Page 19 of Flung
Chapter Eight
Colton
Emma was gone when I woke up.
No note, no coffee made, nothing.
I hoped she was okay, that she didn’t regret what had happened. She definitely hadn’t been drunk when I’d taken her to bed; that, at least, was a relief.
I wondered if I would see her again.
I rolled over and grabbed my phone, opening my texts.
Dammit.
I’d just answered my question—I would not be seeing her again at all.
Need you in NJ for the deal. Tickets already bought. Other DJs already booked to cover your sets. Your flight is at noon. See you soon.
Good one, Max.
At least she was efficient.
I got myself ready and left with plenty of time to get to the airport. Soon I was on the plane, making my way toward the other side of my life—business in New Jersey.
* * * * *
A few days later, I laid in my hotel room, alone. I’d ordered room service, turned on the TV, and sat scrolling mindlessly through Instagram on my phone.
I went to the club’s page, starting to look through the pictures.
Our social media coordinator had been working her ass off over spring break. She’d clearly spent hours poring through the pictures that had tagged us, compiling them into sets and tagging the people in the pictures, especially if they were beautiful.
One of the sets looked like it was all redheads.
It occurred to me that Emma’s friend had been a redhead.
I started to swipe through the photos.
Maybe, just maybe, her friend had posted a picture.
Emma hadn’t seemed like the social media type, but from everything she’d said about Marilyn, she definitely was.
The further I swiped, the less hopeful I was. I wasn’t even sure I could remember Marilyn’s face. I just knew she was thin, but still curvy, and had red hair.
And then I saw them.
It wasn’t Marilyn I recognized, but Emma.
The two girls were in a photo together, pink martinis in hand. Marilyn smiled brilliantly, looking straight into the camera.
Emma smiled, too, but she looked tired.
Emma wasn’t tagged, but Marilyn was.
I took a deep breath and sent her a message.
Hey, my name is Colton, aka DJ Pike. I saw your photo on the club’s Instagram and wanted to ask you about your friend Emma? We really hit it off, and I’d love to get back in touch with her. If she’s okay with it, of course.
