Page 35 of Love Bitters

“Guinevere’s Knights of the Round Table,” she announces.

The title doesn’t sound familiar, so I’m excited I’ll get to read something new. I’ve always had a soft spot for King Arthur retellings too, so it’s a double win.

“You’ve got to be shitting me right now,” Blythe blurts without warning. Same as last time, she’d immediately pulled out her phone and searched the book. “Who picked this?”

“Why? What’s wrong with it?” Jolene asks like we all want to do.

A rush of blood fills Blythe’s cheeks for the first time since knowing her as she answers, “It’s erotica.”

“Then that should be right up your alley, huh?” Jade teases.

Blythe takes the joke in stride and adds, “It says she gets with four different dudes. I’m not reading a book about Guinevere being a slut.”

“Hey now,” Jolene snaps. “Just because it’s different and not something you’d normally read doesn’t mean you need to be a jerk to someone who would. Does anyone else have a problem with this being our next book?”

When no one speaks up, she says, “There we go then. It’s settled. If anyone is uncomfortable reading it, then you can always skip the next meeting. We of all people should be more open-minded and less judgmental.”

Jolene’s statement may be aimed at Blythe, but the latter doesn’t seem to even hear her. It’s like she’s having some internal debate.

“It’s called polyamory, by the way,” Jade says, claiming her spot on the floor and not looking at anyone in particular. “When someone loves more than one person. It’s called polyamory. They make shows about it now, with a guy who has multiple wives, but this book is different. I found an entire subgenre within romance on one of my reading binges. It’s where the girl has multiple boyfriends or mates. Whatever the book wants to call them.”

Finally back to Planet Blythe, her eyes narrow on Jade as she snarks, “No matter what it is or what it’s called, it’s even more unrealistic than the book we did this week. I’d believe there were vampires and werewolves in the world before I did something like this. Humans aren’t made like that. They have emotions, and a key one is jealousy. It would never work in the real world.”

“Well, it’s a good thing this is just fiction and for fun, right?” Maisie retorts right back at her. “In two weeks, you’ll have the chance to pick apart every flaw in the book’s schematics, and we can have fun laughing at a woman that would be crazy enough to put herself in the position of having more than one man to deal with.”

Her intentions are sweet, but I internally draw myself away from them. My skin will have to be super thick at the next meeting if they’re planning on poking fun at a very real-life situation for me. I expect Blythe to accept Maisie’s attempt at camaraderie before the debates have even begun. However, she hands out a polite, for her, goodbye to all of us and leaves as quickly as she did the first time.

If anyone else finds her actions questionable, no one brings notice to it. In fact, in a matter of ten minutes, Maisie, Luci, and Penelope have also made their exits.

Jolene sits back in her seat and lets out a deep sigh. “Not too shabby for a first meeting if I do say so myself.”

Smirking, I share, “Not bad at all. Though I see a lot of Tylenol in my future of dealing with Blythe.”

“Meh,” Abi, who’s been abnormally passive all day, mutters, “she’s just a misunderstood teenager. Everything at the touch of a button yet nothing to show for it at the same time.”

“I think we can all relate to that in some way,” Jade tells her with an eye roll not meant for her. “We’re all dealing with shit, but you don’t see us being rude as hell to every person that crosses our path.”

“Let’s switch directions for a second, little sister,” Jolene redirects, leaning up to tug a small piece of Jade’s hair. “Where in the bottom dregs of reading did you find this subgenre of romance?”

I see one side of Jade’s lips pull up before her hair on that side falls down to cover it. “I was just curious and did some research after I finished reading the wolf book.”

Her gaze flicks to Abi then back at me. “If you guys got to live at least half of what those women in the books do, you are some lucky bitches. It’s got some of the hottest sex scenes I’ve ever read in my life.”

Jolene rubs her forehead with the fingertips of one hand as she groans. “I’m failing at raising you. You should not be reading shit like that at your age.”

“My age?” Jade scoffs. “I’m not a preteen anymore, sis. I love it all. Who knows if I may or may not have my own gang of boyfriends willing to be at my beck and call soon? I need to be ready and know what to do.”

Jolene’s mouth falls open in shock, but Jade slips both Abi and me a wink, letting us in on the joke.

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