Chapter 18

My expression hardened as I met Sara’s glare. Christy was watching us, but I didn’t really care. If she wanted to be nosy and judgmental, that was her problem.

Sara cleared her throat to get my attention. “You said you’d leave her alone. Asshole.”

“Can we do this some other time? Seriously. I’m okay with a shouting match,” I added sarcastically, “but I’d really like to get a good night’s sleep first.”

“You think this is funny?”

“No, I think it’s stupid, especially in public.”

“This is my life you’re messing with, you jackass.”

“Yeah? Well, it’s my life too! And you’re not making it any easier.”

Sara noticed the gawkers.

I only cared about one of them, and Christy’s expression was a mixture of disgust and disbelief. I couldn’t do anything about it, so I returned to the fight in front of me.

“Listen,” I said to Sara, “if you want to have an argument, let’s go somewhere semi-private. Then you can call me a lowlife scumbag all you want.”

“You are a lowlife scumbag!”

“Right. Whatever. How’s Presidential Grill?”

“Asshole.”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” I said sardonically. I stepped aside and gestured for her to lead the way.

Sara stalked out, and we walked to the Grill in silence. I bought her a Coke as a peace offering. She gave me an icy stare, but took it anyway. My favorite booth was empty, so we slid into it. Sara glared at me as she stabbed her straw through the Coke’s lid. I didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to realize what she wanted to do to me.

“Whatever,” I said. “Let’s get this over with.”

“You think you’re so smart, don’t you?”

“You know, if I really were smart, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. I’d be on a beach somewhere drinking piña coladas with a beautiful girl. But instead, I get to drink Cokes with you, the spurned lesbian who’s out to get the man who done her wrong.”

“You think this is one big joke, don’t you?”

“No. The problem is, I don’t think it’s a joke. I think it’s my fucked-up life. Yours too. And guess what? Life sucks sometimes.” I massaged my temples and exhaled slowly.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” she said after a moment. “Start making sense.”

I sighed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Give it up, sweetheart.”

“I’m not your sweetheart!”

“I think we established that.”

She returned to her original rant: “Are you going to leave Daphne alone?”

“I wish I could,” I said, and meant it, “but it’s not that easy.”

“Like hell. Just do what you said and leave her alone. Any idiot can manage that. But nooooo, you’re some kind of super-idiot...”

I buried my head in my hands and tuned her out.

“Hey! Are you even listening to me?”

I shook my head. “Keep going, though. Don’t let me stop you.”

“Why? What’s the point? You’re just going to ignore me and do whatever you want. Just like a man!”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I am a man.”

“Oh, I noticed all right! And so did Daphne. But she thinks you’re a good guy! Ha! You sure fooled her. But you’re just a douche-bag like all the rest. You don’t care about her! All you care about is...”

I tuned her out as she worked into another tirade. She was losing steam, though. I didn’t react like she expected, which seemed to throw her off.

“Are you listening?”

“Yeah, yeah,” I lied. “Con artist who thinks with his dick. Just like all the rest.” I flicked my fingers. “Keep going.”

“Well? Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”

I finally raised my head. “What do you want me to say? That I’ll just walk away from her? That I don’t care?”

“You don’t care. Not like I do.”

“This isn’t some kind of contest,” I said, “where the winner gets the girl.”

“It’s not a contest. All I want is for you to stay away from my girlfriend.”

“I really wish it were that easy,” I said earnestly. Then a thought struck me and I snorted a laugh.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’ve done this before. More or less.”

“What? Stick your dick where it doesn’t belong?”

“No, not that.” I refused to rise to the bait. “A three-way relationship.”

“This isn’t a three-way, and it never will be!”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “Men are pigs, we think with our dicks, blah, blah, blah. You said that already.”

“So you were listening?”

“Against my will, I promise.” I held up a hand to cut her off. “I’m really not like that. I’m actually a pretty nice guy. And I care about Daphne. For real.”

She scoffed.

“No wonder you don’t like men,” I muttered. “They can’t stand to be around you.” The shot struck home, and I immediately felt guilty. “Sorry. That was a cheap shot.”

“Yeah, so?”

“I’m sorry for that too.”

Her brow furrowed.

“I’m sorry you’re used to it,” I said.

