Page 74 of Ruthless Lullaby

"Hey," Betty says softly, sitting down next to me. "I know you’ve had some rough days recently. How about we take your mind off it for a while?" She nudges me gently, a mischievous glint returning into her eyes. "There's something here that will cheer you up."

I open my eyes, curiosity piquing despite my fatigue. "What do you mean?"

Betty grins. "You got another package earlier," she exclaims, pointing to the coffee table. I furrow my brow as my eyes wander to the big, fancy-looking box sitting there.

"What is it?" I ask, pushing myself up from the couch.

Betty flashes a smile, "I don’t know, but it's for you. Looks fancy as hell."

I walk over to the package to take a closer look. It's all dressed up in black paper with a shiny silver bow. I touch its smooth surface, feeling a mix of thrill and butterflies in my stomach.

It must be another gift from Maron.

"Come on girl, open it already!" Betty eagerly nudges me.

I glance at my friend as I start untying the ribbon. The paper unravels and a slick black box is revealed underneath. I remove the lid and a shriek escapes my lips. I stare at the contents in astonishment.

Holy crap.

I have to rub my eyes to make sure I’m actually seeing what I’m seeing. The black box is filled with an arsenal of toys that look like they cost a fortune. That’s right, ‘that kind of toys’. There's a vibrator, fancy silk ties and masks, and even this shiny metal thing that makes my cheeks run red.

Before I know it, Betty stands behind me, peering into the box. "Holy shit, girl!" She exclaims and her face brightens up. She reaches in and pulls out a dildo. She carefully inspects it. "That is one big, shiny dildo. Do you think it’s going to fit?"

My cheeks flush. "Jesus, Bets. Seriously?"

"I'm sooo damn jealous, Mindy!” She laughs, ignoring my embarrassment. “Why can't I ever get something like this?"

I still can’t believe what I’m looking at.

It is hard to believe that this was all sent to me.

I shake my head. "I dunno, Bets. Maybe you're just too picky?" I wink at her.

Betty snorts, making a dramatic movement with the dildo in her hand. "Picky? I'd settle for a guy who can string two sentences together without mentioning his ex or his mom. Is that too much to ask?"

I burst out laughing and put my hands up. "Alright, fair point."

Betty looks at the object in her hand and runs her eyes up and down its length, carefully inspecting it. "This came from Maron, right?"

"Can you think of anyone else?"

"I knew it," Betty says, shooting me a look. "He was away from the office all day yesterday, and that doesn’t happen very often lately. The only logical explanation is that he spent the entire day on his computer, in a frantic search for the perfect dildo."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, like he’s got nothing better to do."

"No, seriously. I can totally imagine his face contorting as he browses through adult websites," Betty continues dramatically, "trying to find the right fit for your vajayjay. Vibrant violet? Nah, let's make it royal blue. Size XL? Oh no, let's go for triple XL!"

We both burst into laughter. "Jesus, girl, stop it!"

"Check your messages," Betty reads out the content of a small, elegant envelope she just fished out of the box. "This guy really knows how to build suspense," she remarks.

"My messages? On my phone?"

“That’s what it says,” Betty replies, urging me to take a look.

I fish my phone out of my pocket and tap the notification to pull up the incoming message.

Mindy,

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