Page 16 of Love Without Demands

“How did your weekend with Dwight go?” Nic asked, resting her chin in her hand.

“It was fine. How about yours?”

“No, no, miss thang. You’re not deflecting,” Artie said. “Did you get lucky?”

“Once,” I admitted, and he shook his head.

“I can’t believe he’s not all over you the entire weekend like a socialite on a Louboutin purse.”

“It’s fine,” I defended out of loyalty. “We had fun. Watched some movies and went out to some nice restaurants.”

They both looked at me with sympathy, not falling for my wholeit’s fineroutine. “Is he still trying to do the dirty talking?” Nicolette asked. “Oooh, did he call his penis a love pickle again?”

A fit of giggles took over me. “No, he didn’t use that one, but yes on the creative dirty talk.”

“If a man ever called his dick a love pickle with me, I’d bite the motherfucker off,” Artie declared loudly just as Charmaine showed up with our drinks. She barely raised an eyebrow, accustomed to our insane conversations by now.

A small frisson of guilt seeped down my back. I didn’t want to badmouth Dwight to my friends. I loved Dwight, but I needed someone to talk to about my sex struggles. Wasn’t that what friends were for?

“Is it bad that I used the shower to get myself off afterward?” I whispered, taking a sip of the pink froth. It was delicious, the peppermint gently nipping at my tongue.

“Girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do,” Artie said wisely. “Thanks for the recommendation on the shower head attachment, by the way. I got one installed last week, and you bitches are lucky I’m even here.” He held up his well-manicured hand and studied it. “I was in there so long, I wasn’t sure the pruniness would ever go away.”

“I wish I could get one for my apartment, but with my lack of water pressure, a treasure like that would go to waste,” I lamented before arching an eyebrow at Artie. “Did you enjoy setting three?”

“Actually,” he drawled as Nic and I took a drink of our beverages, “setting five was better for me. Really tickles the ole man clit, you know?”

Liquid spewed from mine and Nicolette’s mouths at the same time, forming a pool of sheer pink on the white tile table. My friend slapped at her chest to alleviate her choking.

“Well, now you’ve killed her with your man clit comment,” I scolded with a laugh, mopping up the mess with a couple cocktail napkins. “Are you happy with yourself?”

Artie leaned back in his chair and crossed one ankle over his opposite knee, taking a leisurely sip. “Not as happy as I was inthat shower. I actually considered having a mini-fridge and toilet installed in there so I never had to leave.”

Clearing her throat, Nic dabbed at her lips. “If anyone could make it work, it would be you.”

Our friend was an interior designer who could make any space shine. “Thank you,” he replied, tracing a finger down the perfectly pressed seam of his burgundy trousers. He’d completed the look with a stormy-gray V-neck sweater that made his brown eyes pop.

Nicolette, on the other hand, was dressed in her trademark black, but I could see her white lab coat hanging on the back of her chair.

“I’m not sure I could get off with a man named Dwight,” Artie announced. “All I can think of when I hear that name is the guy fromThe Office.”

“So you want me to have Dwight change his name?” I asked dryly.

“No, but maybe you could get him to dress up as Thor. That would be a sexy name to moan.”

The thought of straitlaced Dwight in a costume made me grin, but my inner freak couldn’t help thinking that sounded like a fine idea.Is there something wrong with me? Probably.

“Names are important,” Artie mused.

“Your name is Arthur,” I deadpanned, and he pretended to pop the top off his middle finger and put on lipstick.

“But Artie is a totally hot nickname,” Nicolette assured him.

“Thank you, deary.” He leaned forward, his brown eyes bright as he folded his forearms together on the table. “What’s the hottest guy name you’ve ever heard? Don’t think. Just say the first thing that pops in your mind. Nic, go!”

“I crushed on this guy named Dante in high school, so that name has turned me on ever since,” Nicolette said, her eyes going dreamy. “What about you, Artie?”

“Liam,” he purred. “Liam calling me a good boy with a sassy accent while he strokes my—”

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