Page 13 of Toy Shop

He plops his elbows on the counter, laces his fingers, and rests his chin on them. “I can’t believe it. After over five years, you finally have a sexless hook-up? And don’t tell me the plug counts.”

“Well…”

“No, not having that.” He groans, fixing me with a stare. “I wanted some heavy-duty cock thrusting into you. This…it’s so underwhelming.”

“Depends on who you ask.” I hit him with my best Alistair smoldering imitation, throwing my hair over my shoulder.

“You ask me, duh!” The amusement I’m conveying flies right over Rhodes’s head. “I love my Jack down to my core, and he’s the match I never believed I’d find…”

“Don’t you say but to me.” My warning arrives in the shape of a long, veiny dildo proffered at him. “I love Jack even more than you do. He’s incomparable, so don’t even try.”

“Are you seriously threatening me with that?” He quirks an eyebrow at the shaking member. “Please. I’ve faced worse.”

“Insulting William now?” To add to the dramatics and change a topic, I start talking to the dildo while stroking it. “He didn’t mean it, boy. You’re thick, veiny, muscular, and I mean, just look at your sexy curve. You’re every person’s wet dream.”

My pep talk to William alleviates my nerves. Rhodes’s too. He lets out a short laugh. “I’m sure Mr. William here won’t be heading to therapy for self-esteem issues anytime soon.”

I hug William, leaning my cheek against the cold silicone. “Regardless, he’s my star product. No one makes the shop shine like he does.”

Rhodes rounds the counter, placing both hands on my shoulders. “And you’re my star person. My best friend who hasn’t had sex for a looong looong time…”

“Second time today.” I wince. “Thanks for the reminder.”

“You’re welcome.” He ignores my tone. “You finally let someone in. Why rob yourself of a harsh pounding and let your bestie live vicariously through you? Like I said, not leaving Jack for nothing, but, I’d be lying if I said I don’t miss it every few months. The jitters of meeting someone new or fucking for the sake of fucking, you have to indulge me. What really happened after Mr. Chadwick finished you off?”

What happened was I stayed up late that night, playing the evening over and over in my head. I haven’t really stopped since, to be honest. Alistair was totally nice—err, kind, since he didn’t do nice—the whole time, a complete gentleman. If he up and left in a hurry, it had to have been something I’d done, right?

Maybe my moans weren’t sexy, or I reached the big O too fast, sealing it for him I was a juvenile kid. Maybe—and my face is a wildfire at the notion—what he saw on the butt plug in the aftermath grossed him out.

Yuck. I do not need that mental image.

“Nothing.” I drop William off on his shelf, then level my gaze with Rhodes. “I swear on my parents’ lives.”

“Bringing in Mack and Eloise.” He hums. “You do mean it.”

“Yes, I do.” My parents are the most important people in my life. Rhodes, who’d accompanied me to more than his fair share of our Sunday dinners, knows it, too.

A random guy in his forties walks into the store. The bell above the door chimes to announce his presence, even though the man makes himself visible on all his own.

He’s fixated on me, the store and Rhodes apparently not what he came for. “Heard over the last year how this place employed one of the most beautiful women in Seattle, but I had to see it with my own two eyes. They weren’t wrong.”

I stick my chin up, accustomed to handling the random pervert. After all, that’s why Roger paid us extra to work here. “Can I help you with anything?”

“Sir.” His eyes dip to the cleavage of my red T-shirt, lowering along my skinny jeans. “You can call me Sir, for a start. For seconds, you can give me a demonstration on how to put these vibrating things into good use.”

Rhodes takes a step in front of me, erecting himself to his full six-foot-four. I’m grateful he’s there. I really am. But I don’t need him. As a young woman who’s lived on her own and worked at this place for years, I’ve become highly efficient at fending off douchebags, myself.

Pulling out my phone, I click the camera app coolly, catching the perv in my lens. “The only call I’m making is to 911, then streaming your harassing face to all my followers on my social media. I’m giving you five seconds, asshole. Beat it.”

The jerk sneers, glancing at me around Rhodes’s shoulder. “This isn’t over, little girl.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” I yell after his stomping ass. “I’ll have this video saved on my cloud.”

Once the door shuts behind the poor excuse of a man, Rhodes swivels to me. Concern sweeps across his features. “You didn’t have to get up in his face, Nol.”

“I always get up in these small dicks’ faces.” My brow furrows, my eyes squint, and I launch into my usual manifesto. “How the hell else was I supposed to act? You know how these predators think, how they act. He’s not the first and probably isn’t the last that’ll come in here expecting sex just because we sell sex toys. They feed on fear, and I’ll never let them see any of it in me.”

Rhodes and I have had this exact conversation many times. I should thank the lucky stars I have a friend who cares about me this much, that he’s here during most of my shifts and has my back.

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