Chapter 26

The next day Wren and I talked to Trip over breakfast.

“I dunno,” he said. “I mean, camp would be fun, but Paul and I haven’t even seen the Knoxville house. Does it need work? Does it have power? Water? And what about furniture? Beds? Dishes? Silverware? Household stuff?”

He was right. Every other place we’d lived had been a dorm or furnished apartment.

“Whoa,” Wren said, “slow down, Mr. Killjoy. No, it doesn’t need work. Yes, it has power and water, already in my name. As for the rest, we’ll figure it out before we move.”

“I’d rather figure it out now and not have to sleep on the floor and eat McDonald’s.”

“And I’d rather spend a couple of days at camp!”

“Chill, both of you,” I said. To Trip, “We’re only talking about a couple of days, a long weekend. We’ll have a week before school starts.” To Wren, “He’s right, we need to figure out some of this stuff before we move. The beds, at least, and some furniture. Pots and pans, too. We can eat off paper plates, but we can’t cook with them.”

Wren waved a dismissive hand. “My mother has all that stuff. She’s been setting it aside for years.”

“My mom too,” I agreed reasonably. “But it won’t magically appear in Knoxville.”

“We’ll need to rent a trailer. Maybe a truck. And then we’ll have to—”

Wren snapped, “Do you want to have an orgy or not?”

Mom appeared in the doorway from the living room. “Do I get a vote? Or should I come back later?”

Wren actually blushed, and Trip studied his hands with comic intensity.

“We don’t mean now,” I explained with a laugh.

“So it’s okay if I refill your dad’s coffee?”

“Be our guest,” I said, but then decided to explain. “We want to spend a few days at camp. Kind of a longer version of last night.”

“Just you three?”

“No. Hopefully with Leah, Mark, and Erin.”

“But they just started school.”

“They’d only miss a couple of days.”

“Still, doesn’t sound like a good idea. Don’t tell Erin I said that, though. She’ll want to go even more.”

“She can talk to her teachers and get her assignments,” Wren said.

“I don’t know ... I don’t like the idea of her missing school. Elizabeth won’t be too happy about Leah either, not to mention Mark’s parents.”

I backed off. “Well, we were just thinking about it. Nothing’s set in concrete or anything.”

Mom smiled, more polite than encouraging. “Okay. But remember what I said.”

We waited until she was out of earshot before we continued.

“Way to go,” Wren grumbled. “You turned her against it.”

“Did not!” I shot back.

“Did too! And now she’ll probably call—”

“Give it a rest,” Trip said.

“Stay out of it,” Wren snapped in the heat of the moment.

He gave her a cool, deliberate stare.

She backed down immediately. “Sorry. You’re right.”

“Yeah, me too,” I added. “Sorry. We’re both a little frustrated.”

“A little?” Trip teased. “Look, I know it’s my fault—”

“It isn’t,” I said. “If anything, it’s our fault, Wren’s and mine. We need to start acting like grown-ups.”

“Excuse me?” Trip said. “Who are you? And what’ve you done with the real Paul Hughes?”

“Ha ha. Laugh all you like.”

“I’m not used to you being so cool-headed. That’s my job.” He turned serious. “But you know I’m right. It’s my fault we’ve taken things so slow.”

“‘Fault’ isn’t the right word,” I said.

“Fair enough. But I can be the reason we speed things up. I’ll take care of the logistics for moving. You and Wren put your heads together and make this weekend happen.”

Wren and I couldn’t really do anything until the others came home from school, so we chipped in to help Trip. Between the three of us—between our mothers, really—we could furnish most of the house. The furniture was a hodgepodge of styles and eras, and we didn’t have a matching set of anything in the kitchen, but we didn’t really care.

Trip made notes and wrote out a list of things we’d have to buy in Knoxville. I was shocked by its length, which made me realize how much our parents did for us. And I took mine completely for granted. They’d taken care of me for eighteen-plus years, but I’d never thought about where it all came from.

All of a sudden I understood why my parents were spending more on luxuries lately, like the hot tub and airplane. Dad was even talking about buying a new car for Mom. Without me as a drain on the budget, they had more to spend on themselves. I couldn’t imagine how much they’d sacrificed over the years. Worse, I’d been an ungrateful jerk more than I cared to admit.

