“So, what have you been up to?” Gavin asked as we hopped in his truck.

Besides living in a porn world inside my head?

“A lot of work at the rehab center. I’ve got about a week and a half left before I retire for good. What about you?”

“Still volunteering with cleanup mostly. Been giving treatments, too, for victims and workers. Nothing serious. Just going from here to there.”

“Yeah, I feel bad I haven’t done more back home—”

“Kenna, you work your ass off. I’m glad you’re following your dream. Someone needs to.”

The steak house was a fancy dive and maybe a little on the snooty side. Phil and I had been there a few times, so I knew the menu pretty well.

“You look fantastic, by the way,” Gavin told me as the host seated us. “Like glowing.”

I didn’t know one could glow with exhaustion. “Thanks, Gavin. You look pretty fantastic yourself.”

He smiled. “Well, thanks.”

Catching up with Gavin was wonderful. I told him all about the upcoming wedding.

“I’m freaking out about it,” I confessed.

“I think most people do,” he replied.

“Phil’s not.”

“That’s because, in his head, he’s already married to you.”

“I guess.”

What the fuck am I forgetting?

“So, when do the invites go out?”

“When we get back from Canada. It’s not going to be over-the-top or anything, you know? Close friends and family type of deal,” I told him.

We decided to split the chocolate lava cake for dessert, and for the first time, he brought up our lost coworkers and Rita.

“I can’t believe it’s been a year already,” he said quietly.

“I know. A lot has happened since then.”

“If it never happened, what do you think we’d be doing? Would you still be at the clinic?”

“I am still at a clinic,” I stated. “But really…I think Phil would’ve found out about the contract and bought me out of it, and he would’ve found a loophole if I couldn’t get a replacement.”

“Yeah. Do you still get bouts of tinnitus?”

“Yeah, but fewer and further between as time goes on. You?”

“Mmhmm. I tried self-acupuncture for it. Worked pretty well.”

“What about you, if the clinic never blew up?”

“I would’ve still been there, no doubt. Lonely ’cause you would’ve left me for a rock star, irritated ’cause Lucy would’ve gone back to playing Enya, and hanging out with Charlotte ’cause she’d be menopausal and interested in hangin’ with other testosterone-fueled individuals like myself.”

I spit a mouthful of whipped cream in his face, and the two of us lost our fucking minds. Other patrons were staring at us. We were laughing that hard.

Our server came up. “Is everything okay?”

“No, man!” Gavin snorted. “Can’t your see we’re having a seizurific moment here?”

The server dropped off the check and walked away.

Stuffy steak house with their uptight staff…

They were lucky the food had been good because the atmosphere sucked. After we paid the check, Gavin and I left, happy to leave the snobby establishment.

Dropping me off at the duplex, Gavin walked me to the door and gave me a giant hug. “Call me when you get back, okay? I miss you—” he started to say.

The front door opened, and Phil poked his head out. “Oy!”

“Shit, Phil!” I hissed, pulling back from Gavin’s hug.

“No making out on the front porch, woman!” he barked before shutting the door.

Gavin busted out laughing.

Turning back to my friend, I smiled. “I miss you, too. We need to hang out more, and we will once I’m back.”

“I know. Tell your man good night for me, yeah?”

“Will do.”

Phil wasted no time. The second I was through the front door, I was over his shoulder, and he was hauling ass up the stairs to our bedroom. He didn’t take off my clothes. He tore them off. My dress, bra, and sexy granny panties were roughly yanked and tugged from my body.

I was so ready.

“How do you want me?” he growled, all up in my face. “Tell me!”

Gods above…

“Fr-from behind.”

Phil spun me around and pushed me onto the bed. “I’ve been fuckin’ thinkin’ about you all fuckin’ night,” he growled with awesome filth. “I’ve fuckin’ had to jack off twice to get me through it.”

The sound of his Dickies and belt dropping to the floor inflamed my core. When I felt the heat of him caress over my backside, I whimpered.

“You want it just as bad, don’t you?” Shit, he sounded pissed.

“Yesss.”

Using his knees, he spread mine wide. “Arch your fuckin’ back.”

Pushing into position, I let out an unholy moan as he sank in deep.

“Holy. Fuckin’. Shit!” he groaned. “How the fuck are you this wet?”

I have no idea. Right now, I don’t fucking care.

“I need it hard, babe,” I panted. “Don’t hold back.”

My whole body was tensed to the point of pain, craving the release only Phil could give me. And fuck me, did he deliver. A whole slew of orgasms plowed their way through me, one right after the other. Behind me, I heard the love of my life gasp as I squeezed down on him for the umpteenth time.

“Fuckin’ hell, Kenna!” he cried. “What the…”

I had no idea. Never had I experienced anything like this. Nerves raw and tingling, I slumped into the mattress, and Phil shoved me flat, grabbing my waist and pile-driving into me, beating just one more orgasm through me before finding his own.

Panting, dripping with sweat, he collapsed next to me on the bed. “What…the fuck…was that?”

“Awesome?” I grunted in reply. “I say we do that again!”

Truly shocked, Phil turned his face toward me. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Um…you?”

“You see? This is what happens when we don’t fuck on a daily basis, Baby Girl. Now, you’re gonna end up killin’ me, tryin’ to make up for the last few weeks. I can’t fuckin’ wait until you’re done with the clinic.”

We spent the rest of the weekend like hermits, only coming out of our room for food. Apparently, Alys and X had had the same idea.

Monday was a harsh bitch. Determined not to be too tired when we got home, I dragged him up the stairs and had my way with him all over again.

“What the—” he yelped as I attacked his belt and fly before yanking down his pants and boxers. Then, he groaned when I wrapped my lips around his cock. “Baby, are you feelin’ all right?”

“I missed you,” I replied, getting to my feet and shoving him back onto the bed. Half-clothed, I jumped on top and rode him hard and fast.

“I missed you, too,” he said, his hands gripping my hips.

I might have scared him a little, and maybe I was a little scared myself. This all-consuming need to have him was playing havoc on my head. Whatever this was, it was weird because I only got this way the second I could see him, smell him, hear him, touch him…

“I feel it, too, Kenna,” he whispered, picking up on my train of thought. “It’s freakin’ me out, but every minute I’m inside you is just another minute I get to spend in heaven.”

On Tuesday, Valentine’s Day, I did my utmost to concentrate on my patients. It wasn’t their fault I was a raging hornball. In the afternoon, I changed into respectable office-type clothes to meet the new staff I’d be training for the next week and a half. Like a board meeting, I PowerPoint-presented the things that they were to expect and what they should be prepared for.

I had never cared less about helping people in my life, which was just so wrong. I’d gotten into this profession to be of service to others. Now, I just wanted out.

For so long, I’ve deluded myself into thinking this is what I need to live a fulfilling life. Even in the beginning, I ignored all of my internal protests just to prove to myself that I could. I don’t even know how it is that I’m good at this.