Inwardly, though, I’m still thinking about how close I came to my first post-divorce sexual encounter—right in an alley. Now, hours alone with Linc? It feels almost guaranteed that the sex is going to happen, which…Yes, please!But also, what if I don’t live up to the hype Linc’s built in his head over the years? Or worse, what if Ido?What if it makes me want more?
Shit.
“Shoot, you could scale him and let him dive into your deep end…” Whit sucks her teeth, clearly still teasing me about the hiking boots and swimsuit.
Exactly.
I roll my eyes, but Priscilla, Tatiana, and Chanel are outright cackling, as if a two-hour road-trip with a man who freely gifts waterfall orgasms on a whim and sexts with those magic fingers isn’t cause to panic.
Lord, that man’s definitely got magic fingers—
PING!
I nearly drop the phone when a text notification drops from the top of my screen because,of course, Linc’s already asking for my coffee order.Perfect. Just perfect.Meanwhile, half my makeup is laid out on the counter and my tote looks like it was packed by an angry two-year-old with a vendetta.
With any luck, the coffee shop will be busy and give me an extra few minutes. There’s always a line on Saturdays, right?
Ugh, whyam I so nervous?I’m a grown-ass woman. If I choose to partake in consensual, mind-blowing sex with a gorgeous, giving man, then that’s what I’m damn well going to do, because I deserve good things.
Pause. Peace. Power.
Our plan is simple: drop off the chandelier and crystals for repair, take a quick hike on the Lake Lanier Trail, maybe,finally, let him lay me down in a sunny field of flowers, then swim at Veterans Memorial Park pool (no way I’m touching that haunted lake). Afterward, we pick up the chandelier, have a quickie in the backseat, and head home. Done.
Shouldn’t be a big deal.
Shouldn’t…
Again, I look at my half-empty tote, frazzled.
Snapping my fingers in front of the camera to focus their attention, I blurt out, “Linc just texted, and he’s on his way. Quick, what else do I need?” But as the words leave my mouth, an intrusive thought nags at me—what if we’re rushing this and I’m playing into Cornelia’s hands? What if this road trip is me handing over the strings, just like the puppet she thinks I am?
“Snacks!” Chanel and Tatiana say at the same time, cutting into my downward spiral, then they start cracking up.
Focus.
“Got you!” I say, pushing all thoughts of Cornelia to the back of my mind and trying to perk up. “Watermelon Sour Patch Kids and Boom Chicka Pop. Check and check!”
“I’ve got a short list,” Priscilla says, because whose ultimate safety-first girl doesn’t? All she thinks about are worst-case scenarios, so naturally, her suggestions include a printed map (in case the GPS goes out), an upbeat playlist full of songs webothlove (music is universal), sharing my locations with them (you never know), SPF 50+ sunscreen (the Veterans Memorial Park pool is outdoors), and, finally, condoms. Because, apparently, now we’re all fixated on what happened with Linc in that alley after the mixer.
“You know, just in case,” she adds, a giddy smile stretched across her face.
The divatantes are living for my hot-girl summer day trip.
Allof us.
I glance at the industrial-sized box of condoms on my bed, the one I bought the day before my first meeting with Leslie, wondering how last night might’ve gone if I’d had one with me. If he said he didn’t care either.
My entire body shivers at the memory of Linc on his knees, his tight grip on my hips, his slick tongue sucking and stroking—
“Ebs?” Whit snaps her fingers, jolting me out of the highlights reel.
“Yup, check!” I’m alert.
But leave it to Whitney to cut straight to the chase. “Yes, all of that, but also, what y’all did on the side of that building…chiiiile, that tells me you need to pack the essentials.”
“Aside from condoms?” I ask.
She flashes me abe seriouslook through the screen before she vaguely says, “The Four Ls,” like somehow that’s clearer. Like this is child’s play, and Ishouldknow these things. Then she huffs out a sigh—you know, humoring me because we’re friends.Noblesse oblige.
