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“Everyone’s heart gets broken at so a fact I’d never really considered It was always so much more painful when it happened to you Like no one else on the planet could possibly understand your agony and humiliation But that was a misconception Plenty of people had suffered ood number of them picked themselves up, dusted theain I’d simply told myself it would never happen a second time

Lying in Michael’s bed, both of us naked and hi a condom in his hand, was not exactly the place to have an epiphany Or maybe it was…

I said, “Sometimes when you call me fro about or riding around on your motorcycle, in a different city every couple of days to take awesome landscapes for your books You have tons of fans Woet your attention And yet, two or three tiet to your hotel room”

He didn’t say anything for a fewwithin me as the seconds ticked by and he still didn’t answer I had no idea what to expect by way of an explanation, but for the first tienuinely wanted to know, and I didn’t feel apprehensive over what the response ht be

Finally he said, “I like my career I like that I’veI’ve always enjoyed it But it does get lonely And I really did one this last time”

He paused amy eyes for Lord only knehat Then he said, “Those three weeks we spent together They freaked me out as much as they did you I just handled it better”

“I don’t knohat you mean,” I said, a little perplexed by his admission

“I didn’t once think about cheating on you No other woman turned my head I worked on ht, we had dinner and a couple of drinks, either here or at a restaurant Then we’d curl up in front of the fire or soak in the Jacuzzi or play poker We’d always end uplove Exactly what I wanted”

My teeth cla Or to keep it fro, I wasn’t sure

He said, quite sihts we shared”

Ah, crap

I felt that prickle behind ain I squeezed them shut for a moment, then opened them and willed my voice to be steady as I said, “Me too”

He didn’t press ainst the pile of pillows and stared at me

I snuggled against hiainst his shoulder I couldn’t stop touching hiers drew lazy circles on his abdomen as I said, “It was different with you Not like it ith Seth With him, I was…a Carlisle In every sense of the word I had to dress right and act right Entertain and overachieve For that period of tis ree A wealthy, prohts with a Bentley in the garage A ner clothes and all the latest gadgets”

I reree and was accepted into Harvard’s law school, I had really and truly tried to be everything h, for the first twenty-two years ofmy own person