Page 27 of Sexpresso Night

Chapter Six

“You’re going to Matagalpa with him?”

“Yes! Isn’t that great?” From the expressions on Jenny and Marina’s faces, Danya judged that they didn’t share her joy.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her happiness fizzling out a bit.

“That’s kind of fast, isn’t it?”

“Well…”

Marina and Jenny exchanged a look. Danya frowned. “Come on guys. I’ve found a man I’m really happy with. I thought you’d be happy for me.”

“We are. But…we’re concerned about you too.”

She gazed back at her friends, dismayed by their reaction. “But why? You like Carter, don’t you?”

“Well, sure. I mean, as much as we know him.” Jenny smiled. “You’ve only been seeing him a few weeks.”

“We just want you to be careful,” Marina added.

Danya softened. “Don’t worry about me. This feels really…right. I feel like I belong to…” She paused. “I belong with him.” She studied her friends. “Despite what you might think, I did learn a hard lesson from Evan.”

Jenny’s eyes narrowed. “Evan was an asshole. A sadistic monster.”

“No kidding.” Marina scowled. “I’ll never forget that night you showed up at my place…what he did to you…”

Danya winced. “I know.” And her friends didn’t even know half of what had gone on between her and Evan. That night he’d struck her so hard she’d been bruised and bleeding they’d seen what he’d done to her on the outside, but the scars inside weren’t so visible.

“You know, Danya, that guy was involved in some pretty strange shit.” Marina leaned across the table. “Like, he belongs to sex clubs.” She lowered her voice. “Fetish clubs.”

Danya rolled her lips in. “Yes. I know.”

They stared at her. “You knew about that?”

She let a moment go by as she pondered her response to her friends. She’d never told them everything about her relationship with Evan. She took a deep breath. “Yes. I went to those clubs with him.”

Their eyebrows shot up.

“It was all a long time ago,” she assured them. “I was…experimenting. I’m not into that stuff anymore.” They shook their heads slowly. She leaned toward them over the table. “You just need to get to know Carter better. I swear to you, Carter is nothing like Evan.”

* * *

Carter’s first wine and cheese/cupping party was a huge success. Danya stayed after to help him clean up even though he had plenty of staff working that night. He’d told her he had something special for her after, and she’d been quivering inside with anticipation all evening.

“Well, that’s it,” he said. The other staff were ready to go, the shop closed for the evening. “Thanks everyone. See you tomorrow.”

When they’d gone, Danya turned to him expectantly. “So?”

He grinned and pulled her up against him. “Greedy little girl, aren’t you?”

“I’m not greedy! Just curious.”

He kissed her and she felt that flutter low in her belly, that sliding warmth between her legs. He was everything she’d ever wanted and she couldn’t believe her good fortune at having found him.

“We’re going back to my place,” he said.

“Oh. Okay.”

---