Chemical [se]X by Anthology Page A

she thought about leaving the comfort of the air-conditioned office to venture out into the ninety-six degree sauna of Downtown Manhattan. That thought was horrifying.
    The heat itself was bad enough, but combine that with the scorching asphalt, toss in some stagnant, humid air—still, motionless—and you might as well be wading through a swamp. Downtown Manhattan was not Carly’s favorite place to be in the summer, the tall buildings blocked what little air blew off the East River.
    The heat was not only ridiculously uncomfortable; it also made her lethargic and exceedingly cranky. In fact, just the thought of thinking about what to make for dinner was exhausting.
    Pizza it is…again.
    She took her purse out from the bottom drawer of her desk and reached inside, pulling out her cell. She quickly checked to see if there was a message from Danny letting her know if he was running late or on time, this way she would know what time she should be ready to leave.
    Nothing.
    She felt a wave of guilt thinking about Danny and how horribly she behaved the other day. He had kept her waiting for not even five minutes and she laced into him relentlessly, reading him the riot act for making her wait in the heat.
    Granted it was a day much like today, weather-wise, and she looked like a melted ice pop by the time he met her in front of the entrance to the subway station. In retrospect, she had to admit she did overreact a little…ok, a lot.
    She gave him the evil eye with a healthy dose of ‘cold shoulder’ for the rest of the night. When he tried to smooth things over later by attempting to get something going, she climbed out of their bed, and walked out, book in hand, totally blowing him off.
    Childish, she knew, but the heat did funny things to her.
    “What are you thinking about? You’ve been staring at that cell phone for a good three minutes now, watching some good porn?”
    Carly turned to find Dottie standing next to her desk.
    “Shit, you scared me.” She scoffed. “Give me a break porn…didn’t even hear you sneak up.”
    “I didn’t sneak. You were just somewhere else.”
    “I was thinking about Danny.”
    “That I get, I think about Danny every time I want to get off,” Dottie teased.
    Carly knew it was a joke, but she also knew deep down inside there was some truth to it. Dottie never hid the ‘crush’ she had on her boyfriend.
    Carly let out a giggle.
    “Dottie, you get enough sex for the both of us.”
    “I could never get enough of the both of you.” She laughed. “You tell that man, if he ever gets tired of your ‘tired’ ass, let me know. I’ll put some pep…” She paused when she saw the look on Carly’s face. “What’s wrong, you two have a fight?”
    “Yeah, but it’s not him, it’s me.”
    “That sounds like a line I use…often; only I always blamed them of course.”
    Dottie and Carly were best friends since college. They were so close—inseparable even—they both majored in finance just so they could work together forever. Turns out it was a good decision financially and Dottie was a godsend. She got a great job with the prestigious firm of Morgan Stanley and pulled Carly in the door right behind her, a package deal of sorts. Dottie didn’t really give them a choice, and after reading Carly’s resume they were damned happy they did hire them both.
    “Seriously Dot, it’s me. I haven’t got the energy to do much of anything.”
    “This heat will take it out of you.”
    “You’re telling me. I actually got into it with Danny last night cause I wouldn’t ‘put out’.” Carly put her cell back in her purse, “I told him he’d have to wait until the temperature dips under seventy.” She smiled smugly.
    Dottie laughed.
    “Needless to say, he didn’t think I was funny.”
    “I got something that will change that.”
    “A blow up doll for Danny.”
    “Hell no. I’d do him before I let him anywhere near that cheap shit.”
    “Funny.”
    “Don’t tell me you are