Go without Ellen for the next week?

“I’m not saying that.”

Her smile returned. “We’ll be extra careful and be sure that we set the alarm.”

Last night they’d forgotten and they’d both fallen asleep, not waking until almost six. Ellen had dressed in a hurry, then bolted for her room before everyone else was up. He’d sweated one of the guys getting up early for a workout before they hit the road. Fortunately for them, everyone had slept in.

She lightly touched his shoulder. “I don’t want to give this up.”

“Me, either.”

“Then we’ll figure it out,” she told him, before returning to her seat.

He hoped she was right but knew there was more than logistics while they were on the road. What happened when they got home? He and Ellen had always been friends—he liked them being friends. What were they going to do when they weren’t on the bus? Date? Just have sex? Did he want them to be dating?

He liked Ellen. He liked them together—both in and out of bed. Dating could be interesting. Assuming she wanted that, too. Which they should have talked about before anything happened. Only she’d worn that dress and then she’d kissed him and he’d wanted her and now he couldn’t resist her.

If it was just the best sex of his life, he knew he would be okay. But it was more than that—it was the best sex of his life with Ellen, which honestly scared the crap out of him. Not that he would change a thing, which circled back to where he’d started. Tired, happy and more than a little confused.

seventeen

“Why didn’t you tell me sex was so great?” Ellen asked with a laugh. “I’m seriously mad at you.”

Unity grinned as she sank down on the tarp-covered floor in the apartment she was painting. “When was I supposed to bring up the topic?”

“I don’t know. We talk nearly every day of our lives. It would have been nice for you to mention it casually in conversation.”

Unity put her cell phone on speaker, set the phone on the tarp, then stretched out next to it. “Sorry. It never crossed my mind.”

“Are you kidding? It’s all I can think about. I’m glowing so much, I’m practically radioactive. I know that’s the hormones talking, but who cares!” Ellen sighed dramatically. “I’m having the best time.”

“Make sure you pee after.”

“What are you talking about?”

Unity laughed. “After sex. Make sure you pee. You don’t want to get a urinary tract infection. All that action down there can cause one.”

“Thanks for the tip. There is a world of things I don’t know. It’s embarrassing. So how are you?”

“Good.” Unity knew that was a lie, but she wasn’t going to talk about her ongoing funk and spoil her best friend’s mood. “I’m busy with work. There were a couple of unplanned move-outs and the in-house maintenance team can’t keep up with the workload, so I’ve stepped in. They’re doing the major refurbishing, but I’m taking care of the painting.”