Page 7 of Lucas
“Don’t mind them, they’re just a little drunk,” Michelle whispers in my ear. “Come sit with us.”
I perch on the edge of the sofa, clasping my hands on my knees.
“Beer?” Michelle passes me a bottle and I accept it. I’m not much of a drinker, but everyone here has a bottle or glass in hand, so I assume it’s expected. At least it gives me something to do with my hands.
“It’s Jennifer’s birthday soon,” Mick says. “We need to celebrate.”
“I don’t want you buying me gifts and participating in that waste.” Jennifer looks at him. “I appreciate hand-picked flowers from a garden way more than expensive presents. It shows thought. Don’t you think so, Ava?” Her gaze pierces me.
Picking flowers from someone’s garden is stealing. But I just nod and take a swig of beer. They chat on about the silliness of gifts while I rack my brain trying to figure out how to scrounge up millions for payroll, so my employees can feed their families. The group’s debate seems petty and pointless, but I promised Michelle I would keep an open mind, so I smile and nod at everything they say. Luckily, they don’t seem to require any actual response from me.
I don’t understand what she sees in these people.
You need to loosen up. That’s what Michelle said, right? Isn’t that why I’m here?
Jennifer’s cackle draws my attention back to the group. “The weirdest place I ever fucked was a restaurant bathroom.” She snorts. “What? We couldn’t wait!”
“That’s not that weird,” Chantal jeers, waving a hand. “Bathrooms are a classic. I did it right in the restaurant dining room once. Straddled him in the back booth with my coat covering us.”
“Wow, sexy,” Michelle says. “For me, it wasn’t full-on sex, but I had a boyfriend in the hospital once, and I went down on him. We closed the curtain, but I was so scared his heart monitor would start beeping like crazy.” She dissolves into giggles.
I didn’t know Michelle was so adventurous. She never told me that story. My own sexual experience seems so tame in comparison. I never did anything like that.
“And the monitor didn’t go off?” Mick arches an eyebrow. “Maybe you need to work on your oral skills.”
Michelle smacks his arm. “Hey, rude! What about you? Where was your weirdest spot?”
“I don’t know about weird,” Mick says with a shrug, “but I used to work at a grocery store, and my girlfriend surprised me once by coming to see me, so I took her in the back and fucked her against the walk-in fridge.”
“Eww. And then people ate that food.” Michelle wrinkles her nose.
“They’re not eating the actual fridge, and it was closed,” Mick counters.
Chantal turns to me. “What about you, Ava? Where was your weirdest place?”
I bite my lip. “Um...”
“Come on, we all shared ours.”
“I don’t remember.”
“She doesn’t remember,” Mick guffaws, slapping his knee. “Have you even been fucked, Miss Audrey? Oh wait, she probably doesn’t say ‘fuck’ because it’s too crass for her delicate sensibilities.”
Jennifer’s eyes go wide. “Holy shit, are you a virgin? How old are you?”
“I’m not a virgin,” I snap. “And I’m twenty-eight.”
“Twenty-eight and can’t even tell us a sex story?” Chantal gapes at me. “Seriously?”
“I told you, I’m not a virgin.” My voice rises along with my irritation.
“Not a virgin, but too good to swap stories with us lowly peons. Is that it? First the fancy clothes, now this? You think you’re better than us.”
Anger bubbles up in my chest, but I tamp it back down. “Fine. Weirdest place? Costume party. I was dressed as a cat. Let a guy in a dog costume fuck me up the ass,” I lie. “Happy?”
Rising to my feet, I stare them down, daring them to keep mocking me. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to go.” I grab my purse and stalk toward the door, humiliation burning in my cheeks. I never should have come here.
“Ava, wait!” Michelle chases after me, catching my arm. “Don’t be like that. They’re just drunk and stupid. They didn’t mean to offend you. I’m sorry about all the sex talk. That always happens when they get wasted.”
