“How ’bout you, Sