“So did you get laid or what?” Tommie asked, blunt to a fault.
Rena paused. “Excuse me?”
Stella grinned, and Nicky gave her a thumbs-up and mouthedYou go, girl.
“You had sex. It’s been, what, six years?” Tommie snickered.
“Very funny.” Rena had to laugh. “More like a year and a half, but who’s counting?”
“So you didn’t have sex?”
“Why are you asking?”
“Because you’ve been practically bouncy and cheerful all day,” Stella answered. “I mean, you’re normally happy, but not this happy.”
Rena blinked. “You think I’m happier?”
“Yep.” All three of them nodded.
“I did not have sex, not that it’s any of your business.” Although…she gossiped with them about their lives and the lives of others. It would only be right to share.
Tommie and Nicky handed Stella money, distracting her.
Rena frowned. “Wait. You bet against me?”
Stella nodded. “I’m a good judge of character, and you’re a romantic. Since you haven’t had a boyfriend in a while, I just don’t see you jumping into bed with some guy. Even if Axel is hotter than the sun.”
Rena felt her cheeks heat.
Tommie hooted. “She’s embarrassed! I can tell.”
“Because she’s hot for the plundering Viking,” Nicky said, nodding.
“Well, who wouldn’t be?” Rena retorted.
“She’s got us there.” Stella grinned. “Hey, I’m happy for you. We’re all happy for you. But we’d be happier if you’d share what the hell happened to get you so happy. If it’s not sex, then is it almost-sex?”
“Oral?” Tommie offered.
“A hand job?” Nicky asked.
Stella frowned. “Why would giving him a hand job make her so happy?”
“I meant for her,” Nicky clarified. “Well, what do you call it when a guy gets you off with his hands?”
Tommie pursed her lips. “Hmm. That’s a great question. In the spirit of equality, I’d go with hand job.”
“More like finger job,” Stella mused. “I mean, the whole hand might be a bit much. A knuckle job?”
The three of them cracked up laughing while Rena wondered if they’d been drinking.
Tommie wiped her eyes. “Sorry. But that was funny. So if it’s not a finger job, oral, or sex, what happened?”
Rena relayed to them her mortifying ordeal, which garnered her some much-appreciated compassion.
Stella stared at her in awe. “You aresolucky. Axel Heller, the Viking god who walked in here the other day, saw you without makeup, your hair undone, and in pajamas. He hugged you until you fell asleep, tucked you into bed, and left you a rose? He didn’t bring flowers with him, did he?”
“Not that I saw.”
