Page 40 of Saving Meadow

“Yeah. I’m okay. Thank you.” Nick’s laughter made me smile before I quickly added. “For talking me out of being embarrassed. Not the orgasm, you jerk. Though I guess I should thank you for that, too. It was really good. Am I allowed to ask if it was good for you too? Or does that make me weird?”

“Not weird. You can ask me anything, anytime. As for mine, there is a mess on my stomach that’s damn impressive, and if you made me come any harder, I might’ve lost consciousness.”

“Thank you for dinner. I had a great time today.”

“Me too. We’ll do it again before Gabe comes to get Sally.”

Over dinner, Nick told me Gabe was ready for Sally. It was so hard not to be sad that Sally was leaving. Gabe needed her, and she was such a great dog. I knew she’d work her magic and help the vet adjust to his new life without his hearing. Nick explained that he would start the process of getting another dog to foster in a month. He asked me to go with him to meet Alexandra and pick up the new foster pup she gave him. I loved that he was thinking about the future and including me in his plans.

“I’d like that. Will we be able to see Sally again?” I asked.

“Not for six months. She’ll need time to bond with Gabe and us being around her will lead to confusion. You’re gonna miss her, huh?”

“Yeah. I don’t know how you can do it. Don’t get me wrong, I think what you do is amazing, but I’d never be able to let her go.”

“It’s hard. Especially with Sally. I’ve had her longer than the rest because of Gabe’s surgeries and the extra training she needed. But there’s something else with her too, she’s… I don’t know how to explain it. She just feels different than the rest. It will be hard to see her go.”

“I’m sorry. I’m being selfish thinking about how much I’ll miss her, and I’ve only known her a few weeks. You’ve had her a long time.”

“You’re not selfish Red. Listen, you get some rest. I have to jump in the shower to clean up.”

I couldn’t stop the laugh that exploded. I don’t know what struck me as funny, but suddenly thinking about Nick lying in his bed with a mess on his hard six-pack stomach while talking about something as normal as his dog had me in stitches.

“Yeah. I guess you’d better. I’m going to sleep.”

“Goodnight, Meadow. Thank you for trusting me.”

“I do. I trust you completely.”

“’night baby.”

“’night Nick.”

He clicked off, and I dropped my hand to the bed, still gripping my phone. Holy shit that just happened. My first ever phone sex. My first sexual experience with Nick. I was back to laughing when my phone vibrated in my hand.

Damn, I was falling for him and fast. I pulled the text up, excited to see what Nick had to say and frowned when I saw it was from Veronica Venus.

VV21: You alive?!

Crap. I’d forgotten I told her I’d text her when I got home from my date.

Me: Yeah. Sorry. Late night.

VV21: So? How did it go? Spill.

Me: I’m happy. Really, really, happy.

VV21: I’m glad. I hope it lasts and you’re being careful.

Hope it lasts? Geeze.

Me: I’m careful. He’s an FBI Agent. I think I can trust him.

VV21: If you’re happy, I’m happy for you.

That was the Veronica Venus I was used to. Supportive and kind. The last few times we’d talked about Nick I was getting annoyed that her messages seemed to warn me off getting close to him. I knew she was over cautious and was trying to be protective, but her comments were borderline rude and had me thinking she was jealous I’d found a way to finally move past what had happened to me.

Me: I am happy. Thank you for always being such a good friend. I’m beat! The alarm will be going off too soon. I’m off to bed. Night.