Page 64 of Catch and Release

“—and I just looked at his rock hard dick bulging against his pants, and I didn’t really think about it.”

“Damn girl.”

“So then, he came over this morning after I got back from yoga and basically said he’d do the friends-with-benefits thing. And then he carried me to my bedroom and fucked me so hard I thought I’d pass out.”

“And that’s where orgasms number two and three come in, I’m assuming?”

“Yes.”

Willa heard Charlie suck in a breath and knew she was in for a lecture.

“Look, I’m happy for you,” Charlie said. “And I’d love for you to please send me a shirtless photo of Sexy Neighbor the moment we hang up. But are you sure this is a good idea? I just don’t want you to catch feelings and then end up even more hurt.”

“We set up rules,” Willa responded.

Willa absentmindedly thumbed through her mail, trying to avoid thinking too hard about Charlie’s words. The truth was, she was a little worried about catching feelings. It was easier to think about doing a friends-with-benefits situation with Shawn a few weeks ago, when she thought he was a Grade A asshole. Now, she’d realized he was secretly a Golden Retriever behind all the grunting and frowning. He occasionally put his foot in his mouth, but he was kind and sweet, and so caring toward his grandmother.

Nothing like anyone she’d dated in the past, that’s for sure. And maybe that was part of the reason Willa was concerned. Because she’d made it clear to Shawn that, under no circumstances, could this turn into more. And even though he was uncertain at first, he ended up hopping on board with the ease of a shark eating a minnow. She knew he had a history, so maybe he was just as horny as she was.

“I appreciate the concern, I really do,” Willa said. “But I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. And I know who to call if things go south.”

Charlie sighed. “Alright, Willa. If you say so. Consider the subject dropped. Onto more important matters: when can I come visit you?”

“Whenever you want,” Willa said as she opened an envelope. “You know I’d love to have you anytime.”

“Hmm, let me check my calendar and see when flights are cheap,” Charlie murmured.

Willa barely heard her as she stared, dumbfounded, at the invitation she’d just gotten in the mail.

“Holy shit.” She held the invitation up and reread it, then laughed so hard she had to put the phone on speaker and wipe tears from her eyes while Charlie demanded to know what was going on.

“You’ll never believe what I just got invited to,” Willa said through her laughter, then took a picture of it and texted it to Charlie.

A few moments later, she heard her phone buzz with the text message through the call, and Charlie gasped.

“What the fuck is a Bingo Ball?” she asked.

“The event of the year, apparently,” Willa responded, still chuckling. “Oh, my god.”

Willa started laughing hard again, then harder when Charlie joined in, reading more information off the invitation with increasing incredulity.

“It’s a Black tie event!” Charlie shrieked. “‘Join us as we crown the Bingo King and Queen.’ Holy fuck, you’re being pranked. There’s absolutely no way this is real. My God, a ticket is $100!”

“Bingo is serious business for the elderly here,” Willa said, wiping a tear. “This is definitely real. I’ll ask Shawn.”

Willa sent a picture of the invitation to Shawn along with a pressing question.

Please tell me this ridiculousness is real.

“I went to Bingo with Ida a couple of weeks ago and I’ve never seen anything so intense in my life,” Willa said. “And I was a fucking ballerina, for God’s sake.”

Her phone buzzed.

So real that you should definitely not let Grams hear you call it ridiculous.

Willa chuckled. “Shawn says it’s real. Holy shit. I can’t wait to go to this.”

“Well, this makes my decision of when to visit you a million times easier,” Charlie said. “I’m coming to the Bingo Ball.”

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