“Hey, Mom,” I said when she returned to the kitchen, “thanks for everything. Not just the household stuff, but for everything else. Growing up, I mean.”

“Of course.”

“No, I really mean it.” I stood and gave her a hug. “I never realized how much you and Dad gave us. And how much it must have cost!”

“No kidding,” Wren muttered. “I had no idea...”

“I sort of did,” Trip said, “but not really. I mean, I was old enough to help my dad after my mom died, but still, I took a lot of it for granted.”

“Mmm hmm,” Mom said into the silence. “It takes a lot to raise children. But we do it because we love you. And,” she admitted, “for moments like this. We must’ve done something right, after all.”

“You did a lot right.”

Wren and Trip silently agreed.

“Well,” Mom said, “since you seem to have this newfound maturity, I’ve been thinking ... If Erin wants to go to camp with you, I won’t tell her no.”

Wren beamed. “Really? That’s awesome!”

“I won’t encourage her, though. And you’re on your own with Elizabeth and Mark’s parents.”

“We’ll make it work,” I said.

“I’m sure you will.” She patted my arm. “You always do.”

I felt a rush of optimism. Shows how little I knew.

We talked to Erin after school. She already had homework in most of her classes, she said. She wanted to go but didn’t want to fall behind so early in the semester. She couldn’t afford to miss two days of school, and that was that.

Mom was more surprised than we were, but she also seemed pleased at Erin’s decision. “Why don’t you have a party here?” she suggested instead.

“We want a couple of days,” I explained. “For more than just ... um ... a party.”

She raised her eyebrows, but then thought it through and nodded. After all, she’d been a swinger longer than any of us. “Well, good luck with Leah and Mark.”

I called Leah and she agreed immediately, much to my relief. Unfortunately, she called back fifteen minutes later and said that Mark couldn’t go. He didn’t have any qualms about missing school, but he wasn’t ready to ask his mother and step-father if he could go to a nudist camp. He wouldn’t lie to them, either. I was annoyed, but I couldn’t fault his honesty.

Leah resurrected my hopes. “He still wants me to go,” she said. “And I think my mom will let me if I promise to take my schoolwork with me.”

“Go ask her. Call us back.”

I hung up and told Trip and Wren, who muttered a very unladylike curse.

Our nervous silence lasted until the phone rang.

I nearly knocked over my chair. “Hello?”

“She said yes!”

“Wait ... she did?”

“Try not to sound so surprised,” Leah said dryly. “We’ve been getting along better lately. I asked nicely. I even told her I wouldn’t argue if she said no.”

I blinked. That wasn’t the Leah I knew. Maybe we were all growing up.

“The last part did it,” Leah said. “She was so surprised that she barely even thought about saying no.” She paused, and I could almost hear the gleam in her eyes. “So, when do we leave?”

Trip and I met the buyers at the closing for the rancher. They weren’t what I’d expected. They were supercilious and a bit cold, a childless professional couple in their mid-thirties. We clearly weren’t what they expected either. They couldn’t believe we were college students.

The wife complained that they were paying too much for the house. A muscle in the husband’s jaw twitched, but he didn’t say anything. He’d heard it before. The wife ranted for another minute and then told us what price we were going to accept. “You should be happy,” she insisted. “It’s still more than you were asking.” She sat back and dared us to object.

I met her eyes and flirted with the idea of slapping the arrogant look off her face. As angry as I was, I’d probably have broken her jaw. Not a good idea. Assault and battery rarely is.

Trip kept his cool a lot better than I did. He casually turned to our realtor and said, “You still have the numbers for the other buyers?” He received a nod and faced the yuppie couple. “Should we call them?”

“You can’t be serious,” the wife said.

“We agreed on a price.”

“But ... you’re practically children! You can’t expect us to pay that much.”

Trip looked at me. I gave him a slight nod. I didn’t know what he was about to do, but I’d back him.

“We’re done here,” he said to the realtors and closing agent. “Sorry to waste your time.”

“Where are you going?” the wife demanded. “You can’t leave!”

Trip gave her a basilisk stare. “We agreed on a price. You reneged.”

“Wait,” the husband said heavily. “We still have a contract.” He was an attorney, after all. “Please forgive Hillary. She had too much coffee this morning.”

Ha! More like coke, I thought irritably.

