holding in all night burst forth with a ferocity that had him seeing stars. Farrah said she was spent, but once again, she surprised him with another explosion, her cries mingling with his as they free-fell into oblivion and collapsed into each other’s arms.
Blake closed his eyes, savoring her warmth and etching it in his mind before he withdrew from her. He rolled the condom off and tossed it in the trash.
He swept a cautious gaze over Farrah’s face, trying to gauge her feelings now that the high from their sex session had worn off. She looked content and satiated, but he couldn’t read her expression beyond that.
“How are you feeling?” He brushed a sweaty strand of hair from her face. An ache swirled in his chest. They used to lie awake all night, talking about their dreams and fears and wishes for the future. What he would give for one of those nights now.
“Amazing.” Farrah grinned, her eyes sparkling. “That was amazing. Just what I needed.”
Blake’s hand froze. One by one, the pleasant aftershocks of his climax turned into petrified stone and dropped into the pit that had opened up in his stomach.
It’s what we need.
One night to get each other out of our systems.
This is just sex.
He knew that. Hell, he’d agreed to it less than an hour ago. Still, he thought…
Blake’s jaw clenched. “I’m glad.” He dropped his hand from Farrah’s face and avoided her gaze as he pulled on his briefs and jeans. “It worked, then.”
A beat of silence. “What did?”
Blake forced himself to look at her, even though the sight of her face twisted the knife in his heart that much deeper. “You fucked me out of your system.”
Farrah inhaled sharply. Her eyes glistened with wariness and something else he couldn’t pinpoint. “Blake…”
“I’m happy to be of service.” He smiled so hard his cheeks hurt. “One night, right?”
A part of him—a stupid, foolish part—hoped she’d refute him. Tell him she wanted more than what she’d been willing to give.
But that hope was a balloon waiting to be punctured.
“Right,” Farrah whispered.
The air leaked out, slowly but surely, until the balloon was just a crumpled heap of what used to be.
Farrah gathered her clothes off the floor and got dressed. She stopped in the doorway to look back at Blake, indecision scrawled all over her face, before she left and took the jagged pieces of his heart with her.
Blake stood rigid, unmoving, until he heard the front door close. Only then did he allow his shoulders to sag. He lowered his head and rested his forearms on the counter, too tired to hold himself up.
He could still smell her. Taste her. Hear her. And when he looked at himself in the mirror, he appeared older somehow, as heartbreak seeped through his skin and hardened him from the inside out.
Turn one night into multiple nights.
He’d taken a gamble.
And he’d lost.
Chapter Twenty-One
One week later
“This is the perfect night.” Farrah nibbled on a chocolate square and sighed in bliss. Chocolate made everything better. “It’s so good to see you guys.”
“I’m so happy to be here.” Courtney Taylor squeezed Farrah’s arm, her blue eyes twinkling with delight. “Spokane is nice, but it bores the shit out of me.”
“Why don’t you move back to Seattle?” Farrah couldn’t imagine someone as larger-than-life and outgoing as Courtney living anywhere but a big city, but the brunette had moved two years ago to Spokane, Washington for a sales manager job at a small manufacturing company.
Courtney shrugged. A shadow of unease passed over her face. “I’m over Seattle.”
Before she could elaborate, Olivia traipsed over with Kris Carrera in tow. They both held freshly poured glasses of merlot and cabernet sauvignon, respectively. “We’re back! What’d we miss?”
“We were just catching up.” Farrah grinned when she saw Kris’s Prada sunglasses. The wealthy Filipina was the only person she knew who wore sunglasses at night—and indoors.
She supposed Kris had good reason to hide her face, given she was engaged to A-list Hollywood star Nate Reynolds, and the paparazzi constantly chased them down. Nate was in town filming his latest movie, and Kris had decided to accompany him and surprise Farrah and Olivia. She’d convinced Courtney to come along as well so they could have a mini FEA reunion.
The four girls had been thick as thieves when they studied abroad together in Shanghai. They weren’t as close anymore, since Farrah and Olivia lived in New York and Courtney and Kris lived on the West Coast, but whenever they saw each