After I’d finished packing, I tried to figure out what to wear. I settled on jeans and a snug red strapless top I borrowed from Carly. Not exactly my usual fare, and I definitely didn’t fill it out the way she did, but it was better than my holey gym T-shirts.
I carted my bag into the living room and frowned as I saw the note on the coffee table beside what appeared to be some kind of weird ice cream scoop. Why hadn’t Carly left it in the kitchen where it belonged? She wasn’t the tidiest person, but she usually wasn’t that bad.
The note didn’t clear up my confusion.
This is a present from Kizzy. I love mine. Have a great night with Fox! Xo
And then in much smaller type: Call me if you need anything. No matter what time it is.
I smiled and picked up the I-guess-it’s-not-an-ice-cream-scoop again. What the heck? Almost on accident my thumb bumped a switch on the bottom and the thing buzzed to life with enough force to have me shrieking and dropping it to the carpet.
Oh God. Now I knew what it was.
Waving a hand over my flaming cheeks, I bent to pick up the object after ensuring that yes, I was still alone in the apartment, and no, no one had witnessed my abject humiliation. Thank God Carly hadn’t actually been there. If I’d told her to put her ice cream scoop where it belonged, she would’ve laughed until she cried.
Then again, maybe my mortification was worth her laughing that hard.
I studied the pale pink cylinder with the sorta-scoop on the end. Okay, it was more like a probe, but I’d thought it was facing down. I wasn’t that stupid.
All right, just a little.
Tentatively, I hit the on button again and cycled through the several different speeds before testing them against my inner arm. The scoop part had nubby bumps that whirred pleasantly enough against my skin. I could only imagine how they’d feel other places.
Not that I was sure I was going to even try it. Or if I did, I seriously doubted tonight would be its maiden voyage. I’m sure Tray knew all about sex toys. He’d dated enough women that it was a virtual certainty. I didn’t really relish him laughing at me as I backed away from the thing like it was a two-headed monster.
The apartment door flew open and Carly let out a snorting giggle as she saw me holding my new friend. “Am I interrupting?”
“So not funny.”
She dropped her bag next to the door and plopped down on the coffee table. “It’s sweet, right?”
“Are you really giving me sex toys now? Is that where our relationship is at?”
Sighing, she threw back her head. “So zen Mia’s gone again, huh?”
“No, she’s still sort of here. I’m just trying to figure out if I’m supposed to be putting my foot down about you and sex toys.”
“It’s the safest sex you’ll ever have,” she said soberly.
I couldn’t help cracking up. Oops, bad choice of words. Couldn’t help laughing. “I’m good on that score, but thanks for looking out for me. As for you…”
“As for me, I’m eighteen, remember?”
It was my turn to sigh. “Yes. How could I forget?” I tucked the toy under my thigh and shook my head. “When I left you with Patty, you were still reading comic books and telling me boys were gross. It wasn’t all that long ago.”
“Boys are still gross. But I like sex.” She jerked a shoulder and I laughed again, more out of exasperation than anything else.
She was a smart, mostly level-headed adult. And I wanted her in my life more than I wanted to exert some kind of ineffective control over her choices.
That didn’t stop my eyes from narrowing at the full face of makeup she had going. Purple and green eyeshadow, thick eyeliner. Hell, those might even be false eyelashes. Lipstick, blush, gold dust on her ample cleavage. She was done up to the nines and my nude lip gloss and quick coat of mascara seemed even more inadequate in comparison.
“You going out tonight?” I asked, assuming the obvious.
“Maybe.” She flushed and glanced down at the ripped knees of her jeans. I knew for a fact she’d bought them that way, unlike mine. “Figured I’d hang out with the girls since you and Fox will be fucking merrily in midtown.”
Unshockingly, I flushed. But only a little. I was getting better at this sex stuff, at my own turtle speed. “Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own tonight?”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”