“What do you know about it?”

“A little,” I said. I remembered Stacy and how she’d been when I first met her. “And I’m sorry men are jerks sometimes, me included.”

“I don’t need your sympathy.”

“Fair enough,” I said, “but that was an apology. On the part of men in general. I’m sorry we’re jerks.”

She stared at me. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

I nodded.

She obviously didn’t know what to make of me, so she fell back on routine. “Are you going to leave Daphne alone?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t. We’re...” I searched for the right word. “Drawn together.” I laughed at the pun.

“What’s so funny?”

“We’re drawn together...?”

She still didn’t get it.

“We met in drawing class?”

“Whatever. Are you going to leave her alone?”

The question hung between us.

“You want the truth?” I asked, and met her glare. “I doubt it. We have this ... connection ... and I can’t explain it. It’s not love, but it’s more than lust.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that Daphne and I are ... connected.” I shrugged. “And you’re stuck in the middle. Or on one side. Daphne’s in the middle, but that’s just semantics. It still doesn’t tell us what we’re going to do.”

“You can fuck off and die.”

I gave her a level stare.

She actually managed to look sheepish, if only a bit. “So it was a long shot,” she said, but then had a sudden thought. “Hey, how come you’re not upset? Any other guy would’ve told me to fuck off or something.”

“First, I’m dead tired,” I said. “Second, I’m trying to work on my temper. Third—and I keep trying to tell you this—I’m not like other guys!” I shook my head in disbelief. “And I am not going to fuck off and die.”

“It would make things easier.”

I banged my head on the table. “Dear God, why do I deserve this?”

“You stuck your dick where it didn’t belong.”

“Please?” I begged the table. “Tell me when it’s over?”

“You did,” Sara said defensively.

I banged my head, and kept on banging it.

“Okay!” she said at last. “Stop.”

I ignored her.

“People are staring,” she whispered urgently. “Stop!”

She was frustrating enough to give Job a headache, so mine was completely understandable, although banging my head on the table didn’t help.

She finally reached out and stopped me. “All right,” she said. “We’ll talk about it.”

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh.

“I don’t want you to see her at all,” Sara said, “but I can’t stop her. So if you want to see her, we do it by my rules. And if you hurt her, I’ll cut your dick off and feed it to you.”

“You know,” I said, “this’d be a lot easier if you’d quit threatening me. You don’t scare me, you know.” I met her eyes to drive the point home. “You’re all bluster.”

“I am not!”

“Whatever. I’m still not scared. And I’m not put off by the bull dyke act either. I mean, I’m not even attracted to you.”

She scoffed.

I answered with a shrug. “Seriously. You’re pretty, and you’ve got a great body, but I like women who actually enjoy ... um ... what I have to offer.”

“Oh? And what’s that?”

“A big dick,” I said bluntly. “And the skill to use it.”

“Yeah, right.”

“What do you care? You don’t like me anyway.”

“And I don’t like you near Daphne, either! You or your supposed horse cock.”

I sighed. “Look, we’ve been through this before and it hasn’t gotten us anywhere.” We stared at each other and I took her silence for agreement. “Now, why don’t we act like adults for a change? You know, no threats? Maybe deal with the real world instead of how we want things to be?”

She sat back and folded her arms under her breasts. The gesture pushed them up, and I automatically glanced at them. She smirked when I met her eyes again.

I shrugged, completely unabashed. “I told you, you’ve got a nice body. You know you do. And if you push ‘em up, I’m gonna look.”

She taunted me with a raised eyebrow, so I gave her breasts a deliberate appraisal. They were round and firm, and filled out her sweater nicely. I wondered what she’d look like without her clothes, but she shattered the fantasy with a contemptuous laugh.

“Just like a man.”

I met her eyes and held them for a moment, but then had a sudden insight. “Why are you so scared of me?”

Her eyes flared before she could clamp down on her reaction.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” I said, thinking quickly. “You’re scared that I’ll actually take Daphne away. Lemme guess, I’m not the first guy she’s done this with. But the others were like Square-jaw. What’s his name? Tony? Yeah, I’ll bet the others were just like him.”

“You’re like him too.”

