Page 47 of Forbidden Obsessions

Tomas heaves a sigh. “Just tell her the need-to-know part.”

“What part is that? Because I’m so fucking excited. I can’t wait for her to see the stri—” My eyes bulge as Tomas clamps a hand over her mouth.

“What she’s trying to tell you is the bachelorette party you didn’t get to have is happening tonight,” Tomas says grinning.

My heart skips a beat. “What about a bachelor party?” I question.

He shrugs like it doesn’t matter. I want him to have the same experience I do, though. If we do it right, he’ll only have one wedding. I don’t want him to miss out on anything. Mia looks between me and Tomas with the same devious look.

“No,” Tomas emphasizes.

“Too late, Professor. Your fate has been set. By the time you get there, it’ll be too late. Stop and get a late lunch. I want to get there ahead of you,” she calls, already heading in the opposite direction.

We settle for a small cafe in town.

“Hi, hun,” a sweet older woman says as we walk in. Her eyes light up as she eyes Tomas. I stifle a laugh, not blaming her one bit. Heisattractive.

“Hi. Can I get a latte with almond milk?”

“Of course, you can, sweetie. You don’t even need to tell me what you want, baby. I got you,” she croons to Tomas. Tomas goes rigid and shakes his head discreetly.

“You two know each other?” I ask suspiciously.

The woman bites her tongue and lowers her head, gray curls bouncing in her face. “A little bit,” she recovers. “Enjoy the surprise.” She winks and turns away.

“What was that about?”

Tomas shakes his head and sips his latte. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His smile tells me there’s more to the story.

We caffeinate and share a few donuts. Somehow, I end up more tired than I was to begin with. That fades quickly when we pull into the driveway.

“Oh no,” Tomas and I murmur simultaneously. On one side of the driveway marker is a life-sized inflatable dick. The other is a concerningly battered, dark-haired blow-up doll.

“At least they scaled the cock to size,” Tomas chuckles, grabbing the bags from the car.

“Jesus Christ. Mia! I said no construction!” Tomas booms ahead of me. The stripper pole, front and center on the enclosed porch, stops me in my tracks. Mia even set up play money.

“Who’s stripping?” I laugh. My jaw drops as I walk into the kitchen. “Mia, it’s literally a sea of dicks.” Seriously—inflated, baked, beaded, and beyond lay scattered throughout the room.

“Don’t worry. The boys have blow-up dolls. Tomas has a Fleshlight,” Mia says proudly.

“I’m not touching that thing with a ten-foot pole,” Tomas yells from the master bedroom.

Lex holds the door for Brayden, who’s carrying a keg. Tim trails behind, carrying what looks to be an industrial sized box of liquor. “Holy shit, are we going to live through the night?” My liver shudders in terror. I haven’t really drank since the night with Nathan. Even two shots of tequila fucked me up.

“The night? You lovebirds are stuck with us for days,” Matt laughs, rubbing his hands together and draping an arm around Mia. I haven’t seen them together in ions. They look happy.

I watch Lex’s face fall as they beam at one another. She looks away from the pair of them, typing something into her phone.

Brent walks in and waves with a shy smile.

“I’ve missed you, friend.” I pull him into a hug. Tomas claps him on the back.

“Welp, this looks like it’s going to get interesting,” Brent says, looking around. He eyes the stripper pole with trepidation. I’m surprised he showed up. We’re much more wild than him.

I look at it warily, too. “Tomas, are we going to have to pay for damages or something for installing the stripper pole?”

“Nope,” he says, turning his attention back to the conversation with Brent. That doesn’t make sense. How could the owner just be okay with the installation of a stripper pole?

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