Ashley
NOW THAT I’VE filled Grandpa James’s dance card, I return to my new mission: Operation Seduce Julian. When I reach my target, I take his hand. “You want to kiss me, huh?”
He drops his gaze to my lips, his eyes flickering with undisguised interest and palpable heat. “Kissing is only one of many, many things I’d like to do with you.”
“Kisses, caresses, and orgasms, oh my.”
“Exactly.” With a lazy smile that matches my own, he threads his fingers through mine and pulls me close, folding me into his strong embrace. Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” plays through the floor speakers found at each corner of the tent, and I melt against Julian’s body, letting him control the way we move to the music. I brush my cheek against his hair-roughened jaw, which leads my brain to imagine other kinds of friction I’d like to generate with him.
“Lydia found out,” I whisper.
“Yeah.”
“And you swooped in to protect my honor. You didn’t have to, but since you did, remind me to thank you later.”
He draws back, affection in his gaze. “Will do.”
We’re inseparable throughout the reception, even feeding each other a piece of the wedding cake. Yes, we’re that couple, and if I weren’t one half of it, I’d gag at the cutesiness of it all.
After two hours of celebrating, Carter and Tori try to make their escape, but after saying good-bye to Julian’s parents, Julian and I ambush the bride and groom at the cottage. Carter’s on the phone in the common room, so Julian veers in that direction while I head to their bedroom in search of my new sister-in-law. The sooner everyone’s gone, the sooner Julian and I will be alone.
“Hey, lady,” I say as I walk through the door. “Can we do anything to help?”
Tori sticks her head out of the bathroom. “I’m going to change. Can you make sure I didn’t leave anything on the floor or in a corner? My mother’s going to send the rest of my stuff to LA.”
“Sure.” I drop to my knees and peer under the bed, not finding any missed items. Then I scan the room and spot a row of condoms on the nightstand. I raise them in the air. “Will you need these?”
She pokes her head out again and pouts. “Unfortunately, yes. I’m not taking well to my latest birth control prescription. They’ll have to do until I can visit my doctor.”
I give her a dubious look, pointing at the four packets. “Is this enough?”
“Hell no,” she says on a laugh. “The industrial-sized package is already in my suitcase.” After slipping on her dress, she emerges with a sly smile. “But you should take those. I have a feeling you’ll need them.”
I lift an eyebrow and give her a playful grin in return. “I have a feeling you’re right.”
Eva barrels through the door, huffing as though she’s just sprinted in a hundred-meter race. “Oh, good, you’re still here.” She leans against the wall and catches her breath. “Hang on. I have something for you.”
She rushes back out, and Tori and I shrug at each other.
When she returns, she’s holding a small package. “Close the door.”
Tori shakes her head. “The words Eva and close the door worry me.”
Eva jumps on the bed and throws her head back in mock frustration. “Just do as I say, woman. For once.”
I close the door, and Tori hops on the bed. Deciding this is too weird a conversation for me to fully invest in without knowing more, I approach them warily and sit on the edge.
Eva places a hand on my thigh. “Pretend he’s not your brother. It’ll help.” Then she leans forward and removes a few items from the box, placing them down gently as though they’re precious artifacts. She lifts a piece of fabric first. “Panties that’ll drive him wild.”
Tori raises a brow and looks at her askance. “That’s butt floss.”
“No, they’re crotchless panties.” She sticks her finger in the hole. “Easy access.”
Tori snorts. “You mean an embarrassing accident waiting to happen. Next.”
Eva holds up a small pink bottle. “Strawberry-scented massage oil. Creates a warming sensation. Safe for his dick.”
Tori grabs it. “I’m pretty sure he’d object to any heat-producing elements near his junk, but I could make use of this elsewhere. What else?”
Oh. My. God. I know what that is.
She dangles a butt plug in the air. But it’s not any ol’ butt plug. It has a rainbow tail.
“I’ll never think of My Little Pony in the same way again,” I observe.
Tori puts a hand in front of her and closes her eyes. “No. Look, I’m not judging anyone’s kinks, but we’re not introducing unicorns into our sex life.”
Eva pouts. “Okay, fine. But this you’re going to love.” She turns around and pulls out another item from the box, which as far as I can tell looks like a telephone headset. “An oral sex light.” She reads the package: “Don’t go down without it.” Then she acts out “4 U Both” like she’s Prince in his “I Would Die 4 U” video.
Tori and I blink at each other and fall over in laughter.
“Yes,” Tori says as she wipes her eyes, “because I want to look like a miner as I go down on him.”
“Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it’s off to suck I go,” I say in a singsong voice.
Eva cackles. “It’s official, Ashley. You’re one of us now.”
Carter knocks on the door, and we scramble to stuff the sexcapade items in the suitcase.
When Tori opens the door, Eva and I are sitting demurely on the bed, our hands folded on our laps.
Carter peeks in. “I don’t even want to know.” Then he looks at his wife. “We need to leave soon.”
“I’ll be out in a minute. I just have to get some plugs.”
Eva barks out a laugh, and I throw up my hand to cover my mouth.
“For my ears,” Tori explains. “Ear plugs for the plane.”
He looks at her skeptically and says, “Riiiiiight.”
When he leaves, we fall on the bed again, snickering and tearing up at the ridiculousness of it all until Lydia knocks on the door and sticks her head inside. Oof. She’s the last person I want to see, but I’m going to do my best to be mature about it.
We all straighten and stare at her.
“Hey,” she says with a weak wave. “We’re heading out, so I just wanted to say bye.”
As I take in her guarded expression, I’m struck by how small she seems. For years, I thought of her as this larger-than-life person who’d been responsible for my adolescent torment. But she’s just Lydia. And I understand now that she treated me like shit to mask her own insecurities. It doesn’t excuse her behavior, though. I mean, I’ve never met a single person who isn’t insecure about something, and not all of us lash out at others to compensate for it. No, Lydia needs to own up to her mistakes, and I don’t imagine she’ll be doing that anytime soon.
“Bye, Lydia. I guess I’ll see you at the next family gathering.”
She nods. “Yeah.”
“Thanks for coming,” Tori says diplomatically.
Lydia gives her a stiff smile and shuffles out the door.
When she’s gone, Tori rises from the bed and claps her hands. “Okay, I’ve got to go. Aruba awaits.”
Before she zips up her suitcase, I reach in and grab the butt plug. “If you’re not going to use this—”
But she snatches it away and tosses it on top of her clothes. “No. It’s mine. Get your own.”
Eva and I fall over each other in a heap, guffawing until Tori scrambles inside the bathroom and slams the door shut.
Well, then.
Ten minutes later, after saying good-bye to everyone, I return to the bedroom I’ve been sharing with Julian, the short stack of condoms tucked away in my clutch like a tantalizing promise of what’s to come.
He looks up from his phone. “Everyone gone?”
I give him a suggestive wink. “They are. When are you due to head back?”
“My flight leaves at five. You?”
“Heading out in the morning.” I pout at him. “If you leave tonight, I’ll be all by myself here.” Shrugging as if it’s no big deal, I cross the room, reach into my suitcase, and pull out a black lace bra and panty set. He watches me inspect the undergarments, and I pretend not to notice. “I guess I could go back to the house and hang out with my parents.”
He drops his phone on the bed and strides toward me, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “No need. I’ll be missing my flight.”
Excellent. Batter, batter, batter, schwing.