I ignored her and went on. “They chased after Daphne, but once they caught her, they treated her like dirt, didn’t they? So she eventually dumped them. Or, more likely, she made them dump her. She’s good at that.”

“Good at what?”

“Getting a guy to do what she wants. And she does it without seeming like she’s manipulating them.”

Sara’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Ha! You know that’s what she does.”

“So? You’re all the same anyway.”

“No, I’m different. That’s why you’re scared. You think I might actually keep Daphne.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I snorted, but then softened my expression. “Relax. I like Daphne. A lot. But I don’t love her, and I’m definitely not in love with her. She’s not in love with me, either.”

Sara almost wilted with relief, but then she caught herself.

“Don’t you get it?” I said to her. “She’s in love with you.” I paused and thought about it for a moment. “She’s truly bi, though. She needs a guy every once in a while, but not for emotional comfort. It’s purely physical.”

“That’s how it is with all of you.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it. I said I care about Daphne, and I meant it. I don’t want to see her get hurt, by me or you or anyone else.”

“Then leave her alone.”

I wanted to pull out my hair. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you! I can’t. She can’t.” I paused as I thought of something. “She’s done this before. I mean, you’re not shocked or anything. You’re just scared.”

She glared.

“All right,” I conceded, “pissed off and scared.”

We stared at each other for a long moment, at an impasse.

“You’re totally wrong about everything,” she said at last.

I arched a skeptical eyebrow.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, I do. More or less.” I tilted my head to the side and regarded her. “I haven’t figured out Daphne’s whole story—”

Sara snorted.

“Or yours,” I continued, “but at least I care enough to try. I mean, I could just fuck Daphne and treat her like a doormat. That’s what the other guys did, isn’t it? But I’m not like that. I care enough to be sitting here with you,” I said, “fighting about her.”

“If we were really fighting, you’d be bleeding.”

In a flash, I realized that it was her defense mechanism. Kendall had told me about them, and she should know. Her defense mechanism had been sex. Any time I wanted to talk about our relationship, she seduced me. It had worked, too. For a while, at least.

But I didn’t have a relationship with Sara, and I didn’t want to have sex with her. Well, I did—she was a woman, after all, and very pretty—but I knew it wouldn’t happen. Besides, Daphne was more than willing, and she actually enjoyed it.

“Seriously,” Sara said into the silence, “I’d kick your ass.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” I said simply. “If we ever get into a fight—again, I should say—you’re going to get hurt.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Not really. I don’t like hurting people, especially women.”

“So you think I can’t fight because I’m a woman?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to center myself. She was doing it again, and I didn’t want to rise to her bait.

“I think,” I said slowly, “that fighting isn’t going to help us figure out how to deal with this three-way—”

“That again? You’re crazy if you think we’re going to—”

I laughed in surprise, which caught her off guard. “I was talking about our relationship,” I said patiently, “not sex.”

“We don’t have a relationship.”

“Yes, we do, whether you like it or not. We both care about Daphne, and she needs both of us. So you’d better wrap your pretty little head around the fact that you have to deal with me.”

Maybe for longer than either of us want, I thought grimly. Daphne might be pregnant, but I knew better than to bring it up with Sara. Besides, it wasn’t her problem. It was between Daphne and me, and we’d deal with it if it came up. I didn’t like the idea of an abortion, but it was better than the alternative. I’d marry Daphne if I had to, but—

I was thinking in circles, so I shook it off and focused on Sara.

“You can’t do it at our house,” she said all of a sudden.

“Excuse me?”

“You can’t... fuck her ... at our house.” She made it sound like a dirty word.

My eyebrows rose, but then I considered it. “Fair enough,” I said, which surprised her. “But you have to stop threatening me. This jealous lover thing gets old after a while.”

“Dealing with dickheads gets old after a while.”

I actually laughed, which startled her. “Touché,” I said. “But I’m serious about the threats. I’ll treat you like a grown-up if you do the same.”

“Even if you’re not?”

“Pretend that I am,” I said with a supreme act of will. “I won’t ... have sex ... with Daphne ... at your house, if you won’t terrorize us when she’s with me.”

She bristled at my choice of words, but agreed with a curt nod. Then she countered, “You can’t take her out on dates anymore.”

