Free Loving Enough (The Enough Series Book 2) by Nikole Bloom

He may not even be in Boston anymore. I have no idea.”
    Frustration and anger mar her delicate features. I believe
she wants it to be him just so that this will end. I can’t say I blame her. She
has had her life hijacked by a shadow. I look her in the eyes and try to give
her some hope without going too far.
    “If you believe there is a chance it is him, I will look
into him in the morning. We will see where he is and what he has been up to.”
    That brings a smile to her face. Plus, it can’t hurt to
check his whereabouts. It’s not like we have any other plausible leads. She
downs the rest of her second beer before responding.
    “I don’t know how to thank you. How about another round on me?”
    I agree this time and before I know it, we are three sheets
to the wind and she has to call Bode to come pick her up. I end up taking a cab
home after one of the most enjoyable nights I have had in a long time. Go
figure. That girl is nothing if not a walking contradiction.
     

Chapter 12
    Rylee
    Holy hell, my head hurts this morning. My chat with Ruzek
last night turned into getting sloshed. Ruzek is a great guy to hang with. He
is just a typical male obsessed with work and sports. We got along great. It
has always been easier for me to hang out with men than women, even in a purely
platonic fashion.
    After I explained my suspicions to him and we went through a
few possibilities, we ended all talk of the mysterious pain in my life. We hung
out as two friends would. We talked sports, news, and learned a little about
each other.
    I saw several women look Ruzek's way last night, but he did
not seem interested which surprised me. He is a gorgeous man with a body to
drool over. His sandy blonde hair and dark green eyes highlight one another perfectly.
He is also one of the funniest people I have ever met, or he is once he’s a bit
tipsy.
    I am afraid to open my eyes in fear of worsening the pain in
my head, but a shower and the rest of my day are calling me. Moving to unfold
myself from the bench I sleep on, I realize that I am in bed, my bed. It makes
sense. Bode wouldn’t want to carry a drunk girl through the hospital. I don’t
imagine the hospital staff would have approved and it wouldn’t have been right
to stumble through and wake J up.
    Slowly making my way upright, I find a bottle of water and a
red rose on my bedside table. The rose and my drink are resting on a note with two
aspirin. I would recognize that handwriting anywhere - a little messy, but
still legible. It is from Austin.
    Thought you
might need these this morning.
    I will be
downstairs when you get up and around.
    I love you –
Austin
    I do not remember Austin being here last night. In truth, I
don't remember coming here last night. I am assuming Bode must have called Austin
so that he could go back and stay with J. I am excited to see Aus this morning,
but not before I get rid of the hideous taste in my mouth. It tastes like I
swallowed a bag of kitty litter.
    Walking into my bathroom, I realize just how much I have
missed being home. A quick shower should wash off the hospital smell I have
become accustomed to. The power of the spray is orgasmic after the abysmal
showers at the hospital. They are akin to the water that drips out of a hose
once the faucet is switched off.
    I make my way downstairs after I throw on a decent pair of
jeans and my favorite black t-shirt. I am more than a little nervous to see
Austin and I am not sure why. We haven’t been alone together since the
accident.
    I know he loves me and I love him, but until this mess is
behind us and the mysterious person is out of my life, we cannot go back to the
way things were. It is almost funny to say the way things were ; they
were only normal for a split second before everything went sideways.
    I walk through the kitchen to find Austin sitting outside
reading and tossing a tennis ball for Boss. He looks so beautiful in this
moment. A pair of black lounge pants hang gloriously on his