Page 41 of House of Desire

“What about you ladies? Any desire for kids?” he asks.

“I had a hysterectomy when I was younger. I had really bad endometriosis and there was no other option. I could adopt, sure, but I think I’d prefer to be child-free. Then I could pour myself into the kids of my sisters and friends,” Zoey says, in her matter-of-fact way.

“I’m sorry you had to go through with that. Having that decision taken from you was probably hard,” I say, swimming over to her, wrapping her in my arms.

“It was at the time, but I’ve worked through it in therapy. I’m not one to let something I can’t change bring me down.” She pats my arm in silent thanks.

“Sounds like a good viewpoint to have,” Parker says, shrugging out of Carmen’s grasp, and coming to give Zoey a hug. My arms drop from my friend and I move out of his way. Watching Zoey and Parker does not make me crazy the way seeing him and Carmen does.

“If you give me a few minutes, I can make up a big sob story so you keep this hot bod pressed against me,” Zoey says, waggling her eyebrows up at Parker suggestively.

He lets out a bark of laughter before hugging her even tighter to him and my insides melt like a marshmallow over a campfire.

We all move around the living room in our cocktail dresses. The first night, this room felt so small, almost claustrophobic with all twenty of us and the production crew. Now thirteen are gone? It feels bare, almost. Zoey, Leslie, and I sit on a pair of couches, talking, as we wait for Parker to join us. The other ladies are mingling about, but we three tend to hang out together the most.

Leslie started joining Zoey and me at dinner, enjoying talking about something other than this show. She’s lamented multiple times about us being on different coasts. I guess with her event planning business, she needs a baker she can consistently rely on and suggest to her clients.

“I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I’ve never dated a man with a six pack before. And the fact it was pressed against me? And he was wet? I almost came on the spot,” Zoey says to Leslie.

“Girl, with love, if you tell me this story again, I’m going to stab you in the eye with my stiletto. I’m sufficiently jealous, okay?” Leslie says, partially joking.

“That’s a very specific place to threaten to stab her,” I say, trying to dig the cherry out of my drink.

“I feel like the eye would be the one place a stiletto could puncture.”

“I don’t know, I feel like with enough pressure, it could go through other places. Like the stomach, perhaps?” I suggest.

“Just in case my opinion matters, I would like it to be known I don’t want to be stabbed, regardless of the place,” Zoey calls out. Her tongue wiggles around, trying to find her straw without looking but it continues to elude her. Finally, she pulls the glass away from her face, grabs the straw, and puts it into her mouth, going cross-eyed as she watches it.

“Your opinion doesn’t matter in this case, but thank you for voicing it,” Leslie says, laughing at her straw antics.

Jacob Jacobson comes into the room and we all quiet down, immediately moving toward the middle of the room. We have done this enough now that production doesn’t have to herd us any longer.

“Hello, ladies.”

“Hi, Jacob,” we all intone.

“Welcome to the week five elimination—”

“Cut!” a member of production calls out, cutting Jacob off. “This elimination will be week six of the airing schedule. Go again.”

Jacob’s smile plasters itself on his face once more.

“Welcome to the week six elimination night cocktail party. Parker will be joining you in a few moments. You will have one hour to make a lasting impression. I’ll see you soon,” he says, and leaves.

Within thirty seconds, Parker is walking in and he smiles at all of us.

“Looking lovely tonight, ladies. Anya, could I talk to you?”

“Sure,” I say, Zoey and Leslie both making kissing sounds as I follow him outside to one of the couches, flipping them off behind his back.

Before I can sit down, he grabs me, pulling me into a hug. His spicy smell envelopes me and I press my face against him, taking a deep breath.

“I missed you the past few days,” he says, surprising me. Unless we are on a date, we don’t get the opportunity to talk to Parker.

“You just saw me two days ago,” I tease, but if I’m honest, I missed him, too.

“And? I can’t miss you if I’ve seen you already in a week?”

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