“Way nicer than he was when I worked for him. He says he was such a jerk to me because he was trying to keep things ‘professional’ between us.”
“What a load of bullshit.” Eyes narrowing, Nelly sits back, planting her fists on her hips. “Being a total dickhead isn’t professional at all!”
Victoria gasps, looking frantically around the room like our Daddies will appear at any moment. “Nelly! You can’tsaythat! What if they hear us?”
“Relax, as long as I don’t say that to his face my Daddy won’t care.”
“What about the…” Looking around like Victoria did, Isabella drops her voice to a whisper. “Exams? Does he give you exams like he gives us?”
“No.” Heat floods my cheeks at the memory of my time on Doctor Dreadful’s table. “The ones I get are way worse.”
“No way!” Jaw dropping with shock, Juliet wiggles around to face me fully, her eyes full of ravenous curiosity. “Now we need to knoweverything.”
Everyone is looking at me, waiting for me to share. And isn’t that what friends do? Share the dirty little secrets of their relationships?
Besides, maybe if they realize how much worsemyexam was, it will help them see me more as one of them and less like the person who used to help Doctor Dreadful terrorize them.
“Okay, but you can’t tellanyone. Not even your Daddies. It’s just between us.”
They all solemnly swear, so I settle in, crossing my legs and clutching my borrowed doll on my lap. “Well, it started normal. He took my temperature—the baby way, of course?—”
“Wait.” Frowning, Nelly holds up a hand. “What’s the baby way?”
Now it’s Isabella rolling her eyes. “The way weallget our temperature taken, Nell.”
“Yeah, but how is that the baby way? Everyone gets their temperature taken that way.”
Four confused faces turn my way and I hunch my shoulders against the outrage I know is coming. “Um, well… Nelly gets her temperature taken the grown-up way.”
Before I can explain further, outraged shrieks echo around the room.
“You mean we’ve all been getting thermometers shoved up our asses butshegets to do it the normal way?” Crossing her arms, Juliet glares at me, then at Nelly and back again.
“That issonot fair,” Victoria grumbles.
“You guys have been getting your temperature taken in yourbuttsthis whole time?” Nelly blinks once in confusion, then falls backward, clutching her stomach as she dissolves into laughter. “Oh man. Sucks to be you!”
“How come you never let us get our temperature taken the grown-up way?” Isabella demands, her face a mask of righteous fury.
“Um, well, Uncle Evan doesn’t care, but your Daddies all want it done the baby way. And… well… Nelly was really nice to me and she stood up for me when Daddy was being extra mean one day.”
“I can’t believe this! I’m telling Daddy.” Jumping up from the floor, Isabella marches toward the door.
“Please don’t!” Panic wraps around my chest. “IfmyDaddy finds out, he’ll… well, I don’t actually know what he’ll do but it won’t be good. And I’m still really sore from my exam and that was two days ago.”
“Really?” Looking more curious than angry now, Isabella slowly turns around. “What did he do?”
Telling them the truth now feels a bit more like self-preservation than girl talk, but if Daddy finds out I didn’t follow the “proper procedures” even once, there will be hell to pay. “Okay, well, he took my temperature like I said. And then, um… Oh, god.” Humiliation floods my cheeks with heat.
“It’s okay, Millie.” Sitting up, a fierce expression on her face, Nelly wiggles over to drape an arm around my shoulder. “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t wanna.”
“No, I-I do. It’s just kinda embarrassing. He, um, cleaned out my bottom and then strapped me to the table so he could do my breast exam, and he clamped my nipples.”
“Ugh, he loves those stupid things,” Juliet mutters with a scowl. “Freaking sadist.”
“That was honestly the nicest part. You know how when you get your yearly gyno exam, they put a speculum inside you and spread you open for your Pap smear?”
Four sets of wide eyes are trained on me, and they all nod silently. “Well… he did that. And then he did that to my bottom.”
