“Are you going to take a shower here?” Holden tidied his hair while looking at his reflection in one of the mirrors.
“Nah, I’ll stand clear of the main spray while I freshen up a bit.” She tidied up her privates and cleaned the sweat from her skin before she emerged and finished drying herself off with the brown rectangles of cheap paper. “I guess I’ll need to send the school an alumni donation to pay for all of these.” She snickered. Holden laughed with her as he handed over her underwear. “Ripped my stockings.” She pointed at the hole over the heel of her right foot.
“I’m sorry.” He wore a crestfallen expression. “They were so hot.”
“Not your fault and don’t worry. I can get more.” She winked at him as she detached her hosiery from the garters and threw the torn one in the trash. She rolled the other one up and placed it in her purse to have as a spare. “I have two more pairs just like this at home.” The dangling garters felt a little weird against her legs, but her purse was too small to hold anything else.
Holden held up her dress and then helped her wiggle back into the outfit before fixing his tie and picking up his jacket. He draped the sports coat over his arm, his body temperature, no doubt, still too high to tolerate outerwear.
“Shall we?” He extended his elbow for her to take.
“Hold up. Wait here.” She unlocked the door and peeped outside to see if the coast was clear. She noticed Donnie leaning against the wall on the other side of the hallway beside the boys’ locker room. Knowing he’d never interfere, she noted his smirk and wondered what he had been up to. She didn’t think she had ever seen him look slyer.
As she scooted out into the corridor, she tilted her head and eyed him up and down. He folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow. “What a little slut, sneaking off to get pounded in the girls’ locker room.”
“Says the king of all sluts.” Mary Allison snickered. “Why are you stalking me? Were you ready to leave?”
Before he could answer, Redmond exited the other locker room, buckling his belt and straightening his tie. His hair had been freshened up to keep strands from sticking to his forehead in full-on “sex hair” but he had a “just-been-fucked” vibe. As he met her gaze and saw the corners of her lips turn up into an open mouth grin, the flash of embarrassment in the man’s eyes and the color of his cheeks told her she was right. She turned her attention back towards Donnie but he was far too shameless for mocking to be effective. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip before smiling as if he were a cat with a yellow feather dangling from its mouth while sitting next to an empty birdcage. She looked at him and back to Redmond, tons of questions running through her mind, but she realized the discussion would have to wait for another time.
“You still need a ride?” Donnie asked, breaking the awkward silence.
“No,” Holden’s voice boomed over her shoulder and she turned to see him standing behind her. He stepped up and slipped his arm around her waist. “I got her.”
“Oh, sorry! I’m being so rude. Holden, this is Donnie—my BFF and boo for life.”
Donnie nodded. “Platonic life partners if you will.”
She snickered before waving her hand toward Donnie’s hook-up, “And you met Redmond already. And of course, Holden is my editor.” She shook her head toward him.
“Editor…right.” Donnie’s white teeth showed as a grin spread across his face. He glanced down at her bare legs. “Did your editor rip your stockings, Boo?”
She pursed her lips. Of course. No one else would notice I’m no longer wearing hosiery, but he’d be mindful if I so much as popped one single, solitary seam on anything, anywhere on my body. She opened her mouth with an equally smart-alecky response on the tip of her tongue, but Redmond interrupted the banter.
“Donnie won’t be returning to the room tonight if it’s okay with you, Mary Allison.”
Since when does he need my permission to get laid?Does he need an out? I’ll give him one. She looked to her best friend for a sign.
“I told Redmond there was no way I’d leave my boo all by her defenseless little self in a strange hotel room all night.” Donnie stood up straighter, his gaze practically caressing Redmond.
She rolled her eyes at being called defenseless and about to answer when Holden spoke up. “She won’t be alone.”
“Well then…” Redmond glimpsed over to Donnie with an exuberant expression, which, surprisingly enough, Donnie returned.
Mary Allison’s eyes and eyebrows rounded as she jerked her head back. Her buddy loved him some sex but he never got too excited about anyone in particular. As long as his partner had a pretty face, a good body, and a penis, he was happy enough, but a different vibe was stirring. Donnie looked thrilled. Could it be he finally slept with someone he cares to carry on a conversation with afterward?
She threw Donnie an enquiring look while tilting her head ever so slightly toward Redmond. “Hit me up when you can.” She grinned, grasping hands with Holden before they walked away.
“Continental breakfast, 8:00 a.m. tomorrow,” Donnie called to her.
She looked over her shoulder and nodded. Turning her attention to her party-crashing date, she squeezed his hand. “Wanna dance?”
“Seriously?” He ran his fingers along a lock of her less than perfect, after-sex coif.
She shrugged, not giving a damn what anyone else thought. “It’s not that late. I think I should go back and put in a brief appearance. Then we can go to my hotel room if that’s okay.”
“Sounds
