Two very disgruntled dogs awaited them. Kraken was used to being the center of her attention in the morning, and his face said both his bladder and his stomach were considering mutiny. Nell had scrunched herself onto the window seat in a tight ball that radiated betrayal.

“I need to take a quick shower.” Morgan stood reluctantly. “Care to join me?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Emilia lay prostrate on the bed, her body still flushed, and her half-lidded eyes ran up and down Morgan’s body.

“Not at all.” She grinned as an aftershock visibly shook Emilia and offered her a hand. “But I don’t want to make our dogs wait much longer.”

Keeping her hands to herself in the shower was impossible, but she managed to get them out in under ten minutes, aided by the brutally abrupt end of the hot water supply.

The other residents of 16 Bay Road were congregated in the kitchen with an air of forced innocence that didn’t fool Morgan for a second. The chorus of “good mornings” that greeted them reeked of suppressed amusement, and Emilia’s cheeks glowed pink with embarrassment. Morgan poured her a cup of coffee. Her own face felt hot, but she didn’t care. Let her friends smirk with satisfaction at their correct predictions. Emilia was all that mattered.

They pounced on her the moment Emilia’s car pulled out of the driveway.

“You’re such a good friend.” Stevie batted her eyelashes and sashayed toward Morgan. “Thanks for being there for me, Morgan. I just love our platonic fuck fests.”

“Fuck you,” Morgan said without heat. Her abs ached and her entire body felt like she’d gone to one of Angie’s CrossFit sessions. She grinned despite herself.

“I’m happy for you,” said Lillian.

“I’m genuinely impressed.” Angie grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl and peeled it suggestively. “You two went late. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“This is a conversation I am not having,” said Morgan.

“And yet,” Stevie leapt onto her back like a monkey and rested her cheek against Morgan’s, “here we all are. Having it.”

“Can you get off me?”

“I can if you say the magic word.”

“Please get off me.”

“Incorrect. ‘Please,’” Stevie said in an unnervingly accurate portrayal of a woman about to orgasm.

“I will kill you and feed your body to the nearest pigs.”

Stevie slid off her, slammed her ball cap on her head, and smirked. “Ready to hit the road?”

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

The next week passed in agonizing slowness. Emilia didn’t see Morgan, though they texted constantly, as a string of emergencies kept Morgan on the road, forcing her to cancel their plans. She tried not to feel like this was the end of all things and distracted herself with a visit home for an in-person session with Shanti.

“How are you feeling?” Shanti asked.