Random Encounter by Allyson Lindt

Sixteen

Adrienne

Sunday afternoon, Cole showed up with a toolbox, a peephole, and a doorbell camera. When I asked him why, he told me a mutual friend had called, and that Graham wanted me to go stay with the three of them for a while.

Phillip. “Uh, that wouldn’t work for any of us,” I said.

“I figured that would be your answer, based on what Phillip told me. But you’re always welcome, and since you’re going to refuse and be stubborn, this is security.”

“It’s not stubbornness, it’s...” I sighed. “I don’t have permission from building management to install any of this stuff.

Cole finished measuring out the spot in the door for the lens, and grabbed a cordless drill. “I took care of it. I also made Graham stay home, so call him while I’m doing this.”

I didn’t want any of this to spiral because of me. Now Cole was giving up his evening and Graham was worried. I could be upset at Phillip for not backing off when I asked him to, but this was all on me still, for staying with the wrong guy for so long.

I dialed Graham, assured him I was fine, and promised him he’d be the first person I called if anything like yesterday morning happened again.

“Adrienne.” Graham’s voice was hard as we wrapped up the call.

“Yeah?”

“I know why you haven’t called the police, but next time don’t make me hear this from some guy Cole used to work with. Call me. Track me down. I don’t care what I’m doing, I’d rather you interrupt than the alternative.”

I was grateful he stayed away from details. My mind was already providing me with plenty of what could happen next if Sean proved to be a bigger problem, and I was doing my best not to fall into that panic, since I still had to live in my apartment. “I promise.”

After I hung up with Graham, I tried not to hover while Cole finished up the installation. He gave me a quick tutorial on how to use the doorbell cam, told me the footage was uploading to the cloud, to a server where he could access it if needed, and made me promise to call the police if Sean came back.

“I’m not leaving you here alone, if you don’t promise,” Cole said.

“Okay, I promise.”

He left and I locked everything behind him, checked the new camera many times, and wedged a chair under the front door. Then, for good measure, I stacked my muffin tins and baking pans on the chair.

Anyone wanting to come in would either need my permission, or struggle then make a lot of noise.

I made myself comfortable on the couch. I left the curtains drawn tight and the lights off, and found the tamest, happiest movie I could.

Now that I was home, alone with my brain, there was nothing to do but think, and that would be dangerous.

I bounced between wondering if every voice, creak, and car engine I heard was Sean, and falling into memories of yesterday with Dustin and Phillip.

Maybe I was the kind of person who could do casual sex. Last night was... wow and I really wanted to do that again, but this crap with Sean was a stark reminder that I was not relationship-ready.

I couldn’t even sleep in my own apartment without worrying that my last serious guy might want to do more than just talk next time.

Sleep came in bursts all night. I’d doze off on the couch only to be woken up by a door slamming somewhere or a siren or the current movie ending and silence settling into the apartment.

When the clock passed five, I deemed it late—early?— enough to give up on trying to sleep, and get ready for work.

Taking a shower was nerve-racking for the same reasons sleep had been.

The text waiting for me from Luna made me smile and was a relief. Breakfast? Loading Java?

I’m in. And more than happy for the excuse to leave my apartment. I would’ve left early anyway, but now I had a destination.

I reached the coffee shop to find Luna already there with Sonya. I waved, grabbed an iced tea and a chocolate croissant, and joined them, dropping into the chair Luna nudged in my direction.

We exchanged a polite round of good morning, and I picked at my breakfast.

“You okay?” Luna asked.

I assumed her question was related to why Cole stopped by last night, and I didn’t want to get into it. Sonya was kind, but too many people already knew about the mistake that was my ex-husband. “I’m good.”

“She said as though she wasn’t really, and she didn’t want to talk about it.”

I smiled at Sonya’s narration. “No, really. I’m good. It was a good weekend. Just not super interesting.”

Sonya studied me. “I’ve never said this before, but you’re a really bad liar.”

Luna smacked her arm lightly.

“I got laid, it was really hot, and my ex-husband is probably stalking me.” The truth fell out without my permission.

“Nice. That’s what I’m talking about.” Sonya high-fived me. “Except the stalking thing. Boo.”

