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  Piper threw her purse on her bed in frustration. She felt like such a fool.

  A knock came from behind her. She really wasn’t in the mood for Nate right now. She turned around to tell him to go away when she saw Elise standing there. “Hey.”

  “Can I come in?”

  “Sure,” Piper said and collapsed on her bed.

  Elise closed the bedroom door as she entered the room. “I know we still don’t know each other that well, but I thought maybe you needed someone to talk to.”

  “That would be nice.”

  Elise sat down next to Piper. “So, what happened today?”

  Piper snorted. “I met this guy through one of the online dating sites I signed up with.”

  Elise nodded. “I remember you working on that last weekend.”

  “Well…the guy I met seemed really great. He was a widower, he had a good job, and we had things in common. We went out last night, and the only thing he did was kiss me outside the restaurant. No pressuring me to sleep with him or anything. He even asked me out on a second date today for brunch.”

  “Did you go and meet him this morning?”

  Piper nodded slowly. “Yep.”

  “Then, what happened? Did he try something with you?”

  “No, nothing like that.” Piper shook her head. “We had to wait to be seated, and I noticed he was getting impatient. Then, when we got our table, he insisted on ordering right away.”

  “I’m thinking there’s more to this than his impatience.”

  “Oh, yeah. His wife, who is alive and well, showed up at the restaurant.”

  Elise gasped. “No way.”

  Piper laughed humorlessly. “That’s not even the best part. While she was planning to go to church, he was taking another woman on a date.”

  “What an asshole.”

  Piper smiled. “Hey, that’s what I called him. The worst part is that I think he might have kids, too. His wife said something about family. ‘This is why you didn’t want to go to church with your family,’” she quoted the woman. She dropped her head in her hands. “I feel so stupid.”

  Elise put her arm around Piper and hugged her. “You’re not stupid. Some men are just douche canoes.”

  Piper whipped her head up. “Does this mean I’m a homewrecker?”

  Elise smiled kindly. “No, honey, you’re not a homewrecker. You didn’t know he was married…or had kids. And it was a date and a half. He’s the homewrecker.”

  “Yeah. Thanks. You’re right. Thank you for making me feel better.”

  Elise dropped her arm. “You don’t want to give up dating just because of this one guy. He’s not worth ruining all future dates.”

  Piper rubbed her hands together. “The only thing is that I have been feeling guilty about it anyway. I can’t help feeling like I’m trying to replace Jordan, and that doesn’t seem fair.”

  “Maybe you should wait a little while before your next date. What made you decide to start dating in the first place?”

  Piper shrugged one shoulder. “I miss sex.”

  Elise’s eyes rounded. “Okay. I was not expecting that answer.”

  Piper laughed. “Is that bad?”

  “Not at all. I get it. Good sex is like chocolate. It’s addictive as hell, and one can stay away for only so long.”

  “Right now, I’d settle for any sex. It’s been a long time for me.”

  Elise smiled in sympathy. “I suppose it has.” She patted Piper’s leg. “If dating’s not an option, there’s always a one-night stand or a fuck buddy.”

  “What was that?” Piper asked, surprised. She needed Elise to repeat the words just to make sure she’d heard them correctly.

  “You could have a one-night stand or find yourself a fuck buddy.”

  “Hmm…maybe you’re right.”

  “Have you ever had either?”

  “I had a couple of one-nighters in college.” Piper tapped her chin. “You might be onto something here.”

  “It’s an idea anyway.”

  “Thanks, Elise. I feel better.”

  “You’re welcome.” Elise stood. “Since you didn’t get to eat, do you want to go grab lunch?”

  “Yes.” Piper got up from her bed, too.

  The two of them headed for the bedroom door, but Piper stopped Elise with a hand to her arm.

  “Please don’t say anything to the guys. I’m still embarrassed, and Nate’s been acting weird about me dating as it is.”

  “It’ll be our secret.”

