Page 38 of Allured By Her

I’d been to the house before, but it still shocked me when I pulled into the driveway. It was an insult to call it a house. This place was a mansion. The kind of place I’d browse the listing for in the middle of the night and tell myself I could never fucking afford it. Not that I would want to. Way too many rooms, but I didn’t hate the pool.

Since I’d been firmly informed that I shouldn’t bring anything, I felt a little strange showing up without any kind of gift, but I was greeted with cheers and hugs.

The house was owned by the family Layne worked for, but they were away on a family vacation without Layne, so we had the place to ourselves, and we didn’t have to worry that one of the twin girls she looked after was going to be eavesdropping on our conversation.

Layne shoved a plate in my hand and Honor asked what I wanted to drink, and I felt myself relaxing and brushing off the bad vibes of the night before.

Once I had food and drinks, I found a seat near Joy and her girlfriend, Ezra. I hadn’t talked much with Ezra, but she was one of those people I’d determined that I wanted to be friends with. Not only was she super sex-positive, she was also a sex toy reviewer and she was going to school in the fall to become a sex therapist. Our brains were definitely in sync.

“I’m sorry,” Joy said, putting her hand on my arm. “Lark and Sydney told us about your girlfriend.” While I had told Sydney and Lark that my relationship with Tenley was fake, no one else knew that it was.

“Oh, yeah, thanks,” I said, feeling my face go red. I gulped my drink so I wouldn’t have to look at the sympathy in Joy’s eyes. She worked at the bookstore and ran book club and was one of the sweetest people I’d ever met. Not to mention she was incredible at finding the exact book you didn’t know you needed.

“Breakups can be hard,” Ezra said. I’d noticed that she tended to be quiet around new people, so I assumed that she might need a little time to warm up, but I couldn’t wait to talk with her about sex toys. I was curious to see what trends she noticed lately that I might be able to incorporate into my business. There was almost nothing I loved more than talking shop with other people who were in the same industry. There were a few people online that also had shops that I’d made friendships with but having someone living so close was on another level.

Of course, I’d have to actually tell her about my side hustle for us to talk about it, and I hadn’t gotten up the courage to do that yet. Maybe after another drink.

I also noticed that Sydney’s pink-haired employee, Everly, was here with her girlfriend, Ryan, taking care of all the grilling. They laughed together and it was nice to see Everly having a good time. She had social anxiety, so parties like this could be hard for her. No one judged her for it, or thought any less of her, but she still usually needed a breather, or to go home early. Her girlfriend, Ryan, was incredibly tall, buff, and totally intimidating. She was also the homeowner’s niece. Ryan was one of those people that I didn’t know how to talk to, so I just kind of kept my focus on Everly.

There were some other people here I recognized, including Kendra, who owned Mainely Books, and her chiseled, redheaded girlfriend, Theo, who was talking animatedly to another couple, Hayden and Alessi. The fact that the party was entirely made up of queer people meant the energy was the opposite of the barn party I’d gone to. I shuddered thinking about it.

What was Tenley doing right now? Had she woken up in Shane’s bed this morning? Had she gotten up and made him breakfast? Had he made her breakfast? Was she happy?

I had to stop myself from sending her a message to ask if she’d gotten off last night. Not only was it none of my business, it was kind of tacky.

“Mia, you there?” Lark asked, sitting down on my other side with two plates full of food while Sydney carried their drinks.

“Yeah, just ruminating,” I said.

“Ohh, that’s a good word,” Lark said. “I wonder if I could fit that in a song lyric.”

“I’d love to hear you try,” I said.

“You did bring your guitar, love,” Sydney said. “I know everyone here would like it if you sang.”

Lark blushed and handed Sydney her plate. “Maybe later. I’d need another drink first.”

“You can have whatever you want,” Sydney said, giving her a kiss.

“Yes I can,” Lark said, twirling one of Sydney’s dark curls around her finger.

The only, and I mean only, downside to this barbecue was that it was majority couples. Very in-love couples. Couples that couldn’t keep their hands off each other. You could practically see the clouds of love all around, like smoke. I hoped some of it rubbed off on me and made me attract someone new.

It was a good idea for me to have a new crush. I hadn’t had one in a while, so I was definitely overdue. Crushes were fun. Crushes were easy. I was absolutely ready to be crushed a little.

“Joy-Joy, do you know anyone we can set Mia up with?” Sydney asked, leaning across the chairs.

“Oh, I’m not sure. What’s your type?” There was that question again.

“I don’t know,” I said, raising my hands in defeat. “I have to meet the person to judge. Sorry that’s not helpful.”

Joy wasn’t deterred. “Don’t worry. I will keep my eye out and I’ll put out some feelers through Kendra to see if there’s anyone in Castleton that she thinks would be good for you.” Kendra’s girlfriend was hot as hell, so I trusted her judgment.

“Just don’t make me sound too desperate,” I said. “Please.”

Joy squeezed my arm. “Don’t worry, we’ll find your princess.”

“You just want everyone to be happy,” Ezra said, pulling Joy over for a kiss.

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