Free Chat by Theresa Rite

across the table even further, sighing. “Well. Awkward.”
    She lifted her eyes to me and giggled. “Eh, we’re all adults here. She’s kind of creative, actually. Not the shy little thing I took her for.”
    I grinned, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees and pet Joplin, too. “I need to go for a run. Want to come?”
    My question, combined with the enormous box of sex supplies sitting next to us, forced us both into laughter.
    “Um, sure. Okay ,” she added pointedly, and I gave her a teasingly threatening glare. “Let me change, I’ll be right back.”
    We started off in my neighborhood and too k my usual loop around the block. I’d gone running with Sandy so many times, and I knew that once she put on her music, she was in her zone and didn’t want to be disturbed.
    In her tight Nike t-shirt and little black shorts, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.
    This time, s he left her iPod at home. “Do you think she wants you to use all that stuff on her?” she asked, keeping my pace with no effort.
    I winced, wishing she’d let the entire situation drop. “Those were all toys from her book. Scenes she wrote. I think it was her cute and sexy way of flirting with me.”
    “Well, we know that she’s a sure thing for the signing. When is it again?”
    “What, the signing?”
    “Yeah.”
    “ In a couple weeks.”
    “You think you can live up to her expectations?”
    I slowed at a stop sign, bending and working to even my breathing. “San, can I be honest with you?”
    She tightened her ponytail, glaring at me. “Well, no shit, you’d better be.”
    I took a step toward her, meeting her eyes. “What we shared this weekend… the way you made me feel. I’m still kind of stuck on that. I told you we need to focus on you and getting you well, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t stop thinking about how fucking good you feel. Or how much I want you again.”
    The busy street seemed to come to a screeching halt.
    She stared at me, her wide, brown eyes watering by the time she finally looked away.
    “Come on, ” she finally managed. “Let’s keep going. I’m hungry.”
    When she bolted ahead, I sighed, jogging to keep up with her.
    We showered- separately- and ate salads for dinner. I talked about work, and she looked pained when I added that Jessica was taking over her sales territory in her absence.
    “I need to go back, Brew. As soon as my eye looks a little more normal, I’m going in. I can’t stay on leave forever.”
    I grabbed two beers from the fridge, settling next to her on the couch. “You stay home as long as you need to. There’s no specific recovery time for what you’ve been through.”
    She accepted the beer with a soft thanks.
    I flicked through the channels, finally settling on The Big Bang Theory. We watched an entire episode before she turned to look up at me.
    “Can I ask you a question?”
    “Shoot,” I replied automatically, downing the last of my second beer. I knew I’d said we’d lay off the drinking, but I was too comfortable cuddled next to Sandy, watching TV, snuggling like we’d be going to the same bed together.
    She bit her lip, looking down shyly. “Have you ever… used things like that before? Those toys from Carissa?”
    I kept my focus on her face, determined not to look away. “Honestly? Yes. Two of the things in the box.”
    She widened her eyes. “Which ones?”
    I lowered the volume of the TV, bending to press my lips closer to her ear.
    “Are you sure you want to know?” I whispered.
    She tensed, nodding once.
    I grinned. “The book… and the bubble wrap.”
    She exhaled a quick laugh, smacking me playfully on the shoulder.
    “Brew!”
    “What? I said ho nestly. “The other stuff, no. Never needed it.”
    She tilted her face slightly. “But, when you finally do sleep with Carissa, aren’t you going to want to know what to do? With that stuff? You don’t want to look like an amateur.”
    I almost slammed my beer bottle to the