“I’m so excited to find out the results of last week’s beta.” Luna’s exclamation came out of nowhere.

I stared at her, grateful for the change in subject, but wondering if it could’ve been more subtle.

Sonya raised her brows. “New topic then. Me too, Luna. As you know, the results will confirm for us whether or not we can move into the next phase as planned.” Her delivery was a weird combination of wooden and exaggerated.

“Who talks like that?” I asked through my laugh.

“Every character I’ve ever written. Or hopefully not.” Sonya’s incensed tone was exaggerated. “Seriously though, I get it. You don’t know me, I don’t know you, Adrienne’s weekend is off-limits.”

“No. Just anything that reminds me of my ex.”

Sonya seemed to relax. “I get that. I tuck my trauma away too. But since we’re talking work…” She leaned in. “You didn’t hear it from me, but Judith is talking to new investors.” Her voice was low.

“Are we short on funds?” I kept my question soft, but concern budded inside. I’d been assured the company was well-funded enough that it would be solvent for quite a while even without a revenue stream… And I already loved it here, even though it had been less than a week.

“Unlikely.” Luna didn’t sound worried, but then again, she rarely did. “But more money means more staff and more in-game niftiness sooner rather than later.”

“Ooh, we have an art insider now.” Sonya grinned.

Luna clucked. “We had an insider before. No one is a stranger at Aces.”

“Not the same.” Sonya turned to me. “Adrienne understands why it’s super important we know what cute new outfits are coming, and she’ll make sure my orc looks adorably sub.”

“I don’t know… What’s in it for me if I tell?” I teased.

Luna scrunched up her nose in thought. “Free wi-fi?”

“Ooh, I know.” Sonya raised her had. “You can ship any NPC you want with any other, and I’ll make it happen.”

Something occurred to me. “We have a lot of power, don’t we?” Not just the three of us, but this entire company. I knew we were shaping a different direction in gaming, but at this moment is struck home exactly what that meant.

“Isn’t it perfect?” Luna asked.

It really was.

We chatted some more while we ate, and pretended to grumble when it was time to cross the street to start the day. With the men I’d had filthy sex with this weekend. Who I was supposed to act perfectly normal around, because they weren’t boyfriends, they were friends. Did the light touches go away? Get more intense? Those were there from the start. What about the flirting? The inappropriate innuendo?

I didn’t want to lose any of that.

It was a lot easier to say causal sex is cool before I had to consider the details outside the bedroom.

I couldn’t ignore my nerves as I approached our office. How was this supposed to work?

“Five things you look for in an adult toy store, during a zombie apocalypse?” Phillip’s question drifted into the hallway.

The absurdity of the question calmed me a little. I walked into the room to find them at their desks, chairs turned so they faced each other.

“Hey.” Phillip gave me a casual smile.

Dustin nodded at me.

Okay. They were cool. I could do cool. I could ignore the voice that wondered if acting casual meant we’d never do anything like this weekend again. It didn’t matter. It had been casual fun, right?

“Uh… one, a dildo with a suction cup base,” Dustin said.

Phillip clucked. “That you wouldn’t normally look for.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, which drew more attention in my direction.

“Let Addie do this one,” Dustin said.

My mind froze. “I’m good.”

“Come on,” Phillip coaxed. “Five things you grab from an adult toy store during a zombie apocalypse.”

I had no idea what to say. “Handcuffs.” I spat out the first thing that came to mind after dildos.

“See? That’s smart.” Phillips’s praise warmed me in a way it probably shouldn’t. “Possible one-time use, but if you’re close enough to need them, you’ll be glad you have them.”

Dustin’s sigh was exaggerated. “I think you mean boring.”

“Excuse me?” I looked at him disbelief. “I think you mean practical.”

“That’s one.” Phillip ticked off his first finger. “Four more.”

I hadn’t spent much time in adult toy stores. I’d ordered a few vibrators online, but never dared try anything beyond a bullet vibrator. I racked my brain. “Inflatable sheep.”

Dustin grinned. “Better, but you have to justify it.”

“If I get lonely and need someone to talk to, I’ll feel really awkward talking to an inflatable woman named Ingrid, who never closes her mouth.”

“That’s two, plus bonus point for the Red Dwarf reference,” Phillip said.