  Piper and Elise exited the bedroom and walked down the hall. The closer they got to the end, the louder Nate and Luke became.

  “Remember, chicks before dicks,” Piper reminded her.

  Elise smiled. “I won’t say a word.”

  The following Thursday, Piper sat at work with one of the shelter’s newest residents. Tina was only twenty-three with four kids. She’d barely finished high school before she got married to her husband. He’d been abusive their whole relationship, but Tina had finally left him after he forced her to have sex with his dealer to pay for his drugs. To make matters worse, after he’d sobered up, he’d accused her of cheating. He’d beaten her so badly that her four-year-old ran to the neighbor’s to call 911 because Tina had almost died.

  One thing Piper would never understand was how men like Tina’s husband lived life without any consequences while nice guys like Jordan were killed in a car accident.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to press charges against your husband?” Piper asked Tina.

  She rapidly shook her head. “No. He’ll get out and come after me for putting him in jail.”

  “Tina, you have a strong case. You have pictures from the hospital, you have your neighbor as a witness, and you have the doctor’s testimony. He won’t get away with it this time.”

  Tina’s lower lip quivered. “But I’m scared.”

  Piper’s heart went out to the girl. “I know, but we will be with you every step of the way.”

  Tina didn’t say anything.

  “How about you think about it for a while? Will that make you feel better?”

  Tina nodded.

  Piper breathed a sigh of relief. Tina hadn’t said yes, but she hadn’t said no either. Piper would give her as much time as she could to show her that she and her children were safe at the shelter.

  “Okay.” Piper smiled. “Until then, do you want to talk about getting a job?”

  “Yes, please.” Tina blushed. “Tommy would never let me work. He said it’d give me too many ideas.”

  “The nice thing is, Tommy’s not here. I have a list. Shall we go over it?”

  Tina nodded timidly, but Piper could see excitement in her eyes.

  Piper couldn’t imagine a job—and probably a minimum wage job at that—would make her that happy. It made her realize how lucky she was. Yes, she’d lost her wonderful husband, and she’d gone on a date with a cheating loser, but at least she’d never lived in fear every day of her life. It made her realize she had a lot to be thankful for, and she shouldn’t give up yet on finding a nice guy.

  The rest of the morning passed swiftly as Piper helped Tina with her job search and with filling out applications. Piper really hoped, one day, after Tina got on her feet, she could take some college classes at night to give her a chance at getting a better job to provide for her children.

  On their hour lunch break, Lainey, Simone, Kayla, and Piper decided to go to a fast food restaurant.

  “What are you ladies doing this weekend?” Piper asked once the four of them were seated.

  She’d been thinking about what Elise had said about a one-night stand. Piper hadn’t done the one-night thing in a while. The last time had been back in college before she met Jordan, but she was willing to give it a try.

  It was better than watching porn on her computer every night.

  Not that she did that or anything.

  Kayla blushed. “I�
�m going on a date with Ethan.”

  “Way to go, girl,” Simone said.

  “I didn’t know you were seeing each other,” Piper said.

  “We’ve only had one date so far. This will be our second.”

  “Good for you,” Piper told her even if a tiny part of her was jealous.

  Kayla hadn’t even been looking for a man, and she’d found one. But that was kind of the way life worked.

  “I have you to thank. If you didn’t know Nate, then I probably wouldn’t have been introduced to Ethan.”

  “You can thank me during your wedding toast,” Piper joked.

  Everyone laughed.

  “What about you two?” Piper said to Lainey and Simone.

  “What are you thinking?” Lainey asked.

  “I want to go out. Dancing and drinking, somewhere fun.”

  Lainey’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Really.” Going to see that live band had been fun, but that was a bar. If Piper was going to seek out a handsome man to take her home, she needed to go to a club.

  “I’m in,” Simone said.

  “Me, too,” said Lainey.

  “What about Mike?” Kayla asked Lainey.

