That caught me off guard. "How do you know I was going to do that?"
"Because I know you. And it's my duty as your sister to tell you that you deserve to have a good time, with a good man. And Graham seems like a really good man."
"He is." In fact, his attention for me and Milo overwhelmed me a little.
Hailey patted my arm. "Glad we're on the same page. So don't be afraid to let yourself be swept away by him, okay?"
"I'm not afraid... so much anymore. Okay, I am. A bit. Great pep talk."
"Call me whenever you need one." She checked her smartphone. "I've got a call with a client in ten minutes. I should go prepare. See you tonight?"
"Absolutely."
***
When Hailey came over that evening, we chatted until it was almost morning and made plans for a girls’ night out with Val, which we managed to pull off a week later. Graham said he’d love to spend the time after dinner with Milo, and I wasn’t going to lie, I was a little nervous leaving the boys on their own for the first time, but it made sense. Graham came over for dinner, and he was spending the night at my house anyway.
I met my sisters at Hailey’s house. Will was also there, having just dropped off some supplies Hailey needed for light renovations.
“What are you girls up to?” Will asked.
We tried to tone down our we’re-up-to-no-good expressions. We failed.
“Preparing for a girls’ night out,” Val said casually.
Will looked between us. “Should I keep my phone on hand?”
Hailey sighed dramatically. “One time. You came to our rescue one time, and you’ll hold it over our heads forever.”
Will was now sporting a shit-eating grin. “It’s one of the small pleasures in life. The only weapon I have against you.”
“We’ll behave,” I promised, even though we probably wouldn’t. What could I say? We Connor girls liked to have our fun, and we hadn’t had a night out in almost two years, what with Hailey’s constant traveling.
We were absolute knockouts, if I said so myself. I wore a little black dress, and my hair was in an asymmetric braid. I’d tried to let it loose, but I looked as if I’d electrocuted myself. Val rocked a red strapless dress that showed off her legs, and Hailey wore denim shorts and a silk blouse that showed off one shoulder.
Tonight was ours.
We headed to an open-air bar in the Santa Monica area and congratulated ourselves for choosing a weeknight to go out because we easily found seats at a high, round, bar table right next to the waterfront. LA was party central, especially once spring rolled in, but if you knew where to go, you could always find places that weren’t crowded. Since I kept a close eye on venues of all kind, gems like this one didn’t escape my radar. The air was salty, the breeze chilly, and I was out with both of my sisters. After this, I was going home to a god of a man filling my bed. Life couldn’t get better than this.
“I’m buying the drinks tonight,” Hailey announced. “Are we starting with cocktails?”
We perused the menu and decided tonight would be screwdriver night.
While we waited for our order, we all put our phones on silent. It was one of our oldest rules, both for girls’ nights and for Friday dinners: no phones. Otherwise the temptation to check a new message or e-mail was still there. It was hard to disconnect, especially since it seemed to be expected of us to be available almost twelve hours a day, despite working in different fields.
I discovered I had a text message from Graham.
Graham: Can’t wait to sink inside you later tonight. Want to know what else I’ll do to you?
There was a second message too, because he’d apparently interpreted my silence as Yes.
Graham: I’ll spread you wide and lick your clit until you come apart.
This man. Why was he sexting with me when I was out with my sisters? I typed back quickly.
Lori: Turning me on when I’m out in public is just mean. But I’ll get my revenge later tonight. I’m turning my phone on airplane mode now. It’s a girls’ night out rule.
I slipped the phone in my purse, or I wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation of sexting with him.