Page 56 of War on Christmas

Hecate blinks her golden eyes at me, then, without warning, jumps to the nightstand. I snort when she lands on my tarot deck and slides off the edge of the nightstand onto the carpet. She lands on her feet, then looks at me over her shoulder with a disdainful scowl.

“Whoever heard of a clumsy cat?” I tease, bending over to collect my deck. I shuffle the cards back into place, and I’m just about to put them back when I notice the dark corner of a card poking out from under Hecate’s paw. I stretch, reaching for it, and she turns her nose in the air and slinks away, allowing me to pick up the lone card. I flip it over, and my breath leaves me with a whoosh, like I went too fast down a slide.

Because I immediately recognize the lone, bent figure. It’s the upside-down Hermit. Of course.

***

“Freya?” Sam’s clear, cheerful voice sounds from the other side of the bathroom door, and I frown as I sink further into my bath water, which has long since cooled to barely warm.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” I call.

“Oh, I just wanted to chat quick. Is the shower curtain closed?”

“Yeah, come on in.” I lean back against the smooth porcelain tub and kick my feet onto the teal and off-white wall tiles. I hear the door open and close and the quiet creak of the toilet seat as Sam settles onto it. “Something to talk about you don’t want Thad to hear?” I ask.

My guess? She’s going to hit me up for Thad’s feelings about marriage. They’ve been together over a year now, and she’s obviously The One. But my dolt of twin still hasn’t put a ring on it.

“Idon’t care what he hears,” Sam says, “but I thought you might be willing to say more without him around.”

Aaaaah.

“More about what?” I ask cautiously, even though I already know.

“About what the heck is going on with you and Jeremy.”

“You know what’s going on,” I say, careful to keep my voice even. “We’re killing time until the holidays are over. Hooking up. Having a fling. A nine-night stand. Well, a five-night stand, now. Non-friends with benefits. A torrid—”

I’m cut off by Sam’s loud, wild laughter echoing off the tiny bathroom’s walls.

“Uh, yeah. Whatever.” I swear I canhearher eyes roll.Shit.Why did Thad have to fall for somebody so fucking perceptive? “Now tell me what’s really going on.”

I sigh, splashing some lukewarm water over my breasts and shoulders as I contemplate how much I’ll have to confess to get her off my back.

“The sex…”

“Yeah?”

A groan tears out of me. “So fucking good. Like…hot.”

“Excellent.”

I bite my lip, hoping she’s satisfied.

“And…” she prompts. I should have known better. Sam’s sweet, but she’s got a conniving side. It’s why I like her so much.

“He does this thing, with his tongue, that—”

Sam laughs.Dammit.That would have sent Thad sprinting from the room, but Sam is made of sterner stuff.

“You know that’s not what I meant, Frey. What’sreallygoing on? Because he isinto you.” She pauses. “And I gotta be honest. You seem really into him too.”

Damn my moony-eyed stares. I was in a state of post-orgasmic bliss yesterday. Clearly, it made me weak.

I stare at my eggplant-colored toenails against the tiles and reconsider my strategy. Maybe Sam is the perfect person to confide in. She knows both Jeremy and me, but she still has enough distance to be reasonably objective. She wouldn’t feel stuck in the middle like Thad, for instance. I decide to test the waters.

“When we were out on our date the other night, we ran into Jeremy’s ex-girlfriend from high school. She’s the one who started the whole Freaky Freya thing my freshman year. Did Thad ever tell—”

“Mmhmm,” Sam quickly mutters, urging me to go on.

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