  “I told him we’d be better off as friends.”

  “I’m sorry,” Piper said, and the other two nodded.

  Lainey shrugged. “I’m not. It’s better this way.”

  “Hey, speaking of dates, didn’t you go on one last weekend?” Simone asked Piper.

  “Yes,” she said regretfully. She’d been avoiding talking about the whole thing all week. She’d hoped they’d forgotten. “It didn’t go so hot.”

  Piper told them all about the date on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

  “What a dick,” Simone said when Piper was finished.

  “You’re telling me,” she agreed.

  “Do you have any other dates lined up?” Kayla asked.

  Piper shook her head. “No. I was already feeling guilty about going on a date. Part of me feels like I’m trying to replace Jordan. This past weekend didn’t help. I think I need to wait a bit before I try dating again.”

  Simone grabbed Piper’s hand. “I’m sorry.”

  Piper smiled. “Thanks.”

  “So, why do you want to go out this weekend?”

  “I need to get laid.”

  Piper’s three friends stared at her with mouths opened.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I miss sex.”

  “Hey,” Lainey said, “I’m not judging. I’m just in shock, is all.”

  “I’m kind of surprised, too,” Piper admitted. “I thought I was pretty much asexual now that Jordan’s gone, but nope. My libido’s back, and she’s ready to party.”

  “Is this why you’ve been going on dates?” Simone asked.

  “Yes. But, since that’s not working for me, I figured I’d go another route.”

  “Have you ever had a one-nighter before?” Kayla asked.

  “Years ago, yes.”

  “What about Nate?” Lainey asked.

  “Nate? What about him?”

  “Why don’t you sleep with him?”

  Piper was baffled. “I can’t do that.”

  “Why not?” Lainey asked.

  “Because…I just can’t.”

  He was her friend. Besides, he had never given any indication he was interested in her sexually.

  “That’s a shame,” Lainey said. “He seems to know what he’s doing in the bedroom. If anyone should end your sexual hiatus, it should be him.”

  Piper laughed uncomfortably. “I don’t think Nate would agree. He gets plenty. He doesn’t need me. Plus, it would ruin his whole non-relationship thing he has going with his sexual partners because we’re friends.”

  Lainey raised her eyebrows. “If you say so.”

  “What about Ty?” Kayla asked. “He sure seemed like he might be interested in you.”

  Simone cleared her throat. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  “Why?” Lainey asked as the three of them looked at Simone. Lainey gasped. “You had sex with him.”

  Simone turned red.

  “How? When? You drove me home the night we went to see the band.”

  “I took my sister to the same bar on Saturday, and Ty was there again, too.” She smiled coyly. “One thing led to another, and I went home with him.”

  “You bitch. You kept this from me all week,” Lainey said. Her words were harsh, but she was smiling.

  Simone shrugged.

  Lainey leaned forward and whispered, “Was it good?”

  Simone picked up her drink and took a sip.

  “It was good,” Lainey told Kayla and Piper. “She’s just trying not to kiss and tell.”

  Piper was happy for Simone now, too, but again, she felt a little jealous. It seemed everyone was hooking up with someone.

  Piper and the other three returned to work after making plans for Friday. She was excited and nervous at the same time. She hadn’t gone out dancing in years. No matter what happened man-wise, she was sure she’d have fun with the girls.

  What Piper hadn’t told her friends was that, besides missing sex, she was kind of lonely. Yes, she had realized that she wasn’t ready to date, and she couldn’t imagine someone taking Jordan’s place, but she still missed the physical closeness of being with a man.

  Sure, she fell asleep on Nate’s chest sometimes when they were watching television on the couch, but it wasn’t the same as being close to someone after having sex. Maybe she was inviting trouble by sleeping with a stranger when she was lonely, and she would actually feel a little bad for using someone for that reason.

  Although she wouldn’t feel too guilty. There were plenty of men who wanted to have one-night stands who wouldn’t be the least bit mad about being used and who would use her in return.

