and charming. I liked her style.

They were also funnier than they should be. Her humor in her books made me wonder if she was hiding her inner comedian, or if she was one of those people who was the opposite of her work. Not that I really knew much about authors, but there were some that I followed whose personality appeared to be on the other side of the spectrum from their work. Like dark romance authors who were always posting pictures of rescued kittens and loved to collect stuffed animals.

I spent the rest of my day off with the book and it was my favorite one yet. Sure, it wasn’t a queer romance, but it was still working for me. The guy was great and such a dirty talker. More so than her other books. I wanted to ask her about it, but that would probably be weird. What was the protocol in asking your boss about her writing dirty talk?

Yeah, that was something I shouldn’t touch with a ten-foot-pole. That would definitely be a reason to fire me.

I guess I’d just hold onto those wonderings and never know the truth.

Chapter Nine

Eloise

I was behind on my deadline and it stressed me out that weekend. Usually my rule was that I didn’t do any writing unless absolutely necessary on Saturdays and Sundays. Sometimes I had admin work that would spill over but writing rarely did. When it did, my stress level ratcheted up and I knew I was close to triggering one of my migraines.

Camille had invited me to go to the children’s museum with her and the kids, but I declined and said I had to work. I did do some writing, but I also went into the city and brought my laptop to my favorite bar and parked myself to work and people watch and chat with my favorite bartender, Dom. She was such an important part of my life that I’d thanked her in several of my books for providing sustenance and gossip during my writing sessions.

Dom was in her late thirties and managed the bar with an iron fist and didn’t suffer fools. She was my favorite kind of no-nonsense person who could silence anyone with a look.

“You writing about me this time?” she asked when I sat down in my usual spot at the end of the bar and opened my laptop.

I rolled my eyes. Dom had been asking me to write a character based on her since the first night that I’d met her.

“I’ve told you, I don’t write about real people. Gets too messy.” That wasn’t entirely true. I would take pieces of real people that I’d met and incorporate them in my characters, but never a whole person with how they looked and everything.

Dom put a hand to her heart. “You wound me. Does our friendship mean nothing to you?”

I rolled my eyes. Dom was seriously gorgeous with tan skin and dark hair that she kept up in a messy bun that was never actually that messy and blunt-cut bangs across her forehead.

She also had the kind of aura that you didn’t want to mess with her, but you also wanted to confess every single secret and sin to her. Spending any length of time with her was like being bewitched. Made her incredible at her job.

“What can I get for you, my favorite author?” she asked, even though she knew.

“Oh, I don’t know. I think I’ll try something new. An old fashioned, if you have it.”

Dom grinned and slapped one hand down on the bar.

“You got it.”

While she made my drink, I pretended to look at the menu, even though I already knew what I wanted.

Dom presented my drink and I ordered my favorite bourbon barbecue burger with bacon and fries. There was no sense in coming to a place like this and not indulging myself. Normally I wouldn’t let myself be caught dead in public eating a burger that would inevitably leave my face covered in sauce, but this place was different, and Dom was always giving me a million napkins, and always loaded me up with extra fries.

It was still early for the dinner rush, and also Sunday, so the place was pretty quiet, which meant Dom would come and chat with me about work and I’d ask her about customers as I let the alcohol warm my blood and ate the perfectly crispy fries and did my best not to inhale my burger too quickly.