As I finish putting out the snacks on our coffee table, I decide I have to ask.

“Do you think she’s ready for this?”

Jenna gets a mischievous smile on her face and winks. “Too bad if she’s not. Clem’s been holed up for weeks, and it’s time to live a little.” Then she leans closer to me. “This is why she loves me. I push her. Trust me. She needs pushing.”

“You know her better than I do, but if she knocks you over the head with a dildo, I’m out of here.”

Jenna laughs. “She’s going to have a great time. Besides, Gavin will thank us for keeping his girl fully stocked.”

I can admit that Clem might need a little pick-me-up, but I’m not sure this is the way to go about it. The coffee table is littered in neon-colored phallic objects. The vendor has spread out an assortment of toys that looks like candy-flavored sin. I’m pretty sure Clem is going to have a heart attack when she sees this.

The last several weeks have been a whirlwind of bizarro drama.

Clem’s dirtbag professor who stalked her a few years ago was at it again. Fortunately, the asshole is behind bars now. She’s even worked out things with Daren, who looks at her like she walks on water. It’s funny to see Clem with her little entourage of hot guys. Between Gavin, Daren and Jax, she’s the envy of every girl on campus, not that she’s the kind of person to care about things like that.

Of course, this means I see Jax constantly. Now that he and his sister have worked through their issues, I swear he’s always over here hanging out.

We continue to have painfully awkward conversations that generally end with me ducking into my room. It would be so much easier if I could disconnect from my attraction to him, but my body wants him the way a diabetic lusts for fudge. I swear his pheromones must be super charged because if he’s in the room, my follicles stand on end like he’s magnetized.

I know Clem appreciates that she’s close with her brother again, but it makes it pretty damn hard to forget about him.

It’s sweet to watch them together. They’re always giving each other shit, but they never push too far. It makes me ache to see my mom.

I’m lost in thoughts about Chicago when a gasp makes me turn my head.

“What the fuck is this?” The horror on Clem’s face makes me laugh.

“You’re early!” Jenna pulls her through the front door. “We’re having a sex toy party. Girls only of course. And Travis.” She winks at me. “People are getting here in about twenty minutes.” Jenna turns Clem toward her bedroom and sends her off to change with a pat on the ass.

“You can get her to do anything,” I muse. “You’re the Clementine whisperer.”

Jenna snorts as she reaches for her phone. “I have to get her in the right frame of mind. Time for a few rounds of Out-Skank.”

Out-Skank is Jenna’s sexting game. The winner usually gets a free dinner or a drink the next time we go out. I’m guessing tonight’s winner will get something from the coffee table of sin.

She shows me the text she sends Clem: “I want to rub your nub, baby.”

A minute later, I hear laughter coming from Clem’s room. She writes back: “I want to waggle your man meat.”

Jenna and I giggle, and she hands me her phone to respond. I write, “Waggle me in your hot muff and tell me some slut smut.”

We erupt in laughter, and Clem walks out ready to join the party. For the first time since I met her this fall, she’s all smiles and laughter. Wow. Clementine actually giggles. I didn’t know she was capable of making that sound.

When the party gets started, I can’t help but blush when Denise, the sex toy consultant, demonstrates how to use the various instruments. One rotates, another vibrates and whirrs, the purple one strokes one spot and the pink one gyrates the other. For the life of me, I had no clue that women had so many erogenous zones to manipulate.

I pick up a small jar of Nipple Nibbler balm.

“That’s one of my biggest sellers,” Denise says, pointing to the item in my hand. “It plumps the nipple and makes it tingle with a lovely warming agent. It tastes like cinnamon and doubles as a fabulous lip gloss that makes your lips look fuller.”

Jenna practically knocks me over reaching for it. “I want one! Ryan is going to love this. Does it come in a jumbo container?”

All the girls laugh. Jenna and Ryan’s sex life is legendary. I’ve accidentally walked in on them twice. Both times I was pretty sure their positions were threatening the laws of gravity.

Travis leans over Jenna and grabs the container and twists open the lid so he can take a whiff.

“Hmm. Yummy.” He cocks an eyebrow. “So, uh, can this stuff nibble other stuff? Like, if it ends up on my junk, it won’t hurt my Balzac or anything, right?” Leave it to Travis to refer to his man parts by referencing a French author.

I have to hand it to Denise. She doesn’t blush at his question, instead kneeling in front of Travis to assure him that this is an all-purpose balm.

Fortunately, the orders are done privately in one of the bedrooms. I decide to splurge on a purple vibrator and a pink rabbit thingy that stimulates the nubbin. In the gift bag, I also get a complimentary Nipple Nibbler balm and a little ring made of this green stretchy plastic that reminds me of a giant gummy bear.

When I’m done ordering, I walk back into the living room and grab a seat next to Jenna. I pull out the green ring and lean over to her, whispering, “What’s this for?”

“Omigod! How cute! A cock ring. What a great stocking stuffer!”

I look at Clem. She looks at me. And while we both turn deep shades of crimson, everyone laughs.