Page 69 of The Upgrade

“I’m fine.” That sounds underwhelming, considering how much great sex I’ve had. “Fantastic, honestly. The sex stuff has been outstanding. I guess it’s just got me thinking.”

“About open relationships?”

“Marriage in general. What it looks like. What itcanlook like.”

“It looks different for everyone,” she says. “It should, right? We all have different desires. Different ideas about what we want.”

“True.”

What she’s saying makes sense. And yet?—

My stepfather’s words ring in my ears.

Why can’t Eve benormal,for God’s sake?

The beep of an incoming call pulls my attention back to the one with Nina. “Neen? I’m getting another call. You’ve got everything handled with the Carmichael account?”

“You bet.” She’s confident and sure, which I love about Nina. “Don’t worry about anything. Have fun getting banged senseless.”

“Same to you. And thanks for everything.”

“Bye!”

I tap the screen to take the new call and see it’s Camille calling in. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Just calling for an orgasm count.” She laughs. “It’s day three, right? You’re at least in double digits.”

I try for a quick mental tally, then remember her brother has delivered most of them. “It’s going great.” I paw through the dresser, deciding what to wear today. I guess it depends on what I’m doing. “I, um…had my first major girl-on-girl experience.”

“Shut the front door!” Camille hoots with delight. “Was it amazing?”

“It was.” The memory of Sybil’s soft mouth fills my thoughts. The tickle of curly blond hair on my thigh.

The grip of Kit’s hands. The thrust of his thick, hard— “It was a threesome, actually.”

“Did you include a man, or was it a female trifecta?”

“A man.” I hesitate. “Same man I had for the massage.”

“Really? Going back for seconds, huh?”

When I don’t answer right away, she presses.

“Wait. Has it been more than twice?”

“There was also a dinner date, followed by sex on a balcony. Some anal stuff and?—”

“With the same guy?”

“Yeah.”

Camille goes quiet. She’s doing her best not to judge, but I know what she’s thinking. I’m thinking it too, to be honest.

“You’re sampling plenty of different partners though, right?”

I hate when she uses her shrink powers to read my mind. “Mostly.”

“Mostly?”

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