Charlie Foxtrot (Book 2 of Love is War Series)

Chapter 15

Swallowing her pill with breakfast at Jim's place a few weeks later had become something of a habit. It was about a month since they'd started dating, and even though many times they fell asleep at his place—or hers, on occasion—they always arrived at the office separately. Once they were done eating and on their way, they stopped off at her apartment to pick up her car so she could drive herself, though she usually stopped off to get coffee on the way. It was for her and Greg, and they took turns, alternating coffee runs weekly.

This week was her turn to get coffee, and she texted him as Jim kissed her cheek and got back into his car. He always made sure that she got to her car safely. In a city—any city—there was always a risk of being mugged, even in broad daylight. It was a crime of convenience.

After going through the drive-thru at Starbucks, she plunked her purse back on the passenger seat and wondered if it wouldn't just make more sense to carpool with Greg. He was only a five-minute drive out of the way, and the long list of dos and don'ts needed for his coffee order was taxing. Half the time, she got strange looks when she got up to the window, and the person would look to see if she had anyone else in the car with her.

Making a mental note to ask Greg about that later as well, she drove off toward the CBC building, which was only a ten-minute drive from her go-to coffeehouse. On her way to work, she thought about the past several weeks. Jim was wonderful, much more caring and attentive than she'd thought he would be. The week after they'd first slept together, she was getting a prescription for a birth control pill while he was at the doctor, getting tested for STDs. She hadn't even known about his testing until he handed the results to her before she looked up at him curiously.

"What is this?" She scanned the paper and the abbreviations she didn't quite understand. "Am I looking at a tax document or what?"

Jim had snorted and pointed at the top of the page. It had LabCorp's name on it and a number of lines underneath it. Still, it was all foreign to her, and Auden shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, I give up. What is it?"

"An STD panel. I got tested, just in case. It's been a few months since I've fucked around with anyone else, though I always wore a condom, but I figured it didn't hurt to get tested and show you. The pill will keep you from getting pregnant, but it doesn't protect you against venereal diseases. Utmost trust is what's needed. Never can be too careful."

She'd appreciated that, and immediately decided to make an appointment afterwards. The result was that they were both clean, and she was on the pill, so sex, though still phenomenal, was improved. At least, they both thought so.

At work, though? They'd almost been caught kissing in filing rooms a number of times, though it was always another clerk that had walked in and not a manager. One time, it was Greg, and he gave them a strange look before grabbing some files and leaving. The doors locked from both the inside and out, but they decided that keeping it strictly professional was necessary. Instead of risking it, they planned more dates during the week. Since Auden didn't know too many people in Tampa, it was easy to clear her meager little schedule, though she always made time to visit Aunt Mary.

Michael, her cousin, had visited a few times since Clay had come back to work after his meetings in Texas. The big boss had gotten the contracts, and was busy most of the time with the next big thing, which was the building of several new big box stores. He was rarely seen, and Jim was usually busy helping as well. Michael had dropped by a couple weeks ago to look at the servers again, and he would usually pop by twice a month, either to just say hi or to help out a little bit.

At the office, Auden dropped her coffee off at her desk before bringing Greg's over to him. He seemed to dealing with some situation, and he frowned down at his computer. She placed it to the side and looked down at the monitor.