“Whoa there, hold on. Daphne’s a grown-up. She can decide who she wants to go out with.”

“Okay, but she can’t spend the night with you.”

I closed my eyes and sighed. “You know, we can’t both be in control of Daphne. Hell, neither of us should control her.” My eyes snapped open at a sudden thought.

“What?”

“That’s what she wants!” I thought back to all the times she’d had a real orgasm. I’d been in control every time—forcefully in control.

“What?”

“I just figured something out.”

“Well,” she mocked, “aren’t you smart.”

“She wants someone to be in control,” I said, ignoring the barb. “Seriously, that’s what she wants. That’s why she’s attracted to guys like me.” I glanced at Sara. “And women like you, for that matter. We’re both control freaks. Even guys like Tony, right?”

Sara’s eyes narrowed.

“But guys like Tony are jerks. They treat Daphne like dirt the rest of the time.” My eyes narrowed as I looked at Sara in a new light. “But you and I are different. We give her what she wants, but we actually care about her.”

Sara looked more scared than ever, and I realized I was right.

“Relax,” I said flatly. “I’m not going to steal her away or anything. Besides, I told you, she loves you, not me.”

Sara gave me a wary look, as though I was finally getting through to her.

“We can work out the details,” I added, “or we can wing it for now. You can be top dog if it makes you feel better.”

“Are you calling me a bitch?”

“You are a bitch,” I snapped, “especially when you get all defensive.” She started to bristle, but I plowed over her objections. “I’ve seen glimpses of the real you, though. You’re actually pretty affectionate, and definitely protective. And I hate to admit it, but you seem like an okay person. You obviously don’t trust men, but I guess I can understand that.”

I shrugged and continued, “I think you’re starting to realize that I’m different, and you’re smart enough to see things from Daphne’s perspective. You don’t like what you see, but you love her enough to let her do what she needs. And right now she needs a guy like me. You know it and I know it. Daphne certainly knows it, which is why we’re here in the first place.”

I gave her a shrewd stare. “Daphne could’ve just gone behind your back. You’d’ve never found out.”

Her expression was answer enough.

I nodded. “She manipulated things so you’d find out ... so I’d meet you. Heck, she probably even set things up so you and I would talk tonight! Daphne’s a lot smarter than she lets on.” I gave Sara a level stare. “So are you, when you’re not acting like a raging bull dyke.”

Her eyes hardened, but she didn’t deny it.

“We’ll probably never be friends,” I said, “but that doesn’t mean we have to be enemies. I mean, we’re a lot alike.”

“We’re nothing alike!”

“You don’t think so? Then why did Daphne pick us?”

Her eyes narrowed as she appraised me. She was still wary, but I could see her guard begin to drop.

“If Daphne’s as sharp as I think she is, she knew we’d eventually work something out.”

“You think you’re so smart, don’t you?”

“I know I’m smart,” I said. “You are too, or you wouldn’t be here.” I sat back and contemplated her for a moment.

She sat back as well, and folded her arms. Her breasts pressed together and moved with her breathing.

“They’re very nice,” I said without taking my eyes from hers, “but I’m probably the first guy you’ve ever met who likes your brains more than your boobs.”

She snorted softly, but it sounded more like surprise than contempt.

“Seriously,” I said. “There are lots of nice tits in the world, and I’ve seen more than my fair share, but I haven’t met many women as smart as you.” Well, I had, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Yeah, right. So I’m supposed to believe that you actually respect me?”

“You can believe what you like,” I said, and let my words hang there for a moment, “but actions speak louder than words.”

She gave me a shrewd stare, but didn’t challenge me.

I didn’t know if she meant it as a peace offering or not, but I decided to take it that way. “So what do we do now?” I asked.

“You’re sure you won’t fuck off and die?”

I actually laughed. “No. Sorry.”

She shrugged. “Men never do what I want anyway.”

“And you wouldn’t know what to think if we did.”

“I don’t know what to think now,” she grumbled, but more to herself.

“Do you want to get something to eat?” I asked, and gestured toward the grill.

“We’re not friends.”

“But we’re not enemies either,” I said reasonably.

She gave me a long, level stare, but then looked away. “No, I guess not.”

