Page 7 of Ribbons and Role Play

I let my gear bag thunk on the ground and sit on the long wooden bench. I toss my phone in my bag, ignoring it vibrating. She joins me in lacing our skates.

“What happened?” Nikki asks. She glances toward my buzzing bag and I wave it off.

It’s good that she doesn’t know since she works at my dad’s company. It means the rumor mill hasn’t explained that I let my stepbrother claim my virginity in front of people at the sex club. Supposedly they take privacy breaches very seriously, but we all know what money can do.

“I was being married off as part of a business deal. Every time he saidI love you,he meant he loved money and power. I was just the tool to secure it.”

“No shit.” Nikki’s fingers stop moving, leaving her laces dangling.

“Yeah. Part of the drawback to having an uber-powerful father— He thinks he can do things like that.”

“That sucks,” another teammate, Beatrix says from nearby.

“But you got out of it, right? You’re not in an arranged marriage?” Nikki asks.

“For now.” I stand and adjust my spandex shorts, avoiding explaining the whole virginity thing. “I just want to get my life back.”

Nikki slaps me on the ass. “Yeah. Come on. Let’s…”

My phone buzzes from inside my bag again.

“Maybe you should check that,” Nikki says. “We’ll start skating laps. No one expects you to be ready today.”

I unzip my bag, curious who it could be. It’s Knight:We’re not done with you

I type back:We?

Like an idiot, after I send the message, I see that Axel and Nova are in the group chat. Not that there was much question.

Knight:I’m not done with you

Axel:If you need to be extra sure you’re not a virgin, I can help

Me:I’m pretty sure it’s one-and-done

I’m cracking up at this text exchange. No use reading anything into Nova not responding.

Knight:We have an offer for you

Me: ???

I’m fairly certain Fantasy Wendy got control of my fingers. There’s no rational reason I would have a text exchange with my brothers about sex.

The phone rings and it’s a number I don’t know. I’m not in the mood to talk to a stranger but my finger accidentally taps the answer button instead of Reject Call. Gah! I cautiously lift it to my ear.

“Hello?”

“What the hell were you thinking, Wendy?” It’s Dad. Not sure who’s phone he’s calling from. My heart sinks as I watch my friends skate around the track smiling, laughing, sling-shotting each other in practice moves.

“I said I’d be in touch in a few days. I’ll be at work Monday.” My head drops backward. Ugh!

“No need. If you can’t respect the importance of this wedding, you’re fired.”

I snap upright. It’s not that I don’t respect authority. It’s that I don’t respect it blindly. But I know how Dad is. There’s no point arguing. I’m no more than an employee who messed up a giant contract.

I offer a simple, “Okay,” then drop my phone in my bag and push off to join my girlfriends in the rink. They’re my found family. They accept me for who I am. I don’t get treated special here. I’m not the girl with all the money and the legacy. I’m just a girl who’s willing to skate and shove people around and have a really good time.

The thoughts in my mind settle as I skate warmup laps. My dad didn’t mention sex, just the wedding. Surely he would’ve mentioned my public stepbrother fucking if he knew.

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