Page 227 of A Lick and A Promise

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Then he was all over me while backing me to the bedroom.

After my back hit bed and my man hit me, I said, “Since Harlow will be in organization mode for Stella, we’ll get her on our space too. Right away.”

Knox confirmed he was at one with this plan by kissing me.

Thus commenced a session.

As ever, I abandoned myself to this session.

So again, I was late for work.

Worth it.

When I hit SC proper, the first place my eyes went was Byron’s corner.

I wanted an update on Cynthia.

I felt a five-alarm go off in my head when I saw he wasn’t there.

He was never not there.

Always, on the dot, the doors opened, and he was up in our business for a dirty chai.

What did this mean?

I walked direct to Raye.

“Where is he?” I asked.

“Byron?” she asked back.

I nodded.

“I don’t know. I thought you would know.”

We looked at each other.

Then we went to Tito.

His sunglasses came up from his iPad.

He was playing Merge Magic.

“Hello, girls,” he greeted.

“Hey,” we replied in unison.

It was me who went on, “Have you seen Byron?”

His sunglasses slid to Byron’s table, they came back to us and he shook his head.

Raye and I looked at each other again and went to Tex.

He was obscured by steam.

Otis, who worked the cubby with him in the mornings (Hunter did it in the afternoons) asked, “Hey. You need coffees?”

“I’m next,” the person at the register said.

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