Trip gave me another look. We sat. Both realtors breathed an audible sigh. The closing agent simply looked surprised. She’d dealt with us on the other two closings. They’d been almost familial, especially since Trip and I shared the buyers’ enthusiasm and chatted about their families.

But this Trip was hard as nails and prepared to walk away from a pile of money. Still, he picked up his pen like nothing had happened. The wife still didn’t understand. The husband did. He even had the good grace to look embarrassed when my gaze slid from her to him.

The rest of the closing went smoothly. We hardly spoke. The buyers left after a cursory round of handshakes. Once the door closed behind them, the tension popped like a soap bubble.

“That was ... interesting.”

“Sorry about that,” the other realtor said with a wince. “They’re...” He waved a hand vaguely.

“Yuppie assholes?”

“More or less.”

The closing agent gave the realtors their checks and then slid ours across to Trip. He showed it to me. My share was the most money I’d ever made in my life. It hardly seemed real. We shook hands all around, with a lot more genuine goodwill.

Once we reached the safety of Trip’s car, I loosened my tie and slid halfway into the footwell. “Holy crap! I was ready to kill that woman. And you! I can’t believe you almost walked out.”

“Me neither. I thought you were going to lose it.”

We fell silent.

I stared through the windshield and felt a shiver as the adrenaline rush began to fade.

“What were you thinking?” Trip asked. “Back there.”

“You don’t wanna know,” I said darkly. After a moment, “Let’s just say that I don’t like bullies.”

“You can say that again.” He ran his fingers through his hair and blew a sigh of relief. “God! I can’t believe we did that.”

We grinned at each other.

“Did you see the look on their realtor’s face?”

“Did you see the look on ours?”

We laughed and relived it all the way back to my parents’ house, where we told the whole thing again.

“You didn’t really threaten to walk out?” Mom said.

“Sure did. Meant it, too.”

Dad laughed. “Good for you! Stick to your guns.”

“God,” Trip said, “I need a drink. What time is it? Noon? Who cares? It’s five o’clock somewhere!”

“Hold that thought,” I said with a laugh. “I still have to fly.”

“Come on,” Dad said. “We’ll take you to lunch to celebrate. I’ll buy you a root beer.”

Trip and I picked up Wren and recounted the story on the way to Leah’s house. Her reaction was a combination of my parents’. We replayed the whole thing with Leah as we drove to the airport. We were still talking about it when we took off, but Wren quickly turned the conversation to camp.

“Are you guys ready to have fun this weekend?” she asked over the headset.

“You know it, baby,” Trip said. “But first, I’m gonna get drunk and celebrate that I didn’t blow the biggest deal of my life.”

“Don’t get too drunk,” I cautioned, “or the deal won’t be the only thing that almost got blown.”

“Ha! No kidding.”

“I’m proud of you,” Wren said after a moment. “Both of you.”

“They’re such brave men,” Leah said.

“Mmm hmm. Very virile.”

“Full of spunk.”

“Here we go,” I said to Trip. “This could go on for a while.”

“Oh,” Wren said, “we’re just getting, ahem, warmed up.”

Leah giggled.

“Can we drop them at the next corner?” Trip asked.

“‘Fraid not. We’re stuck with ‘em.”

Wren leaned forward so we could see her face. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, ma’am. Beats the alternative.”

“And what’s that?”

“Beating our meat.”

We spent the rest of the flight bantering and trading sexual innuendos, so we were all in a good mood when we landed. After I refueled and secured the plane, we headed to the parking lot and Susan’s car. She’d left a magnetic key box under the front fender.

We stopped at the liquor store first. Wren had a list, and the clerk helped us load everything. I wasn’t quite surprised at the amount, but it still seemed like a lot. We visited the grocery store next.

“Hold on a sec,” Wren said before we opened the doors. She raised her hips and slid off her panties.

Trip saw the surprise in my expression. He turned to look. “What’re you doing?”

“What’s it look like?” She unfastened her bra and pulled it through the arms of her blouse, which she began to unbutton next. She tied the tails into a loose knot below her breasts. “How do I look? Like Daisy Duke?”

“Better,” Trip said.

Wren beamed and gestured to Leah. “Your turn.”

Leah slid up her skirt (a tight mini, much shorter than Wren’s) and lowered her panties. She smoothed her skirt into place and pondered how to reveal more of her chest. She was wearing an aerobics halter under an off-the-shoulder crop top. She took off the top, but then decided to remove the halter instead.

