Best Two Out of Three

Part 24

Thursday, September 3, 2020
Jacksonville, Florida

Callie awoke the next morning with an unmistakable knot in the pit of her stomach. Guilt.

It wasn't regret. She didn't regret sleeping with Matt. He had been... wonderful. Attentive. Caring. Passionate. He'd made her feel desired and alive in ways that she hadn't in months. So long that she'd almost forgotten what it was like to feel like that. She'd missed it, craved it, more than she'd realized. And there was no one else she rather would have helped her find it again than Matt.

Which was precisely why she felt so guilty.

The covers shifted as he stirred next to her. She felt him roll over and snake his arm around her waist. She smiled and relaxed into his touch. She didn't want to feel guilty about how Matt made her feel. She just wanted to feel it.

"Good morning," she said. But he wasn't quite awake.

"Mm," he grunted in return.

She laughed and turned to face him. His long, thick hair was disheveled from sleep and had nearly fallen out of its bun. She reached out and brushed a stray strand back from his face. "I was thinking about going to get Starbucks. Do you want anything?"

He didn't open his eyes as he answered. "Yeah, but I'll get it, babe. Just gimme few more minutes."

Callie's pulse quickened. Babe. She chalked it up to him being half-asleep. "It's okay, I don't mind," she insisted. "You want your usual?"

He nodded. She smiled and kissed his cheek, slipped out from underneath his arm, and climbed out of bed. Their clothes were scattered on the floor, remnants of the night before. She grabbed her joggers and pulled them on along with the closest shirt she could find—Matt's Young Bucks t-shirt—and then she threw her hair in a bun, slipped on her sneakers, grabbed her phone and wallet, and went out the door.

The nearest Starbucks was just a five-minute walk from the hotel, but she was in no rush to get there. It was a beautiful morning, and she needed the air—especially after Matt had let that pet name slip. She did her best to clear her thoughts of it as she arrived at the coffee shop. She queued behind a man in a business suit and pulled out her phone like everyone else. But, not long afterward, someone unexpected joined the line behind her.

"Late night?"

Callie's stomach lurched. She'd know that voice anywhere. Adam.

"Not really," she responded without fully turning around. She was suddenly exceptionally aware that she was wearing Matt's shirt. She didn't want him to see it.

But then it came her turn to order—and there was no hiding that she was getting two coffees to go. She spoke as softly as she could when she told the barista what she wanted and, as soon as she paid, turned and hurried past Adam to a table by the window, flustered. Of course this would happen. Of course she would run into him the morning after she'd slept with Matt, getting coffee for him, wearing his fucking shirt. She looked warily back at him as she sat down. She just wanted to keep an eye on him... but she found herself starting to stare as he pulled out his wallet. Admiring the way his t-shirt stretched over his biceps. How well his jeans fit him. She started to get lost in her thoughts—but then he turned toward her. She quickly looked away, back down at her phone. But not quick enough. It wasn't long before he was standing in front of her.

"Where's lover boy?"

She glared up at him. "He's not my lover boy."