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I stare at my iPad, seeing the message now swipe up and disappear as the memories of last night come to me, slow at first. Them finally installing the fridge and stove.

Then the doorbell ringing and Lilah coming in with a couple of bottles of champagne to toast the kitchen being done.

Everleigh showing up next with a box of donuts to have after the pizza Autumn brought was all devoured.

Harmony even decided to come and meet us to see the final product.

Before we even started putting things away, we chose the book of the month, and then the wine started free-flowing for everyone but Lilah.

Brock came to pick up Everleigh when she sent him a picture of her with her tongue licking her lips.

She sent it and bet us a hundred dollars that he would be there in less than ten minutes.

No one really thought he would come right over, but literally seven and a half minutes later and she was being carried out over his shoulder.

I think he even thanked us before he walked out.

The sound of him smacking her ass right before the door slammed shut made us all burst out laughing.

Lilah drove Autumn, and as soon as all of them were gone and my kitchen was clean, I went straight upstairs, where I got my purple toy out.

I gasp and sit up in my bed so fast it’s a miracle I don’t fly out of it.

“No-no-no-no-no.” I shake my head, grabbing my phone and pulling up my call logs.

My eyes see his name at the top and that we were on the phone for fifteen minutes.

“Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.” I close my eyes and put the phone on my forehead.

“I’m never drinking again. Never,” I vow and sink back into my pillows.

“Maybe he’s not going to bring it up.” I look at the phone in my hand as it buzzes again as well as pings on my IPad.

“Ugh, what is wrong with you?” I then look down at my vagina.

“And you, can’t you be controlled? Jesus, you went two years without sex, and now all of a sudden, it’s like the beast has been unleashed.

” I look up at the ceiling of my bedroom.

“I’m going to ignore it and pretend it wasn’t me. ”

I ignore the text and get up, cleaning up my room and making the bed before taking a shower to wash away the night. When I close my eyes and let the water wash over my face, I hear his voice.

“Come down your throat.” I put my hands on my face as if that will make it all go away.

I pull out the chair at my desk and open my computer, scanning the email from the ancestry place before grabbing my pen and paper.

I log on to my account, my hands shaking the whole time.

It feels like I’m snooping on someone’s life, but it’s mine.

I watch the little circle go around as it accepts my username and password, every single second feeling like it’s been an hour.

I tap my hand beside the keyboard until my name fills the top of the screen.

My eyes go down to my DNA report, where it shows me my ancestral regions.

I skip it until I see the tabs at the top that show me they have one for matches.

The match for Gloria is right on top and I click her name.

Which brings me to another screen and there is the message button. Holding my breath, I click it.

Hi Gloria,

Not sure if you will ever get this message or not. My name is Sierra, and I’m unsure of my family tree. I’d love to ask you questions about your tree.

Sierra

It’s not a detailed message, and of course, I lie to her about trying to find my family tree.

But I’ll do what I need to do. I click back when it shows me I have another match, but this time, it’s a third cousin twice removed.

My head starts to spin at this point. On the side of the tree, it says our potential ancestry relates us to William Samuel Nortcutt and Nancy Sally, which is my fourth great-grandfather’s parents.

I take a pen and paper now and start to track all the lineage to William and Nancy. When I click William’s name, I find out he went by Samuel and was born in eighteen hundred and married Sally in eighteen nineteen.

I get up to walk over to the whiteboard and fill in their family tree, unsure if it will lead to anything.

I’m about to go back to the computer when there is a knock on the door.

I walk down the steps, my eyes on the glass door.

The person is there and has his head bent forward.

I unlock the door and pull it open, seeing him standing there.

He has both hands outstretched on the side, holding the doorjamb.

His head looks up, and I see his golden-brown-almost-hazel eyes right before his mouth goes into a smirk. “Hey, baby.”

I roll my eyes and fold my arms over my chest as if his presence does nothing for me. I think I’m a good poker player because everything inside me screams that he’s here. “What are you doing here?”

He takes a step in, and I have no choice but to take a step back.

He grabs my hip with one hand, while his foot comes out to slam the door shut, and the other hand grabs one of my folded arms, pulling me to him.

“I missed you,” he answers, and I’m about to say something else to him when his mouth crashes down on mine, and just like all those other times, I forget my own damn name.