hands and removes the rest of his clothes. Once he slides on the condom, I pull him down to me and kiss him. He holds himself against me, and I lose my control. Needing him to be mine, I arch my back at the same time he pushes himself inside me, melding our bodies completely.
This is where my life takes a shift. It’s only a momentary shift, but one I’ve come to yearn for. When I step onto the plane, I’m no longer Tori Garrison, I’m Madilyn Kline. It’s always a breath of fresh air when I can leave Tori, wife and mother, behind and become this pseudo-self I’ve created. Madilyn is perceived by my fans as a seductive woman who radiates confidence and sexuality. But she’s fictional, just like the characters in my books. I’m a far cry from the sexually confident woman the world thinks I am. Sure, I write explicit stories of love and romance, but my sex life is nothing like that in my books.
The only person in my inner circle who is privy to both women is Brooke. She sees all of me. She always has.
Brooke eyes me mischievously when I walk into our dorm room wearing the same clothes I wore last night. Heat burns my cheeks as I open my closet, attempting to avoid looking at her all-too-knowing stare, and strip off my clothes in exchange for the comfort of pajamas.
Once changed, I hop onto my bed and slip under the covers.
“Late night?” Brooke inquires with a sly tone to her voice.
It’s the first time I’ve gone on a date with Landon and have not returned in the same night. I can’t help the slight timidity I feel, and I cannot control myself when I break out into uncomfortable laughter, pulling the sheets over my head.
“You’re such a slut,” she teases through her own fit of giggles and throws a pillow at me. “Tell me every last detail.”
Tossing the sheets off my heated face, I look over to Brooke, who’s sitting on her bed with a bad case of ratty bedhead and a cup of coffee in her hand.
“I’m tired,” I tell her and try to push off the conversation. “Can we talk after I get some sleep?”
“Umm . . . no. You can sleep after you tell me what it was you were doing all night when you were supposed to be here studying with me for our midterm.”
“I’m sorry. I lost track of . . .” I stumble off and grin wildly, “well, everything.”
“I bet you did. Now spill it. You had sex with him, didn’t you?”
My smile is obnoxiously big.
“I knew it! Damn, I’m jealous of you. That guy is so hot. Oh, my God,” she rambles. “How was it? I bet it was amazing. I mean, with a guy like that, it has to be mind blowing.”
“Brooke!” My voice is playful as I scold her.
“Okay, I’m sorry.” She sets her coffee mug on the nightstand between our beds and does her best to compose herself. “Seriously though. How are you? I mean, this is a big step for you.”
I straighten up as the joking subsides and a more serious tone takes hold of our conversation. “I told him about Trey.”
“You hadn’t told him yet?”
I shake my head. “I didn’t really know how. It finally came out last night, and then . . . I don’t know, maybe it was all the emotion that drove me to sleep with him. Telling him and then hearing his response . . . His words were perfect, Brooke. I guess it was just everything about that moment.”
“How do you feel about it now?”
“Last night I felt needy for him after revealing that, but when I woke up this morning . . . with him . . . it felt right.”
“I’m glad you told him and opened yourself up. It must feel like a weight off your shoulders,” she says warmheartedly, and I agree, saying, “Yeah. I was being standoffish with him. I knew he could tell I was keeping him at arm’s length. And now that he knows why, he’s put me at ease and has given me the reassurance I’ve been needing but was too scared to ask for.”
“He seems like a good guy.”
“He is,” I respond, and when she picks up her coffee mug, I see the shift in her demeanor.
“Now tell me, what was the sex like?” I burst out laughing and cover my face with a pillow as she