“What do bonus points earn me?”

Dustin seemed to consider this. “They’re like tickets at the arcade, the more you get, the better the prize.”

“How many for another night with the two of you?” Crap. No-filter Adrienne was back. “Thickest, heaviest collar they have.” I kept going before either of them could reply. I wasn’t sure what answer would be worst—not an option or one. “Plus, any leather. I’ll take a full-on gimp suit if I can find one made of heavier material than latex.”

Dustin waggled his eyebrows. “Kinky.”

“Anti-bite.”

Phillip ticked up a third finger. “Smart. Again. That’s three.”

Well, shit. What else did they have in places like that? “Flavored whip cream, because you know the world is out of sweets, and stripper heels.”

“Nope. Nixing the stripper heels.” Phillip shook his head.

Dustin pressed a finger to Phillip’s lips. “Shh. Let the lady talk.”

“The sheep and I are finally going to learn to walk in ridiculously high heels,” I said.

“I’m calling it—four and five,” Dustin said.

The laughter faded and we slid into work, but I couldn’t erase my smile from the ludicrous game.

I wasn’t quite absorbed in my work when Phillip rolled his chair up next to mine. “You ready to implement what you learned this weekend?”

There was my embarrassment.

“Don’t do that.” Phillip’s voice was kind. He leaned in to rest his forearms on his knees. “It was a learning experience. It was also a lot of fun, and just sex.” He said it so plainly. So simply.

“So... we pretend it didn’t happen?” I wasn’t sure what he was getting at specifically.

He shook his head. “We don’t pretend anything. Except to be fucking in front of a camera. Just don’t be embarrassed by it. Unless you have regrets.”

“Most-definitely-not.” The words tumbled out before I could consider if that level of enthusiasm was appropriate.

The way his soft smile twitched into place, I’d done fine.

Dustin’s phone chimed. “I need to take this. Be right back.”

“Now that we have that out of the way, take the scene you were working on last week, and redo the core positions based on what you’ve learned,” Phillip said.

He made it sound simple, but every time I thought about this weekend, heat flooded me and desire thrummed between my legs. I needed to get that under control or my career here would be a series of heated daydreams punctuated with wrecked panties and nothing getting done. “I don’t know where to start.”

“Pick—do you want to start with the easiest to fix and work your way up, or start with the hardest and get it out of the way?”

“Can I alternate between the two?”

“A little soft and a little rough? Of course.” Phillip sat close enough his leg pressed into mine. He reached past me to grab my mouse, and navigated to the files on the network.

Dustin’s loud sigh interrupted the moment, and I looked up to see him lean against a nearby table. “I’m watching my nieces while Daria is out of town, and Alana’s school just called. I need to take off for a few hours.”

How sweet was it that he had stepped into that role so easily? At least, I assumed based on how casually he talked about it.

“Is everything all right?” I asked at the same time Phillip did.

“Yeah, she’s just— I guess she got her first period.” Dustin finished the sentence quietly.

“First? At her age?” Phillip sounded surprised.

I rolled my eyes. At least they weren’t completely shying away from the topic. “Okay, first of all, don’t you dare say anything like that around her. If she needs supplies—”

“Addie.” Dustin focused on me with a grin. “You should come with me.”

Nope. “Not even for a friend.”

His smile vanished. “We’re not friends?”

“I didn’t mean— That’s not— Of course we are. She already hates that she couldn’t call her mom, I almost guarantee it. If you bring some random stranger—to her—from work because you’re embarrassed to help her yourself…” I’d let him finish the thought.

Dustin scrubbed his face, distorting his sigh. “You’re right. Because you’re brilliant. If she needs supplies?”

“She probably already knows what she wants. Take her to the store, let her decide if she wants you there or waiting in the car. If she needs help, don’t get the store brand. Regardless of how that goes, make sure she gets a milkshake after.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Does that help?”

“For most of the rest of most women’s lives,” Phillip chimed in with a kind laugh.

God, I liked him.

“All right.” Dustin stood straighter, his voice firm. “I’ve got this. I’m calling you if I don’t.” He looked at me again.

I conceded, and he was on his way. I turned back to Phillip’s instruction, repeating the mantra stop thinking about trying this with them.

It didn’t work.