I was exhausted by the time I got home, so I didn’t feel like doing homework. I felt like falling face-first into bed and staying there for a week, but I was too keyed up to do that either. So I decided to call Leah.

“Oh, my God,” she said, “I’m so glad you called. Are you coming home this weekend?”

“I’m pretty busy here. Why?”

“I need you.” She lowered her voice meaningfully. “You know... need you.”

I had wanted to talk to her about Sara, but my dick immediately had other ideas. Trip and Wren were at a concert, so I pulled the phone into my bedroom and shut the door.

“Why?” I asked. “I mean, what got you so worked up all of a sudden?” Despite my curiosity, I unfastened my pants and freed my growing erection.

“It’s not ‘all of a sudden.’ Kara and Victor left this morning, and I need some attention.”

My eyebrows shot up as I lay back on the bed. “Kara and Victor?”

She huffed. “They were here for a couple of days. He had an interview at Grady Memorial. It’s his residency or something. Mom is totally psyched about having them in town. She’s, like, whatever.”

“You still haven’t talked to her about the doctor thing, have you?”

“Ugh!”

I laughed.

“How do you do that?” she demanded.

“I know you,” I said simply. “And you’re going to have to talk to her sooner or later. You know that, right?”

“It doesn’t have to be sooner,” she said sullenly. “Now, can we get back to the other thing?”

“Maybe,” I said, “but you’ll have to get me back in the mood.” I glanced at my dick, which was doing its impression of a lovesick balloon animal.

“Mmm, how?” Leah purred, which blew a little life into my deflated cock.

“Tell me about Kara and Victor.”

“Hold on a sec.”

I heard her open a drawer and then the soft sound of buzzing. I frowned for a moment but then smiled when I recognized Pinky, her vibrator. The buzzing grew faint and then disappeared altogether.

“Oh,” she said with a soft breath. “That’s better. Now, where was I?”

“Kara and Victor...?”

“Oh yeah! So ... last night Mom wanted to celebrate, and they all got pretty buzzed after dinner. Then she said she wanted to ‘play’ in the hot tub. Victor thought that was a great idea, needless to say. They didn’t exactly invite me,” she continued, “but they didn’t say I couldn’t come, so I tagged along. Anyway, we all got into the tub and Mom started flirting with Victor. You know how she gets when she’s drunk.”

I did, and all too well. She was a fun drunk, although she didn’t take no for an answer.

“I think Dad was a little pissed off,” Leah said, “‘cause he just kept drinking. He gets like that sometimes. I think it’s ‘cause Mom gets to play all the time, but he doesn’t. It’s his own fault,” she said, half-disgusted. “I mean, he won’t touch any of us girls, even though we all want him to.

“Anyway,” she went on, “Mom started going down on Victor, and since Dad has his stupid hang-up, the rest of us could only watch. But then Mom turned around so Victor could screw her from behind.”

This was the usual Coulter fare, but it was still hot.

“I thought she’d go down on Dad,” Leah continued, “but then she totally dropped a bombshell.”

“Yeah?”

“She started playing with Kara instead. And then she went down on her!”

My eyes popped open as the words registered. “But that’s totally—”

“Against the rules,” Leah finished. “That’s what I said.”

I hadn’t been there when the rules had changed, but I knew what had happened. The story I’d heard from Erin and Leah was that a New Year’s game had gotten a little out of hand. Gina and I had been with Kara and Victor at the neighbors’ chalet, but Erin and Leah had been right in the middle of it. Nothing serious had happened, but it had been enough to make our parents change the rules about kids swinging with them.

“Exactly,” Leah said, following my thoughts. “Dad was pretty blitzed, but he snapped out of it when Mom and Kara started kissing. He even worked up the guts to say something when Mom told Kara to sit on the side. Mom just acted like it was nothing. You know how she gets.”

“Yeah.”

“Anyway, when Dad objected, she said it was just oral, that Kara was a grown-up, et cetera. Victor and Kara were totally cool with it. I mean, all us girls have pretty much had crushes on Mom as much as Dad since we figured out what sex was all about. And I’m sure Kara told Victor about it, which was why he wasn’t shocked or anything.”

“Yeah, but what did your dad do?”

“He didn’t really have a chance. I mean, it happened in a heartbeat.”

