I blink my eyes open. Gigi’s nibbling on a stuffed giraffe at the foot of the bed. She’s wearing her black harness with skulls on it. Well, she’s a smarty pants, but with no thumbs, she can’t dress herself.
“Did Gabe take you for a walk, girl?”
She growls around the giraffe’s neck, then shakes it again.
But there’s no sign of Gabe. The pillow’s fluffed and his side of the mattress is empty. I push up on my elbows.
I swing my legs over the edge of the bed, then head to the living room. No shoes, no phone, no man.
In the kitchen, I find a sheet of paper on the counter. It’s from a notebook Veronica gave me that saysto-do list.
Dear Ellie,
I took the liberty to work on a to-do list. How’s this?
—Practice for the lawn croquet appearance.
—Wear seersucker shorts to play the part? A flower dress for you. With a bonnet?
— Bake a cherry pie?
In other news, I took Gigi for a walk this morning. She was kissing my face, and I took that to mean she had to pee. Guess I’m learning dog language. I have to take off for a morning run with Drew and Carter.
By the way, since I was so bad when I fucked you on the first date, tonight we can role-play being good. Like how they did in that scene you read to me last night.
Incidentally, you reading in bed, squirming over the spicy parts, gets me hard.
You’ve been warned.
If you’re up for it, meet me at six.
See? Six is too early for sex.
Gabe, the good guy
I read it a few more times, smiling. No time is too early for sex. I grab my phone to reply.Tell me where to be at this supposedly sexless hour of the day.
He shoots me an address, and when I Google it, I laugh, then write back.I’ll be there, and thanks for walking my girl.
Then I shower and do my best to put thoughts of Gabe aside as I head to my Webflix meeting. When I meet with the execs, I can’t spend my time lingering on how deliciously sore I am, or how much I like that he took care of my dog.
I go into the meeting like a badass boss lady in charge of a new TV show.
* * *
After my morning meeting, I head to a lunch spot in Venice. Veronica’s Date Night for One party will be held on the back patio of a trendy sandwich joint this afternoon. Sexy sunshine music drifts from the shop, and I head to the back to help my friend set up.
I don’t see Veronica, but I spot Hazel at a long white table, tying a bow on a box of toys. I rush up behind her to pinch her butt.
“Ooh baby,” she says, then turns to shoot me a knowing look. “I knew it was you.”
“I should hope so. And by the way, your idea was brilliant. The challenge date.”
She beams. “Sometimes we just need a change in our lives.”
“Cool. You’ll move to LA then?” I ask, with a too-big smile.
Hazel scans the patio like she’s making sure no one can hear. But it’s only us. “Actually, I’m going to Europe soon,” she confesses.