“Girl, I am so sorry that I’m late,” I groan as I plant a quick kiss on her cheek. “I missed the first train and I don’t know the schedule as well on the Upper East Side, so the second one didn’t come for fifteen minutes. Can you believe that? I was stuck in the station for a quarter of an hour, and you know there’s no air conditioning down there. It was horrific.” I plop down on the couch next to Pet and drop my bags onto the low bench in front of us.
“Jeez girl, take a breather!” my buddy giggles. “Maybe you need some booze instead of coffee,” she adds, raising perfectly arched eyebrows at me. “Here, have some of my water and then we’ll get you a latte, but not like you need it, little Miss Energizer Bunny.”
I take Pet’s water bottle gratefully. “No trust me, I need all the coffee I can get,” I tell her between gulps of the icy water. “And water. When is this goddamn weather going to cool off? It’s almost September,” I whine before handing Pet’s bottle back to her.
My friend shrugs as she sweeps her long brown hair over one shoulder. Then, she fluffs her hair up with both hands before letting the strands drift back into place, and it’s like watching a slow-mo rom-com. She’s gorgeous, and this particular move is a mindless little habit that drives the men at Sanctum crazy.
“Well, soon we’re going to be complaining about the snow so there you go,” Pet shrugs with a smile. “That’s New York for you. There are definitely four seasons, and they’re all vastly different from each other.”
I glance at the huge coffee menu hanging up over the counter and nod.
“Yep, and you know us city people. Can’t keep us happy, no matter what,” I agree with a smirk. “Okay, I’m going to grab a double matcha latte. Can I get something for you?”
Her eyes scan the menu. “Oooh, one of those huge chocolate chip cookies please! I promise I’ll share it!” Pet requests eagerly.
“You got it girl.” I head up the counter and place my order before turning around to look around the packed café idly. It’s cute, with worn furniture, Edison lightbulbs, and rough-hewn wood tables. It’s very anti-Starbucks, but that doesn’t matter to me. I’m just glad that I’m finally getting a chance to see my friend again. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to just sit and chat without the chaos of Sanctum swirling around us.
A few minutes later, the barista hands me my items and I return to Pet.
“One massive ass cookie for us,” I emphasize the last word. “And a latte for me.” I sit down and sigh, inhaling my coffee happily. “Mmm, I seriously need this,” I tell Pet honestly.
She grabs a hunk of cookie. “Girl, me too. So how have you been? Is the billionaire giving you the ba-dump-a-dump?”
My blush deepens. “OMG, you can tell?”
She giggles.
“Hell yeah! Your curls are bouncy, you’re practically glowing, and you know what that means. There’s a man making you come at least three times a week.”
I giggle myself.
“Make it more like seven or eight. Or even ten,” I add dreamily.
Pet gasps.
“Are you serious?”
I nod.
“Oh yeah. Every time I’m with him, we do it at least twice, and sometimes even three or four times. So yeah, the orgasms really add up.”
My friend looks envious while taking another bite of cookie.
“Hot damn.”
I sigh happily. “Yeah, Jared’s a pretty incredible guy.”
But then Pet goes serious.
“Yeah, but how is it going outside the bedroom?”
“Psh,” I scoff at my friend. “We don’t just do it in the bedroom. We do it in the kitchen and the living room, and in a bathroom at a hotel and OMG, at Sanctum we even went to the red room—”
Pet interrupts, rolling her eyes.
“I get it, I get it, you’re having tons of wild amazing sex on every single surface, but you know exactly what I mean, young lady. Now spill the deets.”
“Pet, I’m older than you,” I remind her sassily. “So who are you calling young lady?”
“Oh my gosh, you’re ridiculous,” Pet giggles before shaking her head at me. “But come on, be serious for a sec. I mean this in the nicest way, but you do look tired, Marce. Is it just from the late nights with Jared? I mean, if you’re entertaining him all the time, then you’re hardly getting any sleep, right? Plus, you’re still working at the make-up counter and babysitting too, right?”
I smile half-heartedly at my best friend. She’s always so perceptive, I think appreciatively.
“Okay, if I’m being honest, I’m kind of exhausted,” I finally confess. “On the one hand, it’s a really good feeling. I mean, you know me, I love being busy and can never sit still.”