“Hell no. What drift?” Piper laughed. “You’re talking nonsense. It’s like trying to decipher Morse code in Spanish.”

“Ha-ha. Very funny. What I mean is, you’re not being honest with me or yourself.” Caroline picked up her wine glass. “The bottom of the well is where your issues lie, and we have to haul up the water in order to find them. See?”

Piper snorted. “All we’re hauling up is wine”—to prove her point, she took a long draw—“and it’s going straight to our already soaked brains. We usually end the night talking gibberish to each other, or have you forgotten?”

Caroline shook her head. “I haven’t forgotten, but I’m not that drunk. Listen”—she set her elbows on the table—“you’ve helped me so much, and I want to do the same for you. You had the ability to get into my head when I couldn’t do it myself. You helped me clear out the water and made me see what was right in front of my nose. Now I’m going to try to do the same for you.” Caroline sat a little straighter.

“This oughta be good,” Piper said, smiling at her beautiful friend, who was so eager to help her. It made Piper love her even more. “Tell me what’s wrong, doc.”

“You’re scared.” Caroline’s tone was final. “That’s it, really. You’ve parceled out bits and pieces to me, but never the entire story. But now I think I have all the parts. You haven’t had an orgasm or, for that matter, really good sex in more than half a year. You’re still mad at yourself for sleeping with Pete all those years ago, and blame yourself. You might have liked seeing Michael with other women in the beginning, but you’re sick of it now. It doesn’t do it for you anymore. But you’re not communicating this to your husband because you’re scared.”

“Um, okay. You might be on to something,” Piper conceded. She still hadn’t shared all the details of her breakdown with Caroline. She’d been gearing up for it, but she hadn’t spilled yet. She knew Caroline wouldn’t think any less of her, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. That time in her life had been so dark, and she just wanted to forget it ever happened. Validating it and sharing it kept it alive.

“I think you should go on a sex quest!” Caroline announced.

“What?” Piper hooted, slapping her thigh. “That’s the funniest thing you’ve ever said! That’s hardly the advice I was expecting. I think you need to go back to the sexual drawing board, doc.”

“I’m totally serious! You need to shake things up and rediscover what turns you on—with your husband. No more doing it the same old way. I actually think you should try to date your husband again. Pretend you just met or something romantic like that.”

Piper rolled her eyes. “That’ll never work. We’re like two old geezers who’ve been together forever. That would be an impossible task to pull off.”

“That’s not the attitude I need from you.” Caroline wagged her finger in front of her. “I need you open-minded. It will take a leap of faith on your part, but I’m betting you can find a new way to do things if you try hard enough.”

“So, this is your sage advice? Date my husband?”

“Damn straight. But don’t date him like a virgin—date him like a hooker.”

“Caroline!”

“What? He won’t be expecting it. The element of surprise will be all yours.”

2

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Michael Collins threw the last of his clothes into his suitcase and zipped it up. He’d been in Cincinnati for five days, spanning over a weekend, and he was ready to get home.

Just as he hoisted his bag off the bed, there was a knock on his door.

His partner on the case, Elliot Marsh, had already left town on an earlier flight. It was probably just housekeeping wondering if he’d left yet. He set his bag down and opened the door without looking through the peephole.

The cute brunette clerk who checked him in the first day, and flirted with him all week, stood on the other side. She was dressed in street clothes and held something in her hands. “Um, hi there,” she said, a small blush rising on her cheeks. “I just wanted to give you this.” She handed him an envelope. “It’s a free night’s stay, courtesy of the hotel.”

Michael took the proffered gift and nodded. “Thanks. I’m sure we’ll be back. My firm will certainly appreciate the hotel’s hospitality. You guys have been very good to us in the past.”

Michael knew delivering the free night wasn’t the real reason this girl with the perky tits and tight ass stood in front of him with a hopeful look on her face. She wanted to hook up. This wasn’t the first time a clerk from a hotel had knocked on his door hoping to catch him in a horny mood. Michael was propositioned on a semiregular basis.

The girl stood there, not knowing what else to say. She knew his cab was arriving in fifteen minutes, because he’d had the front desk order it for him. She’d timed her visit perfectly. “Okay, then.” She gave him a sly smile. “We look forward to having you back. My name is Mindy, and if you ever need anything”—emphasis on the anything, just in case he didn’t catch the double entendre—“I’ve instructed the front desk to give you all my information.”

Michael played dumb because it was the easiest thing to do.

But as he stood there, he let his imagination run wild for a moment, envisioning stripping down this twentysomething, laying her back on the bed, licking her tits, and fucking her until she came.

It was a nice fantasy, but he wasn’t interested.

His lack of interest didn’t shock him anymore. If this had happened in his early twenties, he’d have had her bent over the bed by now. But his dick didn’t rise to the bait. It didn’t even entertain the thought of getting hard.

He smiled at Mindy. “Thanks for coming by. I appreciate it. See you next time.” He closed the door on her disappointed face and couldn’t help chuckling. The first thing he thought as he turned to get his luggage was that Piper would get a kick out of this. She loved hearing about women coming on to him.

He drew his cell phone out of his pocket and typed:

THE CLERK WANTS TO FUCK ME. WISH YOU WERE HERE. HOME IN SIX HOURS. XO

He wasn’t expecting his wife to respond. He’d texted her multiple times over the last few days and had received nothing back.

Michael knew why.

They were in a slump. And if he was being honest, it was beginning to scare the shit out of him. They’d been together for almost ten years. Their anniversary was this summer. They’d gone through a few rough times before, but this felt different.

He didn’t want to think about it.

He grabbed his suitcase, briefcase, slung his suit coat over his arm, and headed for the door. If Mindy was still there, she’d have to get ready for another brush-off, and this time he might not be as nice.

Right as his hand touched the knob, his phone went off in his pocket.

His eyebrows shot up.

He set his suitcase on the ground and walked back to the bed, laying his coat and briefcase down, then got his phone out. When he saw Piper’s name, he grinned like a kid who just unwrapped a present. He couldn’t help it. He missed his wife.

DOES SHE HAVE BIG TITS? WE ALL KNOW U LOVE TITS. I WISH THERE WAS A GOOD TIT EMOJI.

Piper wanted to spar. His dick flicked at the thought. It’d been, what, a year since they’d sexted?

SHE HAD HUGE TITS AND A TIGHT ASS. BUT SHE DIDN’T HOLD A CANDLE TO YOUR LUSCIOUSNESS. WHY ISN’T THERE AN I WANT TO FUCK YOU HARD EMOJI?

Piper started texting back immediately, and Michael sat down on the bed, sliding his stuff out of the way. If he was late for his cab, so be it. His cock had begun to throb. He was going to enjoy the hell out of this.

IS UR COCK HARD? IT SHOULD BE. TAKE IT OUT.