“A slut? Hell, no! You’re a goddamned queen! Holy shit, Laura! You’re living every woman’s dream!”
That was not what Laura expected to hear.
Not one bit.
“Huh?” She peeked up at Josie from between her fingers, like taking a glimpse of a scary horror movie. Little Josie was buzzing like a hummingbird, face flushed, upturned nose and pursed lips making her cuter than ever. Laura had hated how Josie was “cute” while Laura was “smart.” Josie was “petite” while Laura was “big boned.” Josie was “pretty” while Laura had “such a pretty face.” Not that it got in the way of their friendship all these years, but the parents, the adults in their life —everything and everyone had to fit neatly into a category. A word. A phrase. And if you didn’t—
You ended up in a threesome with two guys who were still mourning their dead shared girlfriend.
Maybe categories weren’t so bad.
“OK, not every woman’s fantasy, but uh, most of us...” Josie’s voice trailed off and now, to Laura’s surprise, it was her friend’s turn to be embarrassed. “Two hot guys, both after you, wanting you in their bed and in their hearts—and they’re not gay? Huh? So you get two guys’ attention all the time. Who wouldn’t want that? You fucking lucky bitch.” Josie spat out the last word with contempt. Not the kind of contempt Laura was primed to hear, though. This was the sound of jealousy.
“Hold on! HOLD THE FUCK ON! So you have wanted a threesome?” Laura leaned forward. Her turn to wag a finger in someone’s face. To her surprise, it felt good. She saw the appeal.
“Sure. Ever since that one time in college.”
Laura’s eyebrows shot up. “You did? You had one?”
Biting her lower lip, considering her thoughts, Josie cringed. “Yeeeesssss. Once.”
“AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME?”
“I was too ashamed.”
Shame. Was Laura supposed to feel shame right now, after what had happened with Mike and Dylan? She didn’t. And didn’t think she ever would. Shame might have been front and center in her chaotic bundle of twisted emotion with the two men, but it had faded fast. That shame had been less about the pleasure they’d just shared and more about her worry that she was the butt of some cruel joke. Once she had some distance, her wise mind kicked in. What did she have to be ashamed of? She’d done nothing wrong.
Neither had Dylan and Mike. Well, at least, not in terms of the threesome. Behind the scenes was a whole ’nother issue...
Defiance rose up, welling like a geyser, ready to explode. “I’m not ashamed.”
“I never said you should be. Frankly, I’m— impressed. Stunned. Gobsmacked.” Josie chuckled, sitting on the couch and folding her tiny legs under herself, looking like a kitten curled up on the sofa. “You amaze me. Laura, you have found it all. Are they really as hot in real life as they are in those pictures?”
That brought Laura up short, and all she could do was to slump down on the couch across from Josie and blink. Found it all. Dylan, with his swagger and zest for life. Mike, with his quiet contemplation and steady sweetness. The two really did complement each other and when you put them together with her they made—
Everything.
“What about the fact that they ganged up on me? Hid their real relationship with each other from me? I mean, I felt so, so—caught off guard. There I was, naked and in bed with Mike, and oh, hi! Dylan pops in.”
#p#分页标题#e#
“Sounds like the beginning to every other letter in Penthouse Forum. ’dear Penthouse Forum, I was minding my own business trimming my rose bushes in the buff when the mailman and the meter reader just popped in...’”
The pillow wasn’t hard enough to knock Josie down, but Laura threw it anyhow. A brick would have been better. “It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like, Laura?” Josie frowned. “It was voluntary, right?”
Huh? “What do you—oh!” Laura pressed her fingertips to her lips. “Oh, no, no, no, Josie it wasn’t— yes. It was completely voluntary.” Both women exhaled.
“Good.” Josie chuckled. “You had me worried there when you said ‘it’s not like that.’ What did you mean?” She played with the loose tassel on a throw pillow as Laura thought for a moment, pulling her feet under her in a mimic of Josie.
“Uh, I meant that it wasn’t cheap and tawdry, like those Penthouse letters. Dylan shocked me—can you imagine one guy you’re dating walking in on you having sex with someone else?”