“What did you do?”

Much to my surprise, she laughed. “I figured if we were throwing the rules out the window, I was gonna make it with Dad.”

My dick had gone half-flaccid as I listened to the unfolding drama, but it jerked erect at that.

“So I started playing with him. I think he let me ‘cause he was angry at Mom. He was pretty drunk, too, although he sure got hard quick.”

“What happened then?”

She huffed in disgust. “Nothing. Dad’s conscience.”

“So he made you stop?”

“Yes!”

“That’s too bad,” I said, and meant it. I’d had a similar experience, and I still regretted it sometimes. I regretted stopping, that is.

“That’s what I said,” she complained, but without any heat. “Anyway, Victor must’ve seen what was going on, so he asked Dad to take his place. Dad gave him a grateful look and started screwing Mom from behind.” She chuckled darkly. “You shoulda seen the look on his face. He totally wanted to punish her. I think he was turned on, too, watching her lick Kara.”

“I’ll bet,” I said, and went back to stroking as I imagined the scene.

“I went down on Victor and we fooled around for a while,” Leah went on, “but then things really heated up.”

“Seriously? What happened?”

“Well, like I said, Dad was pretty drunk, so it took him a while to come. He and Mom had moved to one of the lounge chairs and were doing it missionary. Kara was playing with Mom’s nipples and giving Dad these sultry looks. By then, Victor and I were done, so we were just watching. Anyway, Dad was pounding away when he suddenly went stiff and groaned. He usually pulls out and comes in her mouth, but I think he was still angry, so he came in her pussy instead.”

That didn’t sound so unusual. It didn’t sound particularly titillating, either.

“What happened next is the hot part,” Leah said, as if reading my mind. “He pulled out, and you’re not gonna believe what Kara did.”

“You’re kidding,” I said, as I imagined exactly what Kara had done.

“It was totally awesome,” Leah said. “She just climbed between Mom’s legs and started licking. Dad got hard again in two seconds flat, and Mom started sucking him like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately, that’s when Victor joined in and started screwing Kara from behind.”

“Leaving you...”

“Yep. High and dry.”

“More like empty and wet,” I quipped.

“Ha ha, very funny. This is serious!”

“I’ll bet it is,” I said, with a little less sarcasm.

“It is. I’m so horny I’m ready to explode. I should be spreading my legs for you right now, not this stupid vibrator.”

“Well, if I were there,” I said, “let me tell you what I’d be doing right now...”

I began stroking myself and settled in for some serious phone sex. She came pretty quickly, especially when I told her how I wanted to lay her face down on the bed and fuck her hard from behind. I came about a minute after she did, and we both fell silent in the long-distance afterglow.

“So,” I said at last, “did anyone say anything this morning?”

“Not a word. But Dad left for work before I got up for school.”

“Is that unusual?”

“Yeah, so he must’ve still been upset.”

“Maybe he was feeling guilty.”

“Why? Mom broke the rules.”

“Your dad kinda did too when he let you play with him. He takes that stuff seriously. My folks are the same way.”

“Your mom, maybe,” she said, “but not your dad.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ask Erin,” she said cryptically.

“Oh no you don’t! You’re not getting off the hook that easy. Tell.”

“I can’t,” she said. “It’s not my place. But I will say this, Erin’s not as sweet and innocent as you think she is.”

I didn’t think she was sweet and innocent at all. “Why? Did she and my dad do something?”

“Ask her,” was all she’d say, no matter how hard I pressed.

“Okay, fine,” I said at last, half disgusted.

“Hey, I keep your secrets too.”

“But I don’t have any secrets!” I realized what I’d said almost before I finished saying it. “Scratch that,” I said quickly. “I have lots of secrets.”

“Uh-huh,” she said knowingly. “I thought you’d see it my way.”

“Why can’t I ever be attracted to dumb girls?” I said. “You know: beautiful, great in bed, and willing to believe anything I say.” The description didn’t seem so funny when I realized that it fit Daphne to a tee.

“Sucks, doesn’t it,” Leah said.

“Yeah, it does,” I said, my mood subdued all of a sudden.

Leah didn’t pick up on it though. She already had her imagination going. “Speaking of sucking...,” she said, her voice low and suggestive.