Chapter 40
“That’s not what I meant. When was the last time you had actual sex with something that didn’t require batteries?” Kate pushed.
“Kate, that’s none of your business,” Amy said, feeling the heat in her cheeks. She had probably gone a deep shade of red. She was going to need another drink if the conversation continued to delve into such private territory. She hadn’t even noticed that Sally had disappeared until she reappeared with another drink in hand like magic.
“Oh, thank you,” Amy said taking the drink and wondering how far gone she was already. She winced when she took a sip. “What is this?” “Consider it exactly what you need,” Sally said with a wink.
Thankfully, they managed to steer the conversation away from Amy’s lack of sex life and onto more mundane topics like the weather and the current sports teams. Amy found her attention drifting as she searched the room wondering where Frank and Melissa had gone and what they were doing. She hated that she felt the empty ache in her belly when she imagined him kissing that woman. She should feel happy for him but she just couldn’t muster the energy to spare him a happy thought. And it had been a long time since she’d last been with a man. For the past year, all she had wanted was Frank and even while other guys had expressed an interest in going out with her, she had rejected all of them knowing that none of them would compare.
“Earth to Amy, come in Amy,” Kate said laughing.
“Oh, I’m sorry. What were you saying?”
“Daydreaming? Please tell me that you weren’t thinking about him?” As if on cue, Frank and Melissa entered the room. She was practically hanging on his arm and laughing as though every word he said was hysterical. Amy felt the boiling kettle of anger and jealousy inside her as she watched them move together and imagined them alone, naked, in bed writhing in each other’s arms.
“That’s what I thought,” Kate said following Amy’s gaze to the couple and back again. “Well, that settles it. We are going to cure this unnatural obsession of yours once and for all.”
“And how exactly do you plan to do that?” Amy said turning her attention back to Kate and their small group.
“Sex, my friend. Beautiful, sex.”
“I don’t even have a boyfriend.”
“You don’t need one.”
“You know that I don’t do that sort of thing,” Amy protested. She wasn’t sure what exactly Kate had in mind but she had the suspicion that this wasn’t the spur-of-the-moment idea that she pretended it to be.
Kate nodded to Sally who got up and went into one of the other rooms. She came back with a large smile on her face and nodded yes to Kate.
“What was that all about?” Amy asked feeling the anxiety claim her again.
“We would like you to meet someone,” Kate said.
“I’m not going to like this, am I?”
“His name is Luke and well, he’s a little shy, but he’s gorgeous. We think he’s just the ticket to thoroughly enjoy your last evening with us.”
“I think it’s time for me to go home,” Amy said pretending to notice the time. “It’s been fun, really, but Kate, if you don’t mind giving me a ride? I’m very tired.”
“Amy, wait…”
But Amy wasn’t going to listen to anything Kate had to say. She grabbed her purse and headed straight for the front door, only stumbling a little as she went. She hoped that Kate would take her seriously and follow her to the car. She flung open the door and walked straight into a wall. Dazed, she stepped back and looked up into a pair of chocolate brown eyes and a warm smile. Her wall was a handsome man with slightly long hair and a strong jaw, with the sort of lips that she could imagine kissing for a very long time. His broad chest was all muscle. Without even thinking about it, she smoothed her hands over his chest until he caught her wrists and held her in place.
“Oh!” she gasped feeling the current of electricity pass between them as he held her in place, “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.” But she hadn’t been thinking at all.
“Oh, hi Luke,” said Parker, “So glad you were able to make it.”
Luke didn’t take his eyes off Amy as he smiled and said hello to Parker in a sexy voice that matched his body. He slowly lowered her wrists so that her arms were by her side but as he let go of her, he smoothed his hands up her arms leaving her tingle all over. She could feel her nipples strain against the fabric of her dress and with the way Luke’s eyes swept over her, she was pretty sure that he didn’t miss it either.
“This is Amy,” Parker said making introductions as though the world hadn’t stopped spinning, “Amy, this is Luke. Why don’t you come in and meet the rest of the gang?”
Luke sidestepped Amy to enter the party leaving her staring at the open door unable to think straight. What just happened, she wondered. One moment she’d been set to go home and crawl under her covers feeling sorry for herself and forgetting about the world, and now all she wanted was him.
“Amy?” Kate said putting up a hand on her arm.
“What?” She turned around to find Kate wearing her jacket with her purse over her arm and car keys in hand. “Where are you going?” “I’m taking you home, remember. That’s what you wanted?”
“Oh, yes.”
Amy looked back over her shoulder trying to get a glimpse of Luke but he was not in her line of vision. Instead, she saw a very angry Melissa yelling at Frank with her hands on her hips, a stark contrast to the lovely woman she’d met earlier. Ordinarily, this might have interested Amy but her eyes strayed past the arguing couple to the gorgeous man who’d just walked into her life.
“Would you rather stay for a little longer?” Kate asked following her gaze. A smile crept onto her face when she realized that Amy was looking at Luke. She leaned in closer to whisper in Amy’s ear “He’s just what the doctor ordered.”
Amy didn’t doubt it but she’d lost the ability to speak, at least temporarily so she followed Kate back to the couch where they’d been sitting and gladly accepted another drink. Sally, Allan, and Parker didn’t look the least bit surprised to see that she was back. They were all engaged in a hearty debate over the best vegetables to add to a salad. Amy felt a rush of heat over her body and moisture between her legs as she caught Luke’s eye. She wanted to devour him.
Absurd, she thought, trying to ban the thoughts from her mind. She didn’t even know Luke and the way he’d stopped her from touching him at the front door led him to believe that she was falling hopelessly into the same trap that she’d struggled to free herself from with Frank.
“I think I need some air,” Amy said excusing herself and getting up to stretch her legs. She wandered into the kitchen which was now relatively empty. Most of the food and drinks had been moved to the large dining room table in the adjacent dining room and a few people milled around the table as they picked at finger foods and enjoyed conversation. She poured a glass of water and reveled in the coolness as it coated her throat. Her head still felt fuzzy and she wasn’t sure if it was the close encounter with the handsome kind still having its effect on her or if it was the number of drinks that she’d had. She needed to take a moment to steady her nerves before she could walk back into the room.
“Hey,” said a voice behind her as she finished off her glass of water.
“Oh, hi,” she said turning around to find Luke watching her with a curious expression. She cleared her throat and added, “I didn’t get a chance to apologize for running into you like that, and umm…”
“No apology needed.”
“I was on my way out but…” she let her thoughts trail off not wanting to get into the boring details of her obsession with Frank. Besides, that suddenly felt very irrelevant.
“I’m glad you changed your mind.”
“Me too.”
“Well, I see you too are getting to know each other,” Kate said interrupting them. Amy let out the breath that she’d been holding as she stared into his mesmerizing eyes.
“It’s game time,” Kate announced taking Amy in one arm and Luke in the other and leading them back into the main living room.Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.
“Game time?” Amy asked. She’d never been much into games.
“Truth or Dare,” Kate asked turning her attention fully on Amy.
“Oh, umm, I think I’ll pass. I’m not really into that game.”
“Nope, passing is not an option,” Kate teased playfully. “Truth or Dare?”
“Kate really,” Amy said shrinking into the couch wishing that she could disappear.
“Trust me.”
Amy sighed. “Fine. Truth.”
“I have one,” Sally interrupted, “I want you to spill your beans on your infatuation with Frank.”