Alex scrambled for a lie, any lie, praying his brain would work faster than his dick.

"Sorry, it's not you. I was texting with Nancy earlier and..." The words tumbled out awkwardly. "It's j-just been a while, you know?"

Lena stepped back, her hands dropping to her sides. Her expression shifted from confusion to something else. Disappointment? Relief? He couldn't tell.

"Right. Nancy." She swept back her edges with her palm, not meeting his eyes. "Tell her I said hi."

The space between them felt loaded with everything unsaid. She knew he was lying. Alex should've left now, but his feet wouldn't move.

"Lock the door behind me," he managed. "And text me when you're settled so I know you're safe."

"Night, Alexi." That smile again. The one that had gotten them through ten years of friendship. She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest in a way that made her breasts push up against the thin fabric of her crop top.

Alex forced himself to look away, nodding as he stepped into the hallway. The door closed behind him, and he heard the lock click into place.

He pressed his palm against the door, her coconut scent still lingering in his senses. He'd fucked up a decade of friendship. Would she lock him out for good?

His phone buzzed. Nancy's face lit up the screen, her blonde hair and sweet smile a glaring reminder of the promises he'd made, of the man he was supposed to be.

Alex turned away from Lena's door, from the temptation behind it, and headed for the elevator. The whole ride down, all he could think about was coconut scent, plump lips, tiny shorts, and how fucked he truly was.

***

The elevator ride up to his penthouse was its own special kind of hell. Thirty floors to get himself under control.

When Alex walked in, the bedroom light was on.

"Where have you been?" Nancy sat up in bed, her silk nightgown sliding off one shoulder. Her blonde hair was perfectly tousled despite the late hour, her eyes narrowed. "You left me for three hours."

"Lena had an emergency." He kicked off his shoes, trying to sound casual. "Someone broke into her place."

"At two in the morning?" Nancy's arms crossed over her chest. "And she called you?"

Alex walked to her side of the bed, his fingers finding the bare skin of her shoulder.

"I know, right? We should get her a boyfriend, someone else she can call for these things." He brushed his lips against Nancy's neck, feeling the tension there.

Nancy's frown didn't budge. "Alex, this isn't the first time she's interrupted us. I'm serious—"

"Or maybe," he murmured, his fingers tracing down her arm, "we should hurry up with the wedding and move to another country. That way she won't interrupt us for emergencies."

He pulled gently at the strap of her nightgown, exposing more skin. "Just us, away from all of this."

Her breath caught as he kissed along her collarbone, his hands sliding the silk lower.

"You'd really leave everything for me?"

"For you," he said, though the words felt hollow even as he spoke them. "So we can focus on us."

Her skin was soft, but all he smelled was coconut. His pulse raced as he fought Lena’s image.

"Ohh… yes..." she moaned, arching as his hand slipped between her legs, circling her wetness.

Alex was already hard. He had been since leaving Lena's apartment, because that sexy body wouldn't leave him alone.

He willed himself to focus on Nancy's skin against the dark sheets.

"So, what city are we doing?" He continued as his pants dropped to the floor. She tried putting his cock in her mouth, but instead, he eased her back against the pillows.

"I want Paris…" she whimpered into his hair while he sucked her nipples.

"Paris is beautiful in spring." He trickled his fingers down her stomach, between her legs and circled it against her entrance once again.

"Paris…" Nancy gasped as one finger thrust in. "Paris... Paris is good."

He added another finger, fucking her slowly. "What about Rome? Or maybe Barcelona?"

Her back arched off the bed, her words broken by small pants. "No... I want... Paris."

She spread her legs wider and he added a third finger, watching her eyes flutter closed. She gripped his shoulders, her hips rising to meet his strokes.

"Baby... please..."

"Turn over," he whispered against her ear, withdrawing his fingers. "Show me how much you want Paris."

Nancy rolled onto her stomach, rising to her hands and knees. He stood to remove the last of his clothes, his cock springing free and leaking at the tip.

That precum was for Lena.

He should be lining his head against Lena's cunt and feeding it his fat cock while watching her ass jiggle against his pelvis... Not Nancy's.

Still, he thrust into her.

"Ahhh... baby..." She pushed back against him, clearly enjoying the fullness of him inside her and ready for more.

He began to ease in and out of her, and while Nancy moaned, his thoughts were somewhere else.

"Maybe I should buy Nancy some shorts like that. Something tight. That should keep me in check from fantasizing about someone I couldn't have."

He moved faster, wanting to finish, to end this betrayal of thoughts. Nancy clutched the sheets, and after a nice spank to her ass, she tensed and cried out. He followed moments later, his release more relief than pleasure.

When it was over, Nancy curled against his chest.

"I love you," she murmured in satisfaction, already drifting off.

"Love you too," he replied.

The sex had done nothing to clear his head. If anything, Alex felt worse—guilty for using Nancy. This wasn't him. He didn't betray people. He didn't lust after his best friend.

He had to fix this. Apologize to Lena for his inappropriate behavior, maybe even confess these thoughts. She'd laugh, make a joke, and they'd move past it. That's what they always did.

"Tomorrow," he decided that night. He'd go to her department first thing, pull her aside, and clear the air.

But when Alex walked onto the marketing floor the next morning—coffee in hand as a peace offering—Lena's cubicle was empty. No sign she'd been there at all.

"Where's Lena?" he asked Nina, who sat at the desk beside hers.

She looked up, surprised to see the CEO on their floor.

"She called HR first thing this morning about needing a personal day."

"A personal day?" In ten years, Lena had never taken an unplanned day off. Not even when she'd had the flu and Alex had practically forced her to go home.

"Yeah, something about her apartment," Nina shrugged. "Security issue, I think."

A shadow crossed Nina's face, and Alex wondered if there was more to Lena's security issue than a break-in. He nodded, trying to hide his concern. This wasn't like her.

Or maybe it was exactly about him. The way he'd gotten hard for his best friend and made her uncomfortable.

Alex pulled out his phone, typing quickly:

'Hey, heard you took the day off. Everything okay?'

He waited, watching the screen. The message showed as delivered, but no response came.

After a minute, he added: 'If you need anything, I'm here.'

Still nothing.

Fuck.

He'd messed up worse than he thought. Lena never ignored his texts, not even when they argued.

Alex pocketed his phone and headed to his office.

She knew.

She'd felt his lie last night. His best friend had sensed his hunger—and now she was gone.

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?”