“It’s too late, Dale,” I shouted, making Oakley stir. Good. I was ready for a nice long chat with him. “It’s out there, and you’re lucky my hooha isn’t clearly visible, or I would have filled your sinuses with urine and boiled your teeth.”

“Fuck, Balls. That's terrifying. Who even says shit like that?”

“Oh, you have no idea. Looking forward to chatting again. Try not to do anything stupid during your flight home,” I said as I clicked the little red button to disconnect the call.

I turned to look at Oakley, who snapped his eyes closed the moment I saw him. “If you think pretending to sleep is going to help, I still have some good threats left in me,” I growled.

“Fuck. How bad is it? Where are we? What did I do last night?” he asked in a groggy voice that had no business sounding as sexy as it did.

“Well, you’re not in jail, so it could be worse,” I started. Oakley winced when I mentioned jail. “You went out to the bars last night. Do you remember anything?”

“Uhhh, yeah. I do,” Oakley said as he sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. I waited for him to elaborate.

“Well?” I prodded when he didn’t volunteer anything on his own.

“I’m so sorry, Amanda. I know I promised I wouldn’t party anymore,” he began. He paused and looked like he was trying to find the right words to say. I gave him what I hoped was an encouraging look, but I was tired and still kind of raw. I probably looked about as reassuring as a grizzly bear.

“I thought that I lost you and ruined my career all on the same day. It’s not an excuse, but I was so mad at myself. I was devastated and didn’t want to feel anything anymore,” Oakley finished.

His vulnerability completely melted my heart, and I wrapped my arms around Oakley, squeezing him tight. My penis fly trap started to tingle, excited to be this close to Oakley again. I willed it to settle down, as it clearly had no concept of timing.

“I’m sorry too. I was so focused on myself that I completely shut you out, and I wasn’t there for you,” I told him. “I just didn’t know what to do.”

“You don’t have to shut me out,” he whispered. “I’m here for you, babe.”

“Do you remember Legacy?” I asked. “Or the other girls hanging all over you? That stung.” I had empathy for needing to forget, but it still hurt to see him so drunk he didn’t realize that a bunch of women were circling him like hawks.