  She just needed to find a guy like that on Friday.

  “Do you want another drink?” Lainey shouted in Piper’s ear.

  The nightclub was packed, and the music blared on the dance floor.

  She nodded yes. “I’ll go with you,” she yelled back.

  Before following Lainey to the nearest bar, Piper looked for Simone. Her friend was still dancing with a guy she’d met at the club earlier. When Simone looked her way, Piper pointed to the bar to let her know where she and Lainey were going. Simone nodded and turned her attention back to her dance partner.

  Piper hurried to catch up to Lainey, and the two took seats at the bar. The bartender took their orders, made their drinks, and moved on to the next customer.

  “Are you having fun?” Lainey asked. It was a little quieter where they sat and therefore easier to hear each other.

  “Yes. I haven’t had a night out like this in a couple of years at least,” Piper answered. “What about you?”

  “Hell yeah. I’m so glad you had the idea to come out this weekend. I didn’t know you were such a good dancer.”

  Piper blushed at the compliment. “Thanks. I think it was how I burned off all my empty alcohol calories in college.”

  “Same here.” Lainey picked up her glass. “Cheers to us.”

  Piper laughed and knocked her drink against her friend’s.

  “So, talked to any cute guys yet?” Lainey asked.

  Piper shrugged. “A few. None worth taking home though.”

  Lainey smiled coyly. “Well, don’t look now, but there are two cute guys headed this way.”

  Piper slowly swiveled her seat around and reached for a napkin, just as two guys stopped next to her. One had dark hair and dark eyes, wearing jeans and a casual blue button-down shirt, and the other was a dark blond with lighter eyes, wearing jeans and a black henley. Lainey was right; they were both cute.

  Piper looked over at her friend and fanned her face to let her know she felt the same way.

  Lainey laughed as the two men looked at them, which made Piper laugh, too, a
nd then Lainey laughed harder.

  “What’s so funny?” Dark Hair asked.

  Shit. Piper didn’t want them to think they were laughing at them. She scrambled to come up with something.

  “Something that happened at work. We’d share it with you, but trust us, it’s one of those stories that loses all humor once you say it out loud,” Lainey told them.

  Nice save, Lainey.

  “That’s good. For a minute there, we thought you were laughing at us,” Blond Man said.

  Piper shook her head and tried to look extra innocent. “Never.”

  Both guys laughed.

  “I’m Bren,” Dark Hair said. “And this is Travis.”

  Piper held out her hand. “I’m Piper. This is Lainey.”

  Both men shook their hands.

  “What are you ladies doing tonight?” Travis asked.

  “Having a girls’ night,” Lainey answered.

  “Aw. Leave the men at home while you ladies party?” Travis said.

  “Nah. No men to leave at home,” Piper said with a smile while meeting Travis’s eyes. She hoped he picked up on her message that they were single.

  He raised his eyebrows. “Good to know.”

  Bren looked in both directions at the two bartenders. “What does a guy have to do to get a drink around here?”

  The two male bartenders had been neglecting Bren and Travis in favor of serving the women who had walked up to the bar.

  “It helps to have tits,” Piper told them. And, since she came with a full package of them, she stood up from her seat and partway leaned over the bar. That evening, she’d chosen to wear a little white dress with a low-cut front, giving her plenty of cleavage to flaunt.

  One of the bartenders noticed Piper and headed right for her. “What can I get you?”

  Piper looked at the men.

  “Whiskey sour,” Travis said.

  “Beer,” Bren said.

  She smiled at the bartender. “Whiskey sour and a beer, please.”

  She sat back down as Travis’s and Bren’s drinks were made, and the two men paid.

  Lainey pulled Piper close. “I call dibs on Bren,” she whispered.

  “Deal,” Piper whispered back. She’d already set her sights on Travis anyway.

  After the bartender walked away, Lainey asked, “Do you two gentlemen dance?”