Trip and I shared a grin.

Leah replaced the crop-top and adjusted it to bare her right shoulder. The top wasn’t see-through, but without the halter it didn’t leave much to the imagination.

In the store, Trip volunteered to push the shopping cart. I hung back with him.

Wren knew what we were doing, so she flipped up her skirt to give us a glimpse of her bare cheeks. She grinned over her shoulder and took out her shopping list.

In the produce section she held up two apples. “Trip, would you check if these are firm enough?”

He took the hint and slid his hand inside her blouse. “Very nice,” he said. “I’ll take two.”

In the bread aisle I slid behind Leah. “Better check these buns.”

She grinned and stood still as I scrunched up her miniskirt.

I caressed her ass. “Yep, perfect for a wiener.”

“Ha! If you’re lucky.”

“Already am.”

We fondled our way through the rest of the store. We also embarrassed a couple of shoppers, but thankfully no one called the manager. The checkout line turned into a surreptitious grope-fest, and I smiled at the memory of a similar trip with Susan, when we’d first met Stacy.

The girls shamelessly flashed us in the parking lot. Then they climbed into the car and giggled like schoolgirls as they stripped completely. Trip and I loaded the groceries in record time and jumped into the car before anyone called the cops.

The drive to camp seemed to take forever, especially with the girls teasing us from the back seat. I wanted to pull over, but kept my cool and drove instead. By the time we reached the cabin, my hard-on threatened to become a permanent condition. Trip was in a similar state, and we silently decided to turn the tables on the girls.

“Let’s get everything unloaded before we get comfortable,” I said.

“Yeah. Don’t want the meat to spoil.”

“We won’t spoil your meat,” Leah said.

“We’ll take good care of it,” Wren agreed. “We have special boxes.”

“For meat?” Trip asked as we grabbed the first armload of bags.

“Like an icebox?” I said.

“No, it’s very hot.”

“I dunno,” I said. “Think you’re s’posed to store meat in the refrigerator.”

“Not your kind of meat.”

Trip and I shared a grin and set the bags on the kitchen counter. We took our time unloading the rest. Then we began putting things in the fridge and cupboards.

“Are you really gonna do that now?” Wren finally asked.

“Depends,” I said.

“On what?”

“If something better comes along.”

“You mean like two horny women?”

I laughed and glanced at Trip.

“That sounds like something better,” he said.

“Sure does.” I grinned at Wren. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“Very funny.” She grabbed Trip with her eyes and started toward their bedroom. “Coming?”

“Care to join me?” I asked Leah, and gestured to our own bedroom.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

The bed didn’t even have sheets on it, but I didn’t care. I pulled Leah against me and kissed her hard. Then I spun her around and bent her over the nightstand. My shorts and boxers hit the floor in record time. My erection had a mind of its own as it probed between her legs. I grabbed her hips and buried myself with a groan.

I started fucking her. She tried to brace herself, but the force of my thrusts drove her forward. We knocked over the lamp, and it rolled off the table with a crunch. Leah ended up with her hands flat on the wall and her ass thrust back toward me.

I fucked her for barely a minute before I felt the familiar tingling in my balls. I rammed into her one final time and pulled her against me to get an extra half-inch deeper. She moaned when she felt the torrent of semen spurting deep inside her.

After a pulsing moment or two—more like ten—I began to think again. I bent forward and wrapped an arm around her. I cupped a breast and gently massaged it as we panted together. After a moment I kissed the back of her neck.

“Welcome to camp,” I said softly. “Was that what you wanted?”

She nodded and blew her hair out of her face.

“You were so sexy in the store. I’ve been thinking about this since the bread aisle.”

“We should buy bread more often.”

I chuckled throatily and moved my hips. My softening cock slipped from inside her. We straightened, and she turned unsteadily to face me.

I kissed her again, more gently than before. “I’m glad you came. To camp, I mean.”

“Me too.”

“And I’ll make sure you come for real in a minute.”

She smiled and shook her head. “I’m fine for now. This was just a warm-up.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mmm hmm. I like simmering and wondering what you’re going to do to me later.”

“I’d better think of something creative.”

“Not necessarily. Sometimes simple is best.”

“You mean, like, missionary?”

“Maybe. Or ... you can rub my back and do me that way.”

“It’s a date!”

She pressed her body against me and lifted her face for a kiss.

It was already shaping up to be a very, very good weekend.

Leah and I returned Susan’s car and thanked her for it and everything at the cabin. Then we chatted about our lives since we’d seen her last. After we left, we cut through the woods instead of walking around. We strolled hand-in-hand and simply enjoyed the scent of the pines and the quiet of the forest.

Back at the cabin, Wren and Trip had made our bed and laid out fresh towels for us. They’d also organized the kitchen and started making dinner. Wren smiled at us from the kitchen. Then she noticed Leah’s bikini bottoms.

“Seriously?” she said. She set down her knife. “I thought we agreed.”

“What?” Leah said defensively.

“You know.”

“I don’t like people staring at me. I feel so ... exposed.”

I squeezed Leah’s hand in reassurance. I also felt a twinge of guilt, since she shaved because I asked her to. That wasn’t entirely true—not these days, at least—but I certainly deserved my share of the responsibility.

Wren wiped her hands on a dishtowel. “I’ll give them something to stare at! Come on.”

Trip gave me a questioning look.

I thought I knew what she had in mind, but I shook my head like I didn’t have a clue.

“Put the steak in the fridge to marinate and wash the Brussels sprouts?” she asked Trip. To me, “Finish slicing the potatoes. Please.”

“Um ... sure.”

She led Leah into the bathroom and closed the door.

“So, what’s for dinner?” I asked Trip, mostly to fill the void left by the girls.

“London broil,” he said as he hefted a bag full of meat and dark liquid. “Potatoes au gratin.” A nod at the cutting board. “And Brussels sprouts.”

“Sounds delicious. Except maybe the Brussels sprouts.”

He gave me a look. “You’ll eat it and enjoy it.”

“You sound like my mom.”

We talked about the Knoxville house as we finished the prep work. Then Trip pulled two wine coolers from the freezer and moved the others to the fridge. We opened them and sat at the kitchen table.

“What do you think they’re up to?” he wondered.

“I have an idea,” I said, “but I don’t wanna jinx it.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Something Wren would do. She ... isn’t subtle.”

“Um, no.”

We didn’t have to wait long. The bathroom door opened and the girls emerged, damp and freshly scrubbed, wrapped in towels.

Wren nudged Leah, who unwrapped the towel and struck a model pose.

“Beautiful,” I said as I surveyed her. I didn’t notice anything different.

Judging by Trip’s expression, neither did he. “Um ... are we missing something?”

“No,” Wren said, “but I am.” She unfastened her towel and let it drop.

My eyes naturally followed the movement, and I grinned when I realized what she’d done. I was right about what they’d been up to. The towel drop was a nice touch, a subtle piece of showmanship.

Trip stated the obvious: “You shaved your bush!”

“Now they can stare at both of us,” Wren said. “I wanted to shave a Mohawk and dye it purple, but I didn’t have any dye ... and it was too short anyway.” She gave Trip a hesitant look. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“It’s a little late to ask,” he said with a laugh. “Don’t you think?”

“It’ll grow back. Are you upset?”

“Upset? That you’d change your appearance for a friend? Absolutely not. Would I like a little hair down there? Yeah, I guess. But I’m not about to complain.”

“Besides,” I agreed, “it’s incredibly sexy.” I let my eyes roam over her body, but they didn’t stray long from her smooth pubic area.

“I always thought it looked good on Leah,” Trip said. “Looks good on you too.”

Wren relaxed with an almost visible wave of relief. She stepped out of the towel, cupped Trip’s face, and gave him a deep kiss.

Leah and I shifted self-consciously at the intimacy of the moment. I was about to motion to the bedroom when they finally came up for air.

He grinned up at her. “Mind if I check your handiwork?”

“Please do.”

He probed gently between her legs, and she let out a sigh.

I knew an opportunity when I saw one, so I motioned to Leah. “Mind if I check your handiwork?”

She smiled and ran her fingers through my hair. Then she squawked as I stood, lifted her off the floor, and set her on the kitchen table. She lay back at my urging, and I turned my chair to face her. I sat down, rested her legs on my shoulders, and lowered my face to her smooth, damp pussy.

“Mmm, dessert before dinner.”

“Bon appétit,” Trip mumbled from a few feet away. He’d pushed Wren against the counter and was kneeling in front of her.

She rested one leg over his shoulder. “Don’t talk with your mouth full, dear.”

I chuckled and gently spread Leah open. I spent a moment simply admiring her glistening folds. They ranged from light brown at the fleshy tips to dusky pink near her opening. I’d seen her pussy more times than I could count, and others’ besides, but I never grew tired of looking.

I moved in. Her inner labia grew plump with arousal as I sucked and teased. Once I had her warmed up, I swirled my tongue around her clit and turned slightly to see what Trip and Wren were up to. Her eyes were closed, her head back, while Trip fingered her as he licked.

I returned my attention to Leah and concentrated on building her up without making her come. She gasped and moaned and squirmed. Moisture coated my cheeks as I cupped her ass and pressed my face into her pussy.

Wren squeaked, and I darted a glance her way. Trip had both of her legs over his shoulders. He supported her with his hands, while she braced hers on the counter. He was shaking his head side-to-side, and she’d begun to tremble. She arched her back, and her head hit the cabinet with a thump.

Part of me almost laughed, but Leah chose that moment to clamp her thighs around my head. I turned my full attention to making her come. She thrust against me as I drove her over the edge. She gripped the sides of the table and stifled a scream. I kept licking until I felt her shiver and relax.

When her thighs finally parted, I watched her stomach flutter with aftershocks. Her breasts rose and fell with her breathing. I played with her dark nipples and planted kisses on her trembling thighs.

Once she relaxed completely, I pulled her into my lap. She wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder, still breathing heavily from the force of her orgasm. Our skin was damp with sweat where it touched, but I held her close and enjoyed the feeling of her body against mine.

When I finally looked around, Trip and Wren were sitting on the floor. He held her protectively as she sagged against him. She grumbled and rubbed the back of her head where it had hit the cabinet.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“What? Yeah. Just a bump on the noggin.”

“I saw. I almost laughed. Glad I didn’t.”

“Saw what?” Leah asked weakly.

I told her.

“Bless your heart,” she said to Wren. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’ll be fine. Just a little woozy is all, and mostly ‘cause I came so hard.”

I let out a chuckle.

“What?”

“Seems that kitchen cunnilingus is a contact sport.”

Dinner was relatively subdued after the excitement of the afternoon. We polished off three bottles of wine between us, and Trip made good on his promise to get drunk. We all did, really. By the time we stacked the plates and moved to the living room, none of us were feeling any pain.

“Anyone save room for dessert?” Wren asked.

Trip and I answered with groans.

“I’ll help,” Leah said.

The girls returned a few minutes later with a plate of brownies and a bottle of port wine. Wren opened and poured with the flair of a sommelier.

“Dear God,” I said to Trip, “she’s trying to kill us.”

“Tol’ you. We’re gonna gain twenny pounds.”

“You’re too thin as it is,” Leah said to me. “Your mother told me to make sure you eat.”

“My mother,” I said with a soft belch, “was never pudgy.”

“Pudgy wasn’t your problem,” Leah said.

Wren laughed. “What was?”

“He was a dork.”

“Do tell.”

“He was, totally. Then Susan straightened him out.”

I waved a hand. “It was a li’l more complicated than that.”

“The results were the same.”

“What happened?” Wren asked.

“I got laid,” I said, and giggled. “A lot.”

Leah looked indignant “Not by me you didn’t.”

“Not at first, but you came around.” I kissed her fondly. “Glad you did. Bes’ thing tha’ ever happened to me.”

“Sure, you say that now.”

“I mean it,” I said. “Can’t imagine life without you. You’re my bes’ friend.”

“What am I?” Trip complained. “Chopped liver?”

“And me?” Wren said.

“You’re my bes’ guy friend,” I told him. “And you,” I said to Wren, “are my bes’ girl friend who isn’t a girlfriend, ‘cause I don’t have sex with you.”

“Not yet, but that’s about to change. What’ll I be then?”

“My bes’ girl friend who still isn’t a girlfriend, even though we’ve had sex and might do it again if I’m lucky.”

Everyone laughed at my drunken logic, but I thought it made sense.

The conversation turned to other things at that point, and I somehow made room in my stomach for an entire brownie and a glass of port. The girls talked about doing the dishes, but decided to leave them for the morning.

“I dunno ‘bout you all,” I said at last, “but I’ve had a long day.” I looked at Leah. “You ready for bed?”