Page 86 of Trick or Tease

While the coffee maker that was as old as I was sputtered and spit out the black gold, I grabbed a yogurt from the fridge.

I was sitting on my porch, my coffee cup between my hands, when Lucy pulled into the driveway. She hopped out with a box of donuts in one hand and a grin on her face.

I had a feeling I would be seeing her before work. She was going to have some questions.

“Morning!” she called, bounding up the steps. “Thought you might need some sugar to fuel your day.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” I said, accepting the box and opening it to find a mix of glazed and chocolate-covered donuts.

She plopped down on the rocking chair beside me, grabbing a glazed donut for herself. She took a bite and chewed. I waited. I knew what was coming.

“So, did you have a nice night?”

“Stop.”

“No way. Uh-uh. I gave you your space. Now it’s time to talk.”

There was no point in fighting it. “Okay, fine. We hooked up. Again.”

Lucy didn’t look surprised. “Again? So, this wasn’t just a one-time thing?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“And I’m guessing you want to keep doing it?” she asked.

“Only forever and ever.”

My best friend sighed and patted my forearm. “You did it, didn’t you? You went ahead and fell for him.”

“I haven’t fallen for him. It’s just a bit of a tumble.”

“But you like him, don’t you?”

I hesitated, then nodded. “I do. More than I should. When he leaves, I don’t know how I’ll ever recover.”

Lucy squeezed my hand. “I get it. The heart wants what it wants, common sense be damned. But you’re right. He’s not sticking around. And you’d never leave Greenleaf.”

“Exactly,” I said, my voice catching. “I hate the city. It’s too loud, too crowded, too everything. The only good thing about it would be Garrett. And now he’s here, but he’s not staying. I’m just setting myself up for heartbreak.”

Lucy frowned, leaning back in the rocking chair. “But you’re not stopping it.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know how to. Every time I’m with him, it feels right. Like we’re supposed to be together. But I know it’s temporary. And that’s what hurts the most.”

“So the haunted house?” She started laughing. “Is that a kink? Were you hoping there would be ghosts?”

“Stop.”

“Come on! I have to know. How does one go in there and think it’s a fun place to do the nasty?”

I couldn’t help myself and started laughing. “Okay, fine. But this stays between us, right?”

“Cross my heart,” Lucy said, making the motion across her chest with exaggerated seriousness.

“We were working on the decorations, and things got heated. Garrett was a complete gentleman about the whole situation. He gathered up all our clothes and spread them out on the floor so we wouldn’t have to deal with splinters and dust.”

Lucy’s eyes widened. “He made you a bed out of your clothes? That’s actually kind of romantic. In a weird, dusty, potentially haunted way.”

“It was sweet,” I admitted. “And practical. I was not about to get splinters in places that should never have splinters.”