Release Me

hills above Studio City, then hit the showers, get dressed up, and do dinner and drinks in some trendy Los Angeles hot spot. After all, I’m still new in town. Los Angeles and I are still in the honeymoon phase.
    I’m not overtly planning on telling her the details of my day, but I know that after a few glasses of wine I’ll probably reveal all. The thought cheers me, actually. I’ve had my few hours to brood. Now I want to dish with my best friend and let her remind me that as screwed up as I might be, I’m not the biggest head case in the world. That’s Jamie’s special talent. No matter how many knots I twist myself into, she’s the one who can unravel me. She and Ollie. I suppose that’s why they’re my best friends.
    I circle the building, then take the stairs two at a time to 3G, our unit.
    The door’s unlocked, and I throw it open and stomp inside.“Dammit, Jamie, why not just post a sign on the door inviting every whack job in the city to waltz right in and—
oh
.”
    She’s home, all right. Sitting on the couch, the television blaring out an old episode of
Jeopardy!
And sitting right next to her is Damien Stark.
    At least he was sitting when I first burst through the door. Now he’s standing and moving toward me. Jamie shifts position, pulling her feet up onto the couch and raising herself up so that I can’t help but see her face over Damien’s approaching form.
    OMG
, she mouths.
He is so fucking hot
.
    Yes, he is.
    He’s still wearing jeans, but the sport coat and button-down shirt are gone, replaced with a simple white T-shirt that accentuates his broad shoulders and strong, tanned arms. I imagine those arms holding a racquet. Then I imagine them holding me.
    Then I clear my throat.
    Damien grins, and although I know he’s barely thirty, this is the first time he’s looked so young. Almost boyish, like a guy you’d hold hands with as you walk across a college campus. I catch the scent of him as he comes closer. A musky cologne. Or maybe that’s just the man. I’m not sure. All I know for certain is that I’m desperately aware of him. Desperately aware of my own body. His scent, apparently, works on me like pheromones.
    “You’re here,” I say stupidly.
    “I’m here,” he says.
    “Right.” I look around the condo that has become so familiar to me over the last few days. Right then, it looks like alien territory. I set my bag down on the ground, then ease myself off to the galley-style kitchen. With the wall separating the kitchen from the living room, I’ll have a moment of privacy to gather myself.
    Except he follows me, then leans up against the refrigerator. I turn away from him toward the sink, but I can feel his eyes on me as I grab a glass from the dish drainer and fill it with water.“So, how come you’re here?” I ask brightly, then chug the whole thing down. Only after I’ve refilled the glass do I turn to look directly at Damien.
    His eyes are locked onto me, holding me in place. “I wanted to see you,” he says. From his expression, though, I know what he’s really saying:
I wanted to see if you’re okay
.
    I smile, understanding that his discretion means he hasn’t told Jamie what happened. “I’m good,” I say. “I went shopping.”
    “And what woman wouldn’t be good after that?”
    I raise my brows. “Stereotypical, much?”
    He chuckles. “If the shoe fits, Ms. Fairchild.”
    “Mmm.” I try to fight my grin, but lose the battle.
    Jamie sidles in from the living room, a vicious grin on her face. Her eyes dart between the two of us. She’s in pajama bottoms and a cheap white tank top covered with paint. “I am so freaking late,” she says. “I have totally got to run.” She practically sprints for the door. “You two be good.”
    “Jamie! What the hell?” I make a motion with my hand that vaguely indicates her outfit.
    “I’m just going next door,” she says.
    “Douglas?” I hear my voice rise. She is
not
going over there again. Especially since I know the only reason she’s popping over to Mr. Mark On Her Bedpost is because our apartment is now too crowded by one.
    “Just a friendly chat,” she says. “Cross my heart,” she adds, then makes the appropriate motions. Like that’s going to make a difference. But she yanks open the door and slips out before I can stop her, and I blurt out a curse contemporaneously with the sound of the door slamming shut.
    “We don’t like Douglas?” Damien asks.
    “Douglas is bad for