Sam: I haven’t been able to listen to your message yet but hot damn, Chloe.
Sitting up, I take my top off entirely and pull my hair over my breasts, just kind of covering my nipples this time. I send it and wait for Sam’s response with a smile on my face.
Sam: Fuck, I miss you. And also, fuck, because I have to go into surgery now with you on my mind.
Me: So no more pictures because it’s too distracting??
Sam: I can handle the distractions.
Me: …and I’ll be waiting for my dick pic from you ;-)
Sam: I’m sitting in the hospital cafeteria right now or else I’d whip it out for you.
I laugh, missing him so damn much.
Me: FaceTime me—naked—as soon as you’re home.
Sam: You better be naked too.
Me: Deal. <3
I put my phone down and rearrange on the lounge chair so I’m comfortable and open up my computer. I always start out by rereading what I’d previously written, and I’d left off on a scene were Kellie and Marcus, my main characters, are in the woods hunting down demons. I blink and the scene comes rushing back to me, playing out before me like a movie. I can hear the trees rustling, leaves cast in a pale moonlit glow. The smell of the woods surrounds me, and for a second, I’m there—right back in the coven.
I open my eyes, remembering that I never did go back and clean up the trash I’d found when I went to the coven. My time in Silver Ridge got derailed in the best way possible. Going back did give me the spark of motivation I needed to get my book going, and with the series coming to an end, I feel like it’s only appropriate to finish it in the place that inspired it all.
My phone buzzes in my hand, and I turn the screen away from my friends when I see Sam is FaceTiming me. I did tell him to be naked when he called.
“Hey, babe!” I can’t keep the smile off my face as soon as he comes into view. He’s sitting in his car in a dimly lit parking garage. “You just now leaving work?”
“Yeah,” he says. “I just walked out and wanted to see you.”
“Awwww,” my friends coo, leaning in to see Sam.
“You were right, Chloe, he is a hottie!” April wiggles her fingers, waving at Sam, who chuckles and runs his hand through his hair, looking so damn hot.
“Where are you?” Sam asks when I stumble over an uneven part of the path.
“Hiking,” I tell him. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay away from steep cliffs and ravines since you’re not here to catch me.” I slow, moving to the side of the trail so a couple joggers can go past us.
“Right. It’s only six your time.”
“Introduce us!” April says.
I look at Sam for a second, wishing with all my heart I was in Chicago with him, or better yet, he was here walking through the hills with us. Or me. Yeah…just me would be best.
“Hi,” Sam says with a wave. “I’m Sam.”
“Oh, we already know who you are,” Lola giggles.
I roll my eyes, still smiling. “This is April, Lola, and Mica,” I say, introducing him to my friends. I’d love for him to meet them in real life and vice versa. April was the first friend I made her in LA, and even though I’m the odd one out in our little group, they’ve all welcomed me with open arms. April is several years older than me, married to a much older man and has teenage stepchildren, and is quite happy being a trophy wife, though her husband really is a decent guy. Lola used to be a model and is in an open relationship with her husband of seven years and their girlfriend, and Mica is a high-profile property attorney, set to take over her family’s firm. Like I said, we are as different as different can be. But our differences keep the gang interesting, and they’ve gone to the San Diego Comic Con every year for the last four years just to support me as well as the Nightfall franchise.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Sam pulls his seatbelt over his torso. He looks tired and a little stressed, making me want even more to be there with him, rubbing his shoulders to help him relax.
Which of course means both of us naked, tangled together as we roll around the sheets.
“Hopefully we’ll get to meet you in person soon,” Mica says.
“Hopefully. Did you hear back about your meeting, Chloe?”
My heart flutters when he says my name. I’m a love-sick schoolgirl, and I feel no shame in that. “I did. It’s rescheduled for the morning, bright and early again.”
Sam laughs. “Perfect for you since you’re such a morning person.”
“Ugh, I know.” I shake my head. “I don’t know how you get up at the crack of dawn all the time.”
“I don’t stay up until three AM like you do.”
I laugh again, missing him so much it hurts. “I’ll let you go so you can get home, and I’ll call you when I get back to my house.”
“For some phone sex,” April whisper-yells, making my other friends laugh. Though that is exactly what I had in mind.
“I do like the sound of that,” Sam tells me, brows going up.
My cheeks flush and desire floods through me, remembering how good it feels to have Sam’s cock inside me. “Then it’s a date,” I say coyly, winking at Sam. He smirks back at me and I need to hang up now so he can drive home and I can hurry with the rest of this hike. “Love you.”
“I love you too, Chloe.” We look at each other for another moment before finally ending the call, and my friends gush over how cute we are together the rest of the walk back to April’s Range Rover. We all drove together and had plans to go back to my place for drinks after. I only got half a chapter written before going out with my friends, and knowing I have a lot of work to do causes a bit of anxiety to rise up inside of me, but I had to get out of the house and away from my computer.
I had the hardest time concentrating while sitting by my pool. Every time I’d get into the mental headspace of being deep in the woods hunting demons, something would pull me out and remind me how not magical my surroundings are. I want to go back to Silver Ridge, taking my computer with me to the coven and sitting there like a weirdo, typing away until some unsuspecting hikers come across me. So when April said I should go hiking with them, I jumped on the chance to socialize and get away from work for a little bit.
Lola turns up the music, and we all sing along to 90s pop on our way to my house. The sun is just now starting to set, and it’s an absolutely gorgeous California night…yet I’d rather be in Michigan, loving the way the sun reflects off Silver Lake as it starts to go down and the way it feels like the entire town is holding its breath, just soaking in the quiet and calm of the night.
“There’s something by your gate,” Mica notes as soon as April pulls into the cul-de-sac my house is in. “It could be from a stalker.”
“Ohh, let’s hope so!” I rub my hands together. “I haven’t dealt with a crazy in a while. I still think stalking the stalker would be fun.”
Mica raises a perfectly micro-bladed eyebrow. “I’m one of the best lawyers in the whole damn city, but I can’t represent you when you get your crazy ass arrested for harassment.”
I laugh and unbuckle my seatbelt. “You’re assuming I’m going to get caught and that hurts.”