The Heart System

Chapter 794: Chapter 794

For a moment, she looked at me with a confused expression. Then her eyes widened slightly as she recognized me.

”Oh, it’s you,” she said, giving me a small smile. ”Hey.”

”Hey,” I replied with a faint smile. ”Been a minute, huh?”

”Yeah. You asked me about some weird stuff before. I thought something had happened to you.” She said.

”Ah, I’m fine.” I cleared my throat. ”How about you? Everything okay at home? Husband and stuff?”

”I’m not married.” She said, sounding a little defensive. ”Why would you ask that?”

”Just trying to make conversation.” I shrugged. ”You know how it is.”

”Are you going to ask me something dangerous again?”

”Nope.” I shook my head. ”I just wanted to talk.”

”The woman you were with,” she said. ”I didn’t tell anyone about it, if you’re wondering.”

Oh, fuck. Right. She had seen Carrie and me in the car doing some rather questionable stuff. I was glad she had kept her mouth shut, though, because my poor body could not handle another scandal. I had enough problems without adding another one to the list.

”I, uh...” I exhaled and rubbed the back of my neck. ”Okay, I’m going to be blunt, alright?”

”Sure?”

”I saw some bruises on your body.” I said. ”I was wondering if you were okay.”

”Bruises?” She frowned. ”What bruises? Oh, those.”

She turned slightly and pulled the strap of her dress down enough to show me the mark again. It was the same circular bruise I had noticed before, and now that I was looking at it more closely, I still could not tell what had caused it. My mind had immediately gone to the worst possibility, and I had been wondering what kind of messed-up relationship she might have been dealing with.

”Cupping therapy.” She said. ”You know about it?”

”Oh, yeah.” I nodded, looking at the bruise. ”The little cups that create suction against your skin and leave marks like that, right?”

”Yep.”

”But your eye had a purple mark too,” I said.

”When was that?” She shrugged, fixing her dress.

”When I asked you for information about Jack. There were two other customers there, remember?”

”Oooh.” She laughed. ”I thought I did a good job with my makeup.”

She touched the side of her face while continuing.

”Cupping therapy really took a lot out of me that day. I was already worn out, and then the door hit me in the face. It sounds like one of those cliche excuses, but it literally happened. The door hit me right in the face. How did you even notice it through the makeup?”

”I just did.” I smiled. ”I thought your husband was, you know...”

”My husband?” She shook her head. ”I broke up with him a long time ago.”

She smiled and gave me a playful look.

”Aren’t you a cutie, worrying about an old woman like me?”

══════════════════

WOMEN - INTERACTIONS

──────────────────

Jasmine: Interest: 40 / 60

Kayla: Interest: 38 / 40

Tessa: Interest: 40 / 60

Kim: Interest: 100 / 100

Delilah: Interest: 100 / 100

Cora: Interest: 100 / 100

Mendy: Interest: 24 / 40

Nala: Interest: 100 / 100

Penelope: Interest: 25 / 40

Minne: Interest: 38 / 40

Ivy: Interest: 65 / 80

Eleanor: Interest: 25 / 40

Amelia: Interest: 14 / 20

Esme: Interest: 72 / 80

Carrie: Interest: 4 / 20

Layla: Interest: 10 / 20

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Oh, ten interest points from her? Nice. I wasn’t expecting that, but it was a good welcome. More importantly, I was glad the worst possibility I had imagined wasn’t happening. Cupping therapy left marks like that? I had never really paid attention to it before. Since she was pregnant, maybe she was simply trying to take care of herself and deal with whatever discomfort she was experiencing.

”Wow, look at me. White knight in shining armor.” I chuckled. ”Sorry to bother you.”

”No, no. It’s fine. It’s actually nice knowing someone cares about me, especially someone who buys sex toys from my shop.” She smiled. ”Don’t expect any discounts, though.”

”Nope.” I put both hands up. ”Wouldn’t dream of it.”

”Good.”

”But,” I added, ”if you ever want to drink your coffee with some good company next time, maybe you can find someone else to join you.”

”Someone?” She gave me a knowing smile. ”Who might that be?”

”I don’t know.”

She pulled out her phone and opened something on the screen. I leaned forward slightly and realized she was showing me her email address. So she still didn’t trust me enough to give me her phone number, but apparently an email was acceptable. Hell, at least Instagram would have been more normal. Email felt like something from the nineties.

”Got it.” I nodded, committing the address to memory. ”Also, Layla0069?”

”Layla69 was taken.” She shrugged. ”What was I supposed to do?”

”Fair enough.” I chuckled and took a step back. ”I’ll see you later, then. Maybe tomorrow?”

”Maybe.” She smiled. ”But I might be a little old for you, just saying.”

”You say old, I say mature.” I replied. ”And...”

Before I could finish, she suddenly glanced down at herself.

”Oh, sorry.”

A small, sweet-smelling damp circle had bloomed across the fabric of her dress, right over the heavy swell of her breast where a few drops of rich, white milk had soaked through. With a flush climbing rapidly up her neck, she instinctively pressed a palm against the wet spot, biting her lip.

”It happens constantly lately,” she murmured, her cheeks burning as she looked up through her lashes. ”My milk just leaks whenever I’m sensitive to anything. My body’s completely overflowing right now.”

My gaze dropped to her hand, tracing the helpless curve of her fingers pressed against the milky dampness of her dress, before snapping back to her eyes.

”Don’t worry about it,” I said, my voice dropping a notch, lower than I intended.

I took a step back to give her privacy, though every instinct screamed at me to step closer. She used the moment to adjust her dress, the subtle shifting of her clothes drawing my attention entirely too well to how full, lactating, and sensitive her breasts were.

”So, yeah. See you, Layla,” I muttered, keeping my voice steady despite the sudden tightness in my chest. ”And I’m glad you’re safe.”

A knowing, wicked little smile touched the corners of her mouth. She closed the distance between us, her body radiating a soft, maternal warmth mixed with the faint, sweet scent of milk that made my pulse spike. Instead of just a quick goodbye, she lingered, pressing a slow, deliberate kiss to my cheek, her breath hot against my skin, leaving me painfully aware of every curve pressed against mine.

”Bye,” she whispered against my ear.

”Bye.”

She turned around and walked away, leaving me standing there for a moment. I watched her head down the sidewalk before taking a deep breath and making my way back toward the coffee shop.

When I stepped inside, I returned to the table and sat down.

Jasmine immediately looked at me. ”Hey, where’s the cable? And the power bank?”

”Oh...” I rubbed the back of my head. ”I forgot them.”

Tessa stared at me. ”Dude, what the fuck did you go to the car for?”

”I apparently forgot why I went.”

Nala chuckled and leaned back in her chair. ”Getting old, Mr. Marlowe. You’re getting old.”

I rolled my shoulder and settled back into my seat. ”Yep. Getting older, I guess.”

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