She tugged on some cotton shorts, a tank with a built-in bra and a T-shirt, worn through in spots from being washed so many times. When she flipped on the bathroom lights, she took a second to remember, again, what she'd felt like before the night began. Happy. Terrified. Excited. Now she just felt exhausted. A makeup remover wipe took care of her face, bringing it back to its normal state. A brush did the trick for her hair when it was tugged high on top of her head and off her neck. Her hand was just about to flip the light switch off when the door buzzer rang.Elena froze. "Nooo," she moaned because for some weird, fucked up reason, she just knew. Oh, did she know who it was. She knew it couldn't be Emily because she'd given her sister a key. It rang again, and she swore under her breath. It was the kind of language that would've cost her a fortune in her family swear jar.With a brick of nerves lodged in her throat, Elena hit the speaker button. "Who is it?" she asked, hoping that

Two days passed, and Elena didn't hear a peep from Chandler. Which was disappointing. She'd said no to his date but she wasn't sure why she was still looking out for his text or call. She told herself that she was only looking forward to his call so she'd know if he'd spoken to the agent he told her about, and refused to admit to herself that maybe…Just maybe she also wanted him to text… To check up on her. It was really pathetic. She wasn't one of those girls who played hard to get by engaging in mind games, but she couldn't help the way she felt. She had just taken a shower and slid into bed when her phone beeped. She sat up, and the thrill she felt when she saw that the text was from him embarrassed her a little. If she could feel this way over a text from him, she wondered how it'd feel if they actually kissed, or touched or made —hell no, she wasn't going to let herself think that far. 'Hi, Elena' the next read, 'I'm sorry I haven't texted since. It's been really hard to get a

Both men nodded, and Matt even smiled broadly at her, "Everything is great" he said, "I'll be taking my leave now. Please call me if need to ask anything or if you need my service any other time and I'll be glad to make myself available." After handing one of his cards to Elena, he shook hands with Chandler and left, leaving them standing in the middle of the space that now belonged to her. Elena faced him, "Thank you so much, Chandler. You know you didn't have to wait for us to be done. I know you must have missed so much at the office,"Chandler shrugged, "Believe me, there's no problem, Elena…I wanted to be here. You love it, don't you?" he asked, "Judging by the big smile you have on your face," Elena laughed, spinning 360 degrees as she looked around once again, "Of course I am, Chandler," she said excitedly, as they started to walk outside. "I got exactly what I wanted, and it's all because of you. You have no idea how grateful I am and if there's anything…. anything at all I

Emily exhaled. "I'm going to hide in your room. I don't need to witness this crazy.""Oh please," Beth whispered under her breath.As she walked out of the room, Emily narrowed her eyes dangerously in Beth's direction. Lexi gave Elena an encouraging smile. "It'll be fine. Don't mind Emily."Elena snatched her bag, mentally girding her loins for whatever circus show was about to unfold. For a moment, she felt bad for not preparing Chandler for the one-woman firing squad. That only lasted a second because the other ninety-nine percent of her knew it would be awesome to see Emily knock him off balance. He'd sure as hell been knocking her off balance since the moment he danced with her at that club. "Come on up," she said into the speaker."You didn't even make sure it was him," Emily hissed. Apparently she'd changed her mind and returned to the living room. "What if it's a sex trafficker?""Ringing the buzzer instead of breaking in?" Elena asked. "And why the hell would a sex trafficker

"You okay?" Chandler asked. "You went scary quiet on me there."It was perceptive of him, and it made her give him a curious glance. She had been quiet most of the trip, but even him, this man who didn't really know her, was able to tell the difference in her silence.Elena gave him a small smile. "Just thinking about emotional trauma from years back, if you must know."He groaned, leaning forward to turn the music up. "Nope. Not going there, love. We haven't been fake dating long enough."After almost an hour of him trying to engage her in conversation, that was the thing that did the trick. She turned in her seat to appraise his facial expression. "Come on, I'll share mine if you share yours."He snorted. "Yeah, right.""We are still on the road, surprisingly," she said. "What else should we talk about?""Literally anything." He changed lanes after a quick glance at his blind spot."I'd talk about politics. Religion. Women I've slept with in the past because I've never done the dati