Page 78 of War

Wifey: Of course. Whatever I can do to keep our family together, you know I will.

Me: I’ll see you tomorrow, wifey.

Wifey: Good night, Tyler.

THIRTY

TYLER

“What exactly are we looking for?”Aiden asks as he holds a vibrator at eye level and turns it one way, then the other, inspecting it.

Sara takes it out of his hand and puts it back. “Not a lipstick vibrator, that’s for sure.” She eyes me, one brow arched to confirm.

I offer her a nod. Definitely not a lipstick vibrator.

Why am I willingly walking around a sex toy store with Aiden and Daniel and Sara? It’s Brooks’s fault. I should know by now that he shares everything with Sara, and she can’t let anything go. Worried that the dance instructor might be a real threat, I turned to my best friend for his opinion and advice. Somehow that turned into Sara dragging us to this store, demanding I find a gift for Ava that would ensure she’s thinking about me only.

“What type of toy do you think would mimic the sensation of a piercing?” Daniel ponders aloud.

Sara’s lips curl into a teasing grin. “Nothing, you sweet playboy, you. Nothing I’ve ever played with can compare to Brooks’s glitter dick.”

Brooks lets out a heavy sigh.

“You should be proud,” Aiden mutters. “If Lennox said I was better than any of her toys, I’d be proud.”

Hall whirls on him. “She hasn’t told you that?”

Immediately, Aiden is on his phone and calling his wife. As he disappears down an aisle, he tells Lennox she owes him for not complimenting his dick enough. Only seconds later, he’s apologizing for being in a sex store without her, and then he’s returning to us with his phone held out. “Sar, Lex says I have to give you the phone. I’m in trouble, and now you get to pick out toys, and I have to pay for them as my punishment.”

Sara cackles and taps the speaker button on the phone. “Do you want topunishpunish him, or do you want fun things for you as his punishment?”

“I want you to get the biggest vibrating dick you can find so I can use it in his?—”

Brooks hits the mute button, silencing Lennox’s words. “Please god, don’t talk about what you do to my brother, Lennox.”

Sara glares at him. “You’re such a prude.”

“Why am I here again?” I mutter, walking away from the shit show that is my group of friends.

Daniel follows after me. “Because you want to satisfy your wife so she doesn’t flirt with the dancer. Calliope says if you’re worried your man is cheating, then he probably is. Go with your instinct.”

I blink. Then I blink again. “My man?”

Daniel scoffs. “You know what I mean. Here, let me pull up the article. She has a whole thing on trusting your instincts. Girl is fucking brilliant.” He’s already got his phone out, which means he’ll be distracted for a bit. The minute the kid starts reading his sweet Callie’s words—his description, not mine—we lose him.

I clap him on the back and squeeze. “I’m not actually worried about him.”

It’s the truth. Though our marriage started as nothing but a contract, I know Ava will always remain true to her word. She’d never be unfaithful. And I’m happy she’s dancing again. Watching her dance that first day changed me, all the way down to my DNA. It made me see her in a way I’d never seen anyone else. And I’m aching to see it again.

As that thought occurs to me, a plan forms in my head. Quickly, Icircle the store, buy what I know my wife will enjoy, and head for the door.

“Where you going?” Sara yells as she holds up an oversized dildo that has Aiden shaking in his literal boots.

“To play with my wife.”

“Thatta boy,” she hollers as I head out into the cold Boston day. “Give her that sparkly D!”

Me: I’m in Boston. Be home soon. Where are you?

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