Page 94 of The Ampersand Effect

She’d relived the entire day a hundred times. As well as the five shared orgasms that followed as they stayed wrapped up in bed the entire the weekend, emerging only for brief doses of sunlight and the required calories to replenish those expended through their very active physical explorations. By Sunday morning, they’d abandoned cooking altogether, resorting to boxed snacks in bed and refilling their glasses in the bathroom to stay hydrated.

Grier had woken up pleasantly sore on Monday morning— alone but content. She’d been eager to resume her daily swimhabit, craving the chill of the water to invigorate her and soothe her fatigued muscles.

She couldn’t recall another time in her life when she’d spent the entire weekend in bed with a woman. She’d forgotten how much she loved that new-relationship feeling—the way her mind was consumed by thoughts of the other woman, where her body ached from their frenzied lovemaking, and the quieter ache in the absence of her.

But the sex was different, too.

Sex with Tobin was decidedlyun-frenzied. It was far from controlled—that loss of control had always been one of her favorite parts of sex, surrendering to her partner, and her pleasure. She’d been able to lose control with Tobin, but somehow remained completely present, too. It was a different kind of presence than she was used to, and she already craved it again. She looked forward to exploring it— as much as she looked forward to discovering all the ways she could help Tobin lose herself.

She’d been arriving early to work every day this week, waking up energized, eager to swim, to move her body. At work, she’d been navigating Abby’s post-operative recovery plan. The surgery with Haleigh had been a success, with the pituitary tumor removed cleanly through the nasal cavity. Abby was recovering well, and Grier had been using acupuncture to manage her pain, reduce the need for opioids, and minimize the swelling that bloomed across her face.

Abby was funny and fiercely fearless, and reminded Grier so much of Delta that it tugged at something maternal in her. They’d taken an instant liking to each other—so much so that they’d already conspired on a handful of pranks aimed at Alix during Abby’s PT sessions. Thankfully, Alix was a good sport. That said, Grier could sense they were plotting a counteroffensive, and she was already bracing for retaliation.

At home, Grier was helping Delta care for an orphaned barred owl they’d found on an after-school hike. They’d contacted the local bird sanctuary, but it was already at capacity. Instead, the staff performed an exam to assess viability, and then walked Delta, Grant, and Grier through the basics of care.

Even Lake had bonded with the bird—letting it perch on her shoulder as Delta traipsed around the yard searching for worms and insects to feed it.

It was the final week of school, and Delta’s final project was a shoebox diorama of what each student wanted to do over the summer. Hers featured a menagerie of tiny figurines—cats, dogs, birds, and an assortment of reptiles—all either roaming free or tucked into makeshift kennels. She’d painted the box to look like a vet clinic, complete with a doll-sized exam table. An owl sat perched on top, while her custom action figure leaned over it mid-exam.

She and Grant had been joking all week that it was only a matter of time before he caved and built her a shed in the backyard to house all her strays.

And now, here Grier was—Saturday night at the bar with her friends—unable to deflect their less-than-subtle interrogation about the previous weekend. She’d never been one to kiss and tell.

Then again, she’d never had quite this much to tell.

“What do you expect, when you’ve been avoiding us all week? Weknowyou have tea to spill. Pinkies up, Buttercup!” The look Alix gave her was one she knew all too well—like a dog with a bone.

They weren’t going to relent until their hunger for gossip had been satiated.

Grierwantedto tell them both. Her body practically buzzed with excited energy, eager to relive the weekend with the people she knew were in her corner. Swapping stories like this hadalways been their modus operandi anytime one of them had a new sexual interest.

But this time—with Tobin—things felt different.

Shefeltdifferent about it. Like, shewantedher friends to know how amazing it was—how absolutely satisfying sex with Tobin was. But she alsodidn’twant share the actual details. She wanted to cherish those moments of raw vulnerability. They were theirs—not meant to be shared.

So, she’d have to be strategic: offer just enough detail to quell the interrogation, but not enough to betray the intimacy that would certainly alarm—or offend—Tobin.

And more than that, she had to protect her. Especially knowing how vulnerable Tobin had been. Making her uncomfortable, even unintentionally, was the last thing Grier wanted. She could handle her friends’ teasing.

But she wouldn’t compromise Tobin’s trust. Not for anything.

“Grier, you’ve been wandering around with your head in the clouds all week, and you’re being decidedly tight-lipped about the whole ordeal,” Maren began, clearly laying out her case. “You’re practically glowing, honey,” she added, a coaxing grin spreading across her face.

“You don’t glow, Grier. We know you,” Alix said, staring her down across the table. “You had to take that cockpit for a spin— there’s no other explanation.”

She straightened her shoulders, grabbed a menu, and mustered her faculties to deliver a haughty retort.

“I believe the term you’re actually looking for isbox office,” she said, unable to resist. A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth.

Alix and Maren stared at her, unblinking. Then, like teenagers, all three of them collapsed onto the table in a fit of laughter that dissolved into tears.

“I knew it! You minx! “ Alix proclaimed, slapping their hands on the table. Leaning in, they demanded, “Tell us everything!”

Grier blushed but didn’t try to hide from her friends. She knew that would only incite them more. Instead, she tried to think of something minor—just enough to make them feel like she was spilling, while still protecting Tobin’s privacy and the intimacy of their weekend.

“She took me morel hunting after a hike to this open clearing in the forest. We were done, but I said I wasn’t quite ready to go back, and she said that was a good thing, because…” she paused— partly for effect, but mostly to gauge the rapt attention of her friends. Alix was practically vibrating with excitement, while Maren tried to remain composed despite a noticeable inward roll of her lips as she fought her own elation.

“She wanted to show me a secret waterfall.”