Page 53 of The Upgrade

“Oh!” Val bangs her drink on the poolside table. “I know this one.”

Her enthusiasm makes me laugh. “Is this a game show question?”

“No, it’s a thing.” Val beams proudly. “Cuckqueening. When you’re turned on watching your man with someone else? It’s the female equivalent of cuckhold.”

Gia wrinkles her nose. “Doesn’t that involve humiliation and degradation? I thought a cuckhold likes the shame of having another guy fuck his wife.”

“Wait, no.” Val waves to a shirtless waiter who appears to be looking for someone. “There’s another word. It’ll come to me, hang on.” She stops as the guy sets a fresh margarita on the table, then kneels next to her and starts kissing the nape of her neck.

We continue on like that’s normal. Like Val didn’t just order up neck nuzzling on an app. Her smile spreads slowly as her eyes flutter shut with pleasure.

“I don’t think you need a label,” Gia continues. “Whatever brings you bliss?—”

“Candaulism!” Val shouts as her eyes fly open. The guy kissing her neck doesn’t flinch. “That’s the kink where you like watching your man with someone else.”

“Huh.” At least I’ve got a name for it now. “Anyway, Topher’s not my man.”

“Topher?” Gia smiles. “He doesn’t look like a Topher. I think they all use made-up names.”

I don’t say a word about Kit, but she’s right. “Ten bucks says that Nico guy is really Bruce or Fred.”

Gia laughs. “Do you know yet who the female consort will be?”

“I’m letting the guy choose,” I tell her. “He’s someone I met before I came here, so I trust him.”

The women both gasp and titter. “Wait,” Gia says. “You’re banging a boy from back home?”

“It’s not exactly like that.” Okay, maybe it is. “He’s actually my best friend’s brother.”

“Oh.” Val frowns. “That’s great she’s okay with it.”

“Um, yeah.” A dribble of guilt trickles through me. “I’m not sure she would be,” I admit. “It’s not really my place to tell her he’s here.”

“Say no more.” Val holds up her near-empty glass. “What happens at Crystal Bliss stays at Crystal Bliss.”

Gia clinks her glass against Val’s. “I don’t know about you ladies, but I sure as hell don’t plan to tell my future husband about this.”

“Certainly not.” Val slides down the strap of her one-piece suit so the consort kissing her neck can move over her shoulder. “We’re sampling for the sake of variety. The men we marry someday don’t need to know.”

“I’ve kinda sworn off marriage at this point.” Saying it out loud is getting easier. “Too much hassle, you know? Too much loss of freedom.”

“I hear you,” Gia says. “It does seem risky, having to safeguard all your secrets.”

As she says it, I’m not thinking about some imaginary future husband. I’m mulling the secrets I’ve kept from Camille. How much would it hurt her, knowing I’m still seeing Kit?

Not that we’re seeing each other, exactly. We aren’t dating. It’s just a fling that’s gone on a little longer than planned.

So why do I keep requesting him?

Val’s eyes drift away, following someone on the other side of the pool. “Who’sthat?”

Gia gasps. “Oh my God! That’s Ashton Holyfield. The owner.”

“Of Crystal Bliss?” I don’t recall seeing his name on the website.

“Of the whole fucking island.” She delivers this info in a whisper-hiss that’s loud enough to have women looking over from the end of the pool. “He’s some kind of kajillionaire. Really eccentric. I’ve heard he rarely appears in public.”

We watch the guy stride toward a far bank of buildings. He’s dressed in a suit, which is weird at a beachside resort. There’s a sprinkle of gray at his temples, and he’s hot in that older guy way Camille calls azaddy.

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