Page 83 of Mayhem
She’d only been to their house once last year when they all went swimming and played games. She’d had to get Alijah to send her the address because asking Paetyn would have ruined her surprise. Since most of their dates were in the city, her apartment was where they ended up.
Erin walked to the kitchen, and Paetyn sat the sacks on the island. She started pulling the ingredients from them. He took the bags from her and stepped out into the garage momentarily before returning. She was grabbing everything she needed for the marinade.
“Do you need some help, baby?”
“Do you have gallon-sized Ziplock bags?”
Paetyn opened a drawer, and she saw several different size bags organized in sleek containers, but she wasn’t surprised. Erin pulled one out before going to the sink to wash her hands. Once she’d dried them, she opened all the seasonings she’d brought, the other items needed for her marinade, and the Ziplock bag. She added all the ingredients except the lemon and honey into the bag.
Erin washed and dried the pork shoulder before placing it in the bag. She squeezed in the honey and took the knife Paetyn was holding out to her. She cut the lemon in half and squeezed both halves into the bag. She rewashed her hands, sealed the bag, and massaged the outside of it to get the marinade all over the meat. When she was satisfied, she placed it in the refrigerator.
“It has to sit for an hour,” Erin stated. “While it does, you can tell me how planning for the bistro is going.”
They entered the living room, and she sat beside him on the couch. She knew that he’d made an offer on a building that came with most of the equipment he would need, but he hadn’t told her about hearing back from the seller. Erin was sure having an almost ready-made building would cut down on much of the work he’d need to do.
“They accepted my offer, but the hold-up is on my end,” Paetyn stated. “They already have some of their permits and certifications but in their chosen name. I need to have them transferred, but I don’t have a name yet.”
Erin furrowed her brows. “You hadn’t chosen one when you were going to open before the other seller backed out of the deal?”
“I did, but it related to the street the building was on.”
She nodded understanding. It might not have worked in the new place if he’d been set on that name based on location.
“Have you picked out any other names at all? If so, are there a few that stick out more than others?”
“I haven’t. For some reason, nothing I think of speaks to me,” Paetyn responded.
“Well, bistros typically serve French cuisine, but that isn’t always the case, right? So, what are you serving? What’s the cuisine focus?”
“Majority of the bistros in town or nearby are French or Italian. There are two that focus on American cuisine, but I wanted to bring something different. The focus is Polish with Spanish influence.”
“That’s definitely different,” Erin started. “But it sounds exciting. It’ll be something new and stand out from the others. I’m sure it’ll bring in business because it’s yours, and people enjoy what you create. If you need help or want suggestions, you’ll let me know?”
“Of course, Angel.”
His phone rang, and she stood and headed down the right hallway where she knew a bathroom was. She took care of business and washed her hands before exiting. As she was returning to the living room, she passed an open door. The last time she’d been there, it’d been closed. She made out a chair from the light that filtered down the hall, but there was something by it that she couldn’t tell what it was.
Curiosity getting the best of her, Erin stepped in, finding four switches to her left. She tried the first one, and the room was bathed in light. She hadn’t been sure what she expected to see. Maybe another bedroom, perhaps an office. Neither of those things looked back at her. No, what she’d found was a playroom.
With the lights on, she didn’t know what the object next to the chair was, but she didn’t dwell on it as she stepped further into the room. There were rugs across the marbled floor, one with pillows stacked in the middle. A king-sized bed sat on the far sideof the room. The top of it was made for a canopy but was instead bare. Some chains ran on both sides of the bed with handcuffs at the ends.
The walls on either side of the bed contained hooks with different sex toys. The floor and walls of the room were white, but the furnishings were wood, with black rugs and a few gray and black accent pillows.
“This is where you got off to.”
Erin looked over her shoulder to find Paetyn leaning against the door frame. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have been snooping.”
He shook his head, pushing himself off the frame. “It’s fine. Keep looking.”
She walked closer to the bed, running her hand over the soft comforter and through the opening to another part of the room. She found a sex swing across from a large mirror that gave the perfect view of the contraption. It also had a Saint Andrew’s cross in the corner. There was a set of stairs that caused Erin to furrow her brow. She’d been upstairs and didn’t remember anything on the second floor on this side of the house. However, there was no telling what was on the other side of the wall.
“What’s upstairs?” she asked.
“It’s a bathroom. Things tend to get messy in here,” Paetyn responded.
“This makes sense,” Erin stated as she returned to the room’s central area.
“What does?”
