Page 89 of September

“You sound exhausted. It’s my fault for keeping you up late.”

“I don’t regret that at all,” she replied. “But traffic made me late, my room wasn’t ready when I got here, participants didn’t show up or got here late, and I had no time for lunch. So, now I’m eating chips with a candy bar, and I’m drinking an energy drink that is gross, but I need the caffeine stat. They also put me in a first-floor room. I hate first-floor rooms. It has a sliding glass door that leads straight to the parking lot.”

“That’s not safe,” Gwen said, sounding concerned.

“There’s a big manual lock and stuff, but yeah, it means I probably won’t sleep well. I didn’t have time to check the bathroom yet, but I’m hoping there’s an actual tub in there because I think I need to lie in it and not just shower.”

“Jules, I’m sorry,” Gwen replied. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, I just needed to vent for a second. I have to get back inside, but thank you for listening.”

“Want me to send you pictures of Carly? We’re at the dog park now.”

“I’d love that. But will you send me a picture ofyou, too?”

“I can’t do that right now, Jules. I’m in public.”

Juliet laughed and said, “Of your face.”

“Oh, okay. Yeah, I can do that.”

“Can I see the other parts of you later, though? At least on the screen? I packed that vibrator you wanted me to.”

“That can definitely be arranged,” Gwen said. “What are you doing for dinner?”

“I have no idea. There’s a diner in the same parking lot, so I’ll probably just grab something there after class.”

“You need something better than that.”

“I’ll be fine, but thank you for worrying. I have to go. I need to get them started so that we’re done by five.”

“Okay. Call me later.”

“I will.”

She’d gotten the group back together, reviewed the next section of content with them, answered any questions they’d had, and then introduced the last activity of the day, which took over an hour. She had to go a little past five with the end-of-day wrap-up, and by the end of it, all the participants looked totally drained. She felt that, too, as she let them all head to their rooms. She suspected they’d all grab dinner together and possibly at that diner, so as she sat in the now-empty conference room, she pulled out her phone and decided to see what other restaurants were around. She’d get something delivered to save herself the trip. Before she could do that, though, a text notification came in.

Gwen Benedetti: Hey, sexy. Can you come out here?

Juliet Francis: Uh… No. I’m at the hotel. What are you talking about?

Gwen Benedetti: Parking lot. Someone out here really wants to see you.

Instantly, Juliet turned to the window that overlooked the parking lot. She could see her car and two cars next to it, but then she noticed Gwen’s car and Gwen herself standing outside it, leaning against the trunk and staring down at her phone. Juliet jumped up and, leaving everything in the room where it was, she ran to the conference room door that led outside.

“Babe?”

“Hi,” Gwen said, looking up at her and smiling widely.

“What are you doing here?” Juliet asked, feeling like she hadn’t seen her in weeks when it had been hours.

“Well, I was concerned about you not eating right and not getting any sleep because you have a room that leads to aparking lot with a view of a diner and a strip club across the street, apparently, so I came here.”

Juliet hugged her hard and said, “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” Gwen replied.

“How long can you stay? Dinner? It’s a three-hour drive during rush hour. You drove all the way here for–”