Heels of Love (G Street Chronicles Presents From Love to Loathe Series) by Phoenix Rayne

acting like a wounded puppy, and I hated it. O was out sick at the office, and the temp kept calling me instead of sending all of my calls to my voicemail. Plus, I hadn’t heard from Jyme in over forty-eight hours.
    I drove to Chelle’s on Friday night so I could pack some more of my things. Ayashe was there, and we opened a bottle of wine. Chelle lit a fire since it was a little chilly outside. She served bruschetta and a chocolate cake. We sat on the floor surrounding the coffee table with dinner forks. That cake didn’t have a chance in hell.
    Chelle and her current Boo were on the outs. He lied to her about his whereabouts a few days ago. She said a friend of hers snapped pictures of him at the bar with some slut. Ayashe’s ex was tripping with the child support. She said he was determined to give her exactly what the State demanded him. He told her someone had told him that she goes out every night to the clubs on his dime. So he stopped giving her the extra money he used to. Her ex was slick though; he had four different businesses, but he was only claiming one of them to the authorities. She promised him a long time ago that she would never tell and he agreed to always take care of her. He was now going back on his word and she barely had a leg to stand on. Ayashe said she knew if she told on him now, he would just quit his jobs and then she wouldn’t get a dime from him.
    Then, I had to fill them in on my drama. They looked me over a couple of times, and then they both asked me if I had called him. I thought about it, and then I realized I hadn’t contacted him at all, not one time in the now fifty-two hours we hadn’t spoken to each other. I excused myself and went into the restroom. I dialed the now-saved number in my phone, and it rang once.
    “Cricket?”
    “Hi.”
    “I’m really sorry about the other night. I should have followed, and we should have…” he drifted off.
    “It’s okay.”
    “No, it’s not. It’s my family; they make me crazy. Can I come see you?” he asked.
    “I’m not in Seattle,” I said.
    “Where are you? I can come to you.”
    “I’m in Olympia for the night.”
    “I can come there. I don’t mind the drive,” he pleaded.
    “No, it’s kind of late.”
    “Meet me somewhere, anywhere.”
    “No, not tonight.” I said.
    “Are you getting back at me for the other night?” he asked.
    “No, not at all,” I assured him.
    “Will you come and see me tomorrow at work?”
    “Where is work?”
    “I’m working in the University District tomorrow, right next to that department store you shopped in,” he explained.
    I thought for a minute. He had said that he had business to take care of over there, and he was telling the truth. I thought he was just being facetious. “What time?”
    “Come at twelve.”
    “Alright, I’ll see tomorrow,” I said.
    “I can’t wait to kiss you,” he whispered, and there they were, the tingles.
    Ayashe and Chelle tagged along with me the next day. I insisted on them bringing a change of clothes. Being in Jyme’s presence, there was no telling where we would end up. When we got to the market, we grabbed a map from the information booth. The market was extremely crowded, and we barely made it through. We went down one row, then two rows, and then three rows. We went back to the information booth, and the two women inside asked what we were looking for. I told them Jyme’s name because he had never told me the name of his fishing company. Both of women looked at me and started laughing, asking if we had ever been there before.
    “Keep walking down this street, and trust me you can’t miss them,” the older woman said.
    We walked and walked and then walked some more until we could see a crowd of people at the end of the street. We pushed our way through, and then we could hear music and some sort of chanting. All of a sudden, there was flying fish. Fish were tossed and thrown into the air, and the crowd went berserk. We finally made