“How did it happen?”, she thought, resting her head on the steering wheel and finding herself crying in silence.

“Why am I crying? Who am I crying for?”, she thought, and took a sniff, and tried hard to breathe regularly, and tried even harder to calm down. She was still wearing that very expensive red dress that smelled like Shane. Into her mind, before her eyes, Shane was still kissing her. Carmen was alone into her car and yet Shane was everywhere, her lips and her hands were everywhere, her moans and whispers were into Carmen’s ears, her tongue was teasing, her fingers…

“Stop it!”, she hissed to herself, squeezing her eyes shut.

And then:

“Goddamnit, Carmen…”, in a desperate, painful moan, “…You’re not like that. You’re not trying to get even with Mel. You’re so not doing that. Shane is a client, Shane is nothing more than a client and you are not aroused by your client. You are so not doing that. Goddamnit, Carmen, you’re not even thinking to do something like that”.

She inhaled, exhaled, inhaled, exhaled, several times, until she felt she was regaining her composure and control.

She grabbed her phone and dialed Mel’s number. As she heard that familiar ring-ring, she fixed her eyes on the night that was slowly landing over the city.

“Hey, honey”, Mel answered at the phone and Carmen knew that she was smiling.

“Hi”, she replied immediately with a sigh of relief.

“Hey… Are you okay?”.

Now Melissa’s voice sounded concerned.

Carmen rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes.

“Yeah. I’m just exhausted. It’s been a long day”.

“Oh, okay, look, I was wondering if –“.

“Are you at home?”, Carmen interrupted her, and cursed the urgency rising in her voice.

Melissa paused for a few seconds.

“Yeah, what –“.

“I need you, Mel. I want you”.

Carmen opened her eyes but there was no trace of pure desire or happiness in them.

Melissa took in a sharp breath and said nothing.

“My whole body is longing for you”, Carmen added and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Am I betraying myself? Sure. Sure. Am I betraying my partner? No way.

“Where are you?”, Melissa said, and her tone was already aroused.