by Jana Aston
The quarterly meeting starts at ten, so I don’t have much time to get my morning routine of clearing voicemail and emails completed before the meeting. I buzz through everything that needs to be done as Preston plops himself on the edge of my desk, beaming.
“It’s your anniversary!” he sings.
“Oh, no, not you too,” I say, laughing.
“Did Gabe already make that joke today? Damn.” Preston slumps, his expression dejected.
“Sorry.”
“At least I got a blueberry muffin. You’re training him so well.”
“The muffin is all him. I think he’s had a sweet spot for you ever since you called him an idiot to his face.”
“Do go on.” Preston winks and I laugh again.
I check the time on my desk and, seeing that we have enough time, I suggest we take a run down to the employee cafeteria before the meeting starts. I like to be fully alert for meetings and I could use another jolt of caffeine before we go in.
A few hours later I realize the quarterly meeting is still dull, but it’s moving in the right direction. It’s only been three months since the last meeting, but Gabe’s already implemented a few changes to make it more useful for everyone. We don’t have any surveys to fill out today—thank goodness—so I’m taking my usual notes and following along. Even Preston is awake and paying attention. Sort of.
“I have to pee, Sandy. I’m not gonna make it till the lunch break,” Preston whispers. He’s been fidgeting for ten minutes. I wish he’d just go already.
“So go,” I say in a low whisper. “We’re not captives.”
“You know I hate doing the walk of shame during a meeting,” he whispers disdainfully.
I shake my head. “For the hundredth time, that is not what ‘walk of shame’ means.”
“No one should be ashamed of getting it on with a hot stranger, Sandy. That is not shameworthy.” He shakes his head in disgust. “People should high-five in the morning and go home with their heads held high.”
“What do you suggest it be called then? If we as a society should be proud of our one-night stands we need to have a term for it.”
“I’m trying to get ‘walk of satisfaction’ to catch on, but it’s hard to make something go viral.”
“Uh-huh.”
We break for lunch and Preston makes a break for the bathroom. The room empties and I head to the elevators to wait for Preston. I’m standing there when Gabe walks up with Sawyer and hits the down button for the elevator, then sticks his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his feet while giving a quick glance in my direction.
“Cute ponytail, Miss Adams,” Gabe comments quietly.
I give him a silent nod. We keep it pretty professional at work because we’re professional people.
“Were you in a hurry this morning?”
“What?” My eyes widen as I glance around to see if anyone heard him. There’s only a few people standing nearby and they’re not paying us any attention. I remind myself that he hasn’t really said anything, but I know what he’s implying so I feel my face turn red nonetheless. He knows exactly why I was in a hurry this morning.
I move my eyes back to Gabe’s to give him a look that implies shush, but I find him biting his lip to keep from laughing at me, so I narrow my eyes into a glare instead. Watching me blush just never gets old for him.
The elevator arrives and he steps inside, shooting me a wink as the doors close. And yes, it still gives me butterflies.
Preston arrives a moment later and we grab the next elevator, making our way to the cafeteria. Preston just returned from a week in St. Thomas with his husband, so he tells me all about their trip over lunch, complete with his disappointment at not being able to steal a baby dolphin.
We arrive back at the conference room just a few minutes early and take our seats, the same ones as always—two rows behind and one seat over from Gabe.
There’s a piece of paper on the desk in front of my seat. It’s face down, but I’m positive it wasn’t there when we left for lunch. A quick glance at Preston’s desk tells me this is not a handout placed at each seat. I sit, pulling my chair in and getting comfortable before flipping the paper over. It’s a handwritten quiz—and it’s in Gabe’s handwriting. I grin, glancing in his direction. He’s turned to the front, Sawyer in the next seat leaning in to tell him something. I pick up a pen and read.
1) Is there anyone in this room you’d consider living with?
2) Who is it? (There’s only one correct answer here…)
3) On a scale of 1 to 5, how much closet space will you need?
4) Will you eat all the ice cream?
5) Yes or no, will you move in with me?
Oh, my God. He wants me to move in. He wants me to move in!
My heart is about to burst. I tap the pen against my smiling lips, then move it to the paper.
1) Yes.
2) You, silly.
3) 3.5
4) Probably.
5) Yes!!!
“Are you going to walk-of-shame that to him now or make him wait until the end of the day?” Preston asks, making no attempt to hide that he’s reading over my shoulder.
“I think I’ll walk-of-shame it over now,” I say, pushing my seat back and standing.
“Go get ‘em, hot stuff,” Preston whispers as I slide out of our row and take the three steps down to the front of the room. Gabe sees me right away, since he sits just two seats in from the aisle. His eyes move from the paper to my face and a slow grin tugs at his lips.
“Miss Adams?” Gabe questions, as if he has no idea why I’m here; Sawyer snorts at Gabe’s overly professional use of my name. I do forget why I’m there for a second. Gabe’s attention does that to me on occasion, but I snap out of it and smile, placing the paper face down in front of Gabe before returning to my seat.
From my chair, I watch him look at the paper, then fold it half and in half again before rising from the chair just enough to slip it into his back pocket. But unlike three months ago this time he turns slightly, catches my eye and winks.
I’m in love. This is what being in love feels like.
The Complete Series
WRONG: Sophie & Luke
RIGHT: Everly & Sawyer
FLING: Sandra & Gabe
TRUST: Chloe & Boyd
Acknowledgements
If you caught the dedication page and you know your eighties teen movie trivia, then you probably got the gist that Fling is a nod to the movie Sixteen Candles written and directed by the late John Hughes.
I hope you’ve seen the movie. If not, you need to! It’s long been on my favorite movies list, along with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Hmm, imagine Ferris Bueller as a thirty year old man skipping a day of work…
Thank you so much for reading. I will never stop being awed that I am writing books and that you are reading them. I can’t tell you how much your support means to me, every little bit of it. Just hitting “like” on a Facebook post is a big deal to an indie author like me. Thank you for reading and liking and telling your friends about my books. Sharing posts, signing up for my newsletter, leaving reviews. All of it is appreciated.
So what’s next? TRUST! Depending on how fast you read Fling, Trust may already be available as it’s releasing just one week after Fling. Trust is Chloe & Boyd’s story. Chloe is Everly’s best friend from Right and Boyd is Sophie’s brother from Wrong. I’m a little bit in love with their story and I hope you will be too.
Kristi, thank you BFF for everything!
Beverly, thank you for your support, always!
Sandra, I hope you enjoyed your namesake as much as I did!
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Thank you,
Jana
About the author
Jana Aston is the New York Times bestselling author of WRONG.
After writing her debut novel, she quit her super boring day job to whip up her second novel, RIGHT. She’s hoping that was not a stupid idea.
In her defense, it was a really boring job.