Best Friends' Reckless Cravings

Alex glanced at his watch. Barely noon, and he'd accomplished nothing. Half-finished emails glared from his monitor, reports sat untouched.

Lena’s silence was eating at him like acid.

"Mr. Voss, you have a call on line two." His assistant's voice crackled through the intercom.

"Take a message," he snapped, then immediately regretted his tone. He pressed the button again. "Sorry, Megan. Just take a message."

He checked his phone again. He'd sent three more texts since this morning. Each showed as delivered, none as read. He'd tried calling twice but straight to voicemail both times.

His office door opened without a knock, and Sam Carter strolled in with his usual casual confidence.

"Hey, boss, got a minute? Need to discuss the Morrison account-"

"Do you know how to knock?" Alex cut him off. He never socialized with his employees, but because he had one as his best friend, he allowed her work friends to drop formalities. Right now, Sam was crossing a line. Even Lena knocked before entering.

Sam blinked, surprised. "Sorry, I thought-"

"You thought wrong." Alex stood, straightening papers he hadn't even looked at. "If it's not urgent, it can wait until tomorrow."

"It's just that the deadline—"

"I said tomorrow." His voice rose, and through his office door, he noticed Megan peering in, concern written across her face.

Sam's expression shifted to wariness. "Sure thing. Tomorrow." He backed toward the door. "By the way, you seen Lena today? She was supposed to help with the client presentation, and-"

"Get out!" He growled.

Sam raised his hands in surrender and quickly exited. Alex sank back into his chair, dragging his hands down his face.

At one o'clock, he grabbed his coat.

"Cancel my meetings for the rest of the day," he told Megan on his way out. "Family emergency."

---

Alex drove to Lena's apartment first. Her building was quiet, most residents probably at work. He pressed the buzzer for her unit repeatedly.

No answer.

He tried calling her cell again while standing there.

"Sir, can I help you?" The doorman approached, eyeing him with suspicion.

"I'm here for Lena Martinez. I'm her friend, Alex Voss."

"Ms. Martinez left this morning. She might be gone a few days."

Alex's stomach dropped. "Did she say where?"

The doorman shook his head. "Not my business to ask, sir."

Next, Alex tried Bean & Brew, her favorite coffee shop where she claimed to do her best thinking. The barista recognized him; he'd met Lena here countless times. But she shook her head when he asked.

"Haven't seen her today, Mr. Voss."

He searched the park bench where she sketched when stressed. The bookstore where she browsed for hours. The gym where she boxed out her frustrations. All empty.

By seven PM, Alex was seething. How could she just vanish? He'd left more messages, each progressively less composed. The last one was particularly pathetic:

"Lena, what the hell? Ten years and you can't even text back? What did I do that was so terrible? Call me."

He ended up at The Anchor, a bar not far from his penthouse. Upscale enough to keep the college crowd away, casual enough that he didn't look out of place in his rumpled work clothes.

"Whiskey. Neat," he told the bartender, a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair.

The bartender slid the drink across, and Alex downed it in one go, gesturing for another.

"Rough day?" the bartender asked, pouring the second.

"You could say that." Alex took a smaller sip this time.

Three drinks in, his filter dissolved completely.

"You know what's bullshit?" He was louder than necessary, but who cared? "Friendship. Total bullshit."

The bartender raised an eyebrow but kept wiping glasses.

"Ten years. Ten fucking years I've been there for her. And now what? She's ghosting me because I got a little hard? Is that a crime?" His heart pounded as he ran unsteady fingers through his hair.

"Maybe you should slow down-"

"It's not like I acted on it! I walked away! I did the right thing!" Alex slammed his glass down. "It's not my fault she looked good in those tiny shorts. It's not my fault my body reacted. I'm a man, for Christ's sake!"

A few nearby patrons glanced over. The bartender leaned in, talking lowly. "Sir, I'm going to need you to keep it down."

"Keep it down? Sure. That's what I've been doing for years! Keeping it down. Keeping it friendly. And this is what I get?"

"Last warning before I cut you off."

Alex glared but his rage deflated slightly. "Another," he muttered, pushing his glass forward.

"I think you've had enough."

The voice was pure silk and sin. A woman slid onto the stool beside him. She was stunning, with long black hair and glossy dark eyes that seemed to catalog every detail. Her dress clung to curves that would command any man's attention.

"I haven't even started," Alex replied, though his anger softened a little.

She smiled, placing a hand on his forearm. "Whoever she is, she's not worth this much angst."

"You don't know her."

"No, but I know that look." Her fingers traced small circles on his skin. "The 'someone-got-under-my-skin' look."

Alex should've shaken her off, told her to mind her own business. Instead, he found himself turning toward her. "And what's your professional recommendation, Doctor...?"

"Just call me your fairy godmother for the night." She leaned closer, her perfume enveloping him. It was something exotic and heady. "I recommend a proper distraction."

The bartender set down another whiskey with a warning look.

"What kind of distraction?" Alex asked, taking a sip.

She stood, smoothing her dress. "Something more interesting than drowning your sorrows in mediocre whiskey."

Her hand extended in an invitation. Alex hesitated only briefly before taking it. Maybe he needed this. Something to purge Lena from his system.

They left the bar, but instead of heading toward the street, she tugged him toward a narrow alley.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere special." She glanced back with a smile that promised sinful delights.

The alcohol clouded his judgment just enough to follow without protest. They navigated through the alley, then down a set of stairs he never would have noticed.

"Wait." Alex pulled back as they approached a nondescript door. "If you're looking for a one-night stand-"

She laughed, the sound musical. "Oh, you foolish man." Her tone made it sound like an endearment. "I'm not taking you to bed. I'm taking you somewhere much more interesting."

"Which is?"

"A place for people like you." She ran a finger down his chest. "People looking for something new. A proper distraction."

Alex was tipsy, angry, and following a stranger into what could be dangerous territory. He thought about leaving, but curiosity and the need to forget Lena for just one night overrode his better judgment.

They reached a solid metal door at the end of the alley where a large man in black stood guard, expression hard and unwelcoming. She flashed what looked like a black card with gold trim, then gestured to Alex.

The bouncer nodded and let them pass.

Inside, Alex was struck by the dramatic transformation. A luxurious corridor bathed in warm amber light, air scented faintly with jasmine and something more exotic like his fairy godmother. Music pulsed ahead, low and sensual, not the thumping bass of a typical club, but something that seemed to vibrate through the body itself.

"What is this place?" he asked, taking in the plush carpeting and carved wooden panels.

She smiled and gestured forward. "Why don't you see for yourself?”