Chapter Five
“An emergency lunch?” Willow Cavanaugh sat down across from Aubrey at the little deli that was a few miles from the Hawks stadium. Close enough for Aubrey to dash over to but far enough that no one else from the Hawks franchise would eat there.
Besides, it was almost two o’clock. A late lunch had been on the surprise agenda, since she’d been swamped from the moment she’d gotten to work, earlier that morning. Thankfully, Willow had been in town, free—and most likely curious—so she’d readily agreed to meet her.
Aubrey was in desperate need of advice. And she had no one else to turn to. She wasn’t local, so she hadn’t really gotten a chance to make new friends beyond the people she worked with, and she worked mostly with men. She thought she could call Willow, Nick Hamilton’s girlfriend, a semifriend. Maybe coming to Willow in her time of need would bring them closer together.
God, she didn’t know. All she knew was her mind was spinning and had been going on a continuous loop since she’d been with Flynn two nights ago. And she hadn’t really talked to him since.
Two. Nights. Ago. When she’d taken his virginity.
God, it sounded sordid in her head. She couldn’t imagine what it might sound like if she said the words out loud. How would Willow react? Would she laugh? It was kind of crazy, thinking the very hot, very gorgeous Flynn had been a virgin. She could still hardly wrap her mind around it. Why had he held on to it for so long?
And why, when he finally gave it up, was it to her? She didn’t think she’d ever taken someone’s virginity before.
So the night had been a first for the both of them.
Ugh.
After many adventurous hours of exploring each other, they’d finally, reluctantly gotten dressed, and Flynn had taken her to the stadium so she could pick up her car. Like a gentleman, he’d walked her to where it had been parked, looking adorably rumpled in a pair of blue sweats with the Hawks emblem on them and a Hawks T-shirt, his hair a mess, stubble on his cheeks.
She’d grabbed his face like a starving woman and kissed him. Muscular men in sweats shouldn’t be allowed to roam the earth. They were her kryptonite, her crack, her addiction. Those sweats rode way too low on his hips, and when he’d first gotten out of the car, he’d stretched his arms above his head, offering her a glimpse of that washboard stomach.
Dead. DOA. Her brain cells had exploded one by one, and all she’d been able to think about had been how she could convince him to get in her car so she could take him back to her apartment.
Hadn’t happened, though, much to her disappointment. She’d kissed him. He’d smiled and touched the tip of her nose with his finger, whispered her name along with a sweet good-bye, and then headed back to his car.
He’d waited for her to pull out of the parking lot before he’d followed after her, turning right when she’d turned left. Talk about lonely. Talk about a depressing drive of shame home. Is that what they called them? It felt like a drive of shame. As in, a shame they couldn’t keep up what they’d been doing for a few hours longer…
“Hey.” Willow snapped her fingers in front of Aubrey’s face, startling her. “Earth to Aubrey. I think I was losing you there for a minute.”
“Sorry.” She shook her head, feeling stupid for letting her thoughts drift yet again to Flynn. She hadn’t seen him once since their encounter. Two days, when usually they saw each other almost every day. But he’d been given Monday off, and she’d been so busy today, fielding calls and press interviews and whatever else, she’d hardly left her desk.
“What’s going on?” Willow asked softly, probably offering a kind smile to offset the snapping fingers she’d just thrust in Aubrey’s face.
Willow made her nervous. She was prickly. She was sweet. She was fiery. She was friendly. She’d kept poor Nick on his toes, but Aubrey had a sneaking suspicion he’d probably deserved it.
“I need advice,” Aubrey finally said, pushing her plate away from her. She’d taken two bites of the turkey half sandwich she’d ordered and already she was full. More like full of nerves.
“What about? I’m going to guess men, because I’m probably the only female you’re close to since you’ve started working for the Hawks. Or Sheridan, but she’s working,” Willow said, digging into her sandwich as though she was a starving woman. “And lately she’s been feeling under the weather. Don’t know what’s up with that.”
“Right.” Aubrey had heard that, too, about Sheridan, but she couldn’t worry about Super Perfect Couple, Jared Quinn and his wife. She needed to focus on her problems. “I hope she feels better soon.”
“Don’t worry about her. She has Jared to nurse her back to health.” Willow waved her hand and took a sip of her drink. “Tell me what’s wrong. Let Mama Willow help you.”
Aubrey laughed and picked up a potato chip, eyeing it suspiciously before she set it back down. She knew something was wrong if she didn’t want to eat potato chips. She loved nothing more than munching away on thin-cut, fried potatoes coated with grease, especially when she was stressed-out. “Something…happened a couple of nights ago, and I need to talk to someone about it.”
“With Flynn?” Willow asked casually.
Shock coursed through her. Damn it, how did Willow know? Did they all know? God, had Flynn said something…?
“What? Nick told me. He tells me everything.” Willow smiled, a dreamy sort of glazed look in her eyes. God, that look made Aubrey incredibly jealous. “You can trust me, though. I won’t tell Nick any of this.”
“Yes, you will,” Aubrey said dully, her appetite really leaving her now. She should’ve never called Willow. Having Nick between them was too risky. For Willow, her man would trump Aubrey every single time.
“I swear.” Willow held up her hand as if she was some sort of scout. “I’ll say we had lunch, shared a bit of girl talk. And if he gets nosy, I know how to distract him.”
The smile that crossed Willow’s face made Aubrey throw a wadded-up napkin at her. “Hey!” Willow laughed, dodging it just in time.