My eyes are glued to the computer screen, but I can hear her snicker from my phone’s speaker. “I know, Jules.”
I turn my gaze back to her, and she’s not even trying to hide her amusement. “How did you know that stuff about the pineapples?”
“It used to be a kind of secret symbol for couples who swing to identify each other. Like an upside down pineapple welcome mat or door knocker. But I think it’s pretty much common knowledge now.”
“Common knowledge?” I shriek, swirling my finger toward my laptop. “I’m common, and I didnothave this knowledge!”
Holly chuckles. “Juliette McNamara, you are anything but common.”
“Great. I’m an uncommon dingbat,” I mutter, turning my attention back to the article on my computer.
“You are an absolute sweetheart, Jules. Perhaps a tad dingy.” She holds her fingers a half inch apart. “But in the most delightful of ways.”
Reno had called me delightful too. I pull my thoughts from him and read about unicorns in the swinging community. “Ah, there are a group of women here who call themselves the Unicorn Unit. I’m guessing you know what a unicorn is?”
“It’s usually a woman who enjoys playing with a couple. She’s typically bisexual.”
“I’m amazed that you know all this,” I muse, bringing my eyes back to my sister-in-law, who is smirking again.
“Bubba and I may have dabbled in the lifestyle a bit.”
“Dabbled?” I shout, feeling my brain attempting to explode into confetti. “Youdabbled?”
Holly shrugs. “For about a year. We had a lot of fun but ultimately decided it wasn’t for us.”
“I feel like I really shouldn’t know this information about my brother,” I say, pretending to cover my ears.
She tilts her head to the side and gnaws the inside of her cheek. “You know, Jules, I’m thinking that Sir Forearms probably wasn’t talking about your books.” Making a little circle toward me with her index finger, she says, “I think he thinks you’re…a swinger.”
My eyes practically pop from my head. “Oh shit, Holly. I think you’re right. I thought it was weird that he used the wordlifestyle, but now it makes sense.” I squish my lids shut and massage my temples for a long moment. “But he’s at this resort too, so why would he be concerned about swinging?”
Holly crinkles her nose in thought. “Dunno. Maybe he’s just there to get his jollies for a few days but doesn’t want that in his life on a permanent basis.”
“I need to talk to him,” I decide. Then another thought invades my brain, and I gasp. “Holy shit.”
“What?”
“Holly, I got invited to one of the cottages for playtime tonight. I thought they were talking about board games or maybe a dart tournament or something.”
My friend falls over onto the couch, absolutely losing her shit. “This is… absolutely… the best story… I’ve ever heard… in my fucking life,” she gasps through her laughter. “Dart tournament. You would have gotten a bullseye for sure.”
Her hilarity continues, and I can’t help but join in because seriously, this is some funny shit.How the hell did I get myself into this crazy mess?When my sides begin to ache from laughing so hard, I blow out a long breath and compose myself, fanning my face with one hand.
“Okay, okay,” I say as another giggle escapes. “What the hell do I do now?”
“First of all, you need to talk to Sir Forearms. Then you need to find whoever invited you to the party and explain the misunderstanding.”
“They’re going to think I’m a complete idiot,”I groan.
Holly puts on a stoic face that I’m pretty sure is forced. “You’re not an idiot. You were just unaware of something you’ve never been exposed to.”
“Thanks, Holly,” I say, appreciating her loyalty in the face of my humiliation. “Listen, I need to go fix all these… issues.”
“Okay, babe. Keep me updated.”
I narrow my eyes in warning. “Do not, under any circumstances, tell my brother about this.”
“Oh, come on, Jules,” she whines. “Just let me—”
