Page 47 of In The Dark

“Oh, you went there, didn’t you? You had filthy sex with your ex’s mum!”

“No, I didn’t.”At least not quite, Jo thought. “I came home, but I couldn’t get her out of my head. Not her face, or her body… Nothing.” Jo cleared her throat. “Then she called me.”

Ada inhaled sharply. “She called you?”

“Yeah.”

“And…what did you say?”

Jo winced. “Well, it uh…it was more about what I was doing rather than saying.”

“Oh, my God!”

“I, um…” Jo chewed her lip. “I was…already midway through.”

“Jo!”

“Iknow.” Jo knew exactly what she’d done. She’d fucked it all up because she couldn’t control her desires. “Believe me, I know.”

“Just to clarify, she called you while you were?—”

Jo cut Ada off. She couldn’t bear to hear her say it out loud. “Yes!”

“And you answered?!”

“I couldn’t help it, Ada. I was so focused on thinking about her that the moment that phone rang, I wasn’t even thinking. Not like a normal, sane person, anyway.”

“D-did she know what you were doing?” Ada’s voice held a hint of concern, but Jo understood. This was a lot for anyone to hear. “She surely didn’t.”

“She had an idea, which I then confirmed.”

“Wait! She stayed on the line? While you were sorting yourself out…she stayed on the line and listened?”

“Yeah.” Jo groaned and slid to the floor, resting her head against the kitchen cabinet. “I think I’ve lost my mind.”

“Well, what happened then?” Ada sighed. “You what? You just finished, said ‘good talk’, and hung up?”

“S-she was enjoying it, Ada. She asked if she could help me.” Jo foolishly allowed her mind to wander. “God, it was the hottest fucking thing in the world.”

“Wow. I don’t even know what to say at this point, other than…wow.”

“I feel like such an idiot.”

“Don’t,” Ada said quickly. “You’ve been holding all this tension in for ages. I’m not saying that was the healthiest outlet, but I also get it. I’m not surprised it happened.”

Jo closed her eyes. “I crossed a line.”

“Maybe, but it sounds like Amelia stayed on that call for a reason.”

“Please don’t,” Jo whispered. “Don’t give me hope.”

“I’m just saying…she’s not a prude. If she was uncomfortable, she’d have hung up. But she didn’t. In fact, she encouraged you. She’s just as much to blame, babe.”

“I don’t know what to do now. I can’t go back to pretending we’re just friends.” Jo scoffed. She’d lasted precisely five minutes pretending she could be friends with Amelia. That was dead and buried with no chance of resurrection. The woman had told her to come for her last night, so no, any hope of a friendship was completely gone. “I can’t do it.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t.”

Jo rubbed at her face, feeling exhausted and wrung out even though she’d only just woken up. “You make it sound so simple.”