the owner.”
Grant nodded and pointed at Rory and Noah. “Do either of you need anything
from the bar?”
Rory smiled and started to answer before Noah cut in. “No—I had already ordered
the three of us another round when you arrived to scare little Miss Muppet here. Our
drinks should be ready. I‟ll go up to the bar with you.”
The two men walked back to the bar while Rory poked Celeste in the arm to get her
attention off of Grant‟s ass. “What are you doing?”
“Ummm…enjoying my evening off with two very handsome gentlemen?”
“See, that‟s funny, because I thought we were here to find your secret admirer. You
seem more interested in trying to see through Grant‟s clothes than in any detective
work.”
Celeste laughed. “You may be right about that. How should I figure out if it‟s
Noah?”
“I thought you had a plan.”
“Nope, no plans. I‟ll wing it.”
Rory looked skeptical. “Whatever else he is, Noah isn‟t stupid. I‟m not sure that
winging it is going to work here.”
“You know, this isn‟t exactly a CIA mission. Eventually I‟ll find out who my
mystery man is—hopefully not before I can get some sexy fun out of him.”
Rory shook her head but declined to say any more as the two men returned to the
table. Grant pulled up a chair, followed quickly by Noah, who ignored Rory‟s frown.
24
Remy Richard
No time like the present. “So, Noah, have you sent any interesting text messages
lately?”
Rory spluttered into her drink, Grant hid a laugh behind his hand and Noah looked
at her like she‟d lost her mind.
He slowly shook his head. “None more interesting than normal, I guess. Why do
you ask?”
Celeste shot him a bright smile. “Oh, ever since I got my phone back I‟ve been
getting some odd messages. I was wondering who sent them. Did you turn my phone
in to the lost and found? We were sitting together when I lost it, after all.”
Noah shook his head again. “Sorry, no. If I had found your phone, I‟d‟ve brought it
back to you. It was probably one of the other regulars.”
Grant spoke up then. “I want to hear more about these text messages. You said they
were odd?”
Celeste felt herself blushing as she cast about for some story. She‟d never intended
to find herself in the hot seat. “Yes, just some random messages. I‟m thinking that
maybe the person who turned in my phone is sending them. It‟s no big deal, I‟d just like
to know who it is.”
“So you can thank them properly,” Rory said with an innocent expression.
“Yes, Rory. Thank you.” It was hard to sound grateful through gritted teeth but
Celeste hoped she was managing it.
Grant reached over and grabbed her phone from where it was sitting next to her.
“Maybe I should read them. It might jog my memory about who turned the phone in.”
“No!” Celeste made a wild grab to get it back and only succeeded in getting her
fingers tangled with Grant‟s around the phone. Her concern and upset must have been
plain on her face because he stopped pulling the phone to him and started to slowly
stroke her fingers with his as he made shushing noises.
“It‟s okay. I won‟t look.”
25
Sexting the Limits
Celeste tried to calm her rapidly beating heart but his touch wasn‟t helping. She
raised her eyes to his and got lost in their inky-dark depths. “Can I have my phone
back, please?”
He released his hold on both the phone and her hand, making her immediately
wish he were touching her again. She struggled for composure. “It‟s no big deal. I‟m
sure I‟ll find out who it is later.”
Grant held her eyes for another few seconds before nodding and turning back to the
conversation already in play between Noah and Rory. They seemed to be bickering
about something, but Celeste couldn‟t seem to rouse herself to help her friend. She had
enough problems of her own. There had been no men in her life to speak of for months
and now she had an anonymous
George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois