Chapter 412

“What do you think of this one?” Sabrina asked you as you approached her and slipped your arm around her waist. She did the same and you could feel her run her hand under the back of your suit jacket and scratch her nails lightly against your back.

You quirked your lips to the side as you looked at the piece of art she’d been looking at. None of you were ‘art people’ but that didn’t mean you couldn’t have opinions. “Hmm,” you said. “I think it’s ... kind of generic. Like, I could see it hanging in a hotel lobby, or a professor’s office, or wherever. It doesn’t scream ‘wow’ to me.”

“Really?” Sabrina asked. “I thought it was really erotic.”

You scrunched your brow, taking another look at the painting. “I’m gonna need that one spelled out for me, baby.”

She smiled sweetly at you. “Well, first off, see that dark section? Think of that as a penis. Then that other part on the right-”

“Oooh,” you said and snorted lightly. “OK. When you point it out, I see it. Not sure if that’s the intended thing though.”

“You don’t know it wasn’t,” she grinned, then took your hand. “How are the others?”

You glanced back across the gallery where Gemma was currently posing as Tasha’s girlfriend. Several finance bros, or whatever they did for a living, had approached them while you’d been fetching fresh drinks for your dates and Gemma was having fun fending them off and refusing to flirt despite their varied attempts. Tasha, knowing Gemma’s disposition from the times at the comedy club, had fallen in and they were playing the ‘aloof lesbians.’

“Gemma is giving them the runaround,” you said, squeezing Sabrina’s fingers gently. “Tasha is having fun watching her do it and chipping in. Honestly, part of me feels a little bad cause a couple of those guys might actually be interested in her.”

“Psh,” Sabrina shushed you. “She’s all ours this weekend. We can be wingwomen for her some other time if she really wants to find someone. For now, that ass is yours tonight.”

“And Gemmas,” you smiled, and her eyes got a playful glint in them as she smiled back. Then her smile turned into a mild frown, followed by her eyes going wider. “What is it?” you asked, knowing she was looking over your shoulder but not in the direction of the girls.

“Guess who just showed up on the arm of some forty-something-year-old man?” Sabrina asked.

You groaned. “Please fucking tell me it’s not Joy.”

“It’s not Joy,” Sabrina said. “It’s Lucy.”

You closed your eyes for a moment, trying to decide how bad this was. It didn’t need to be bad. The two of you could just nod hello to each other, acknowledge each other’s presence, and then move on. Who she was here with wasn’t any of your business.

Well, maybe a little. Eric had done you a lot of solids over the summer, not the least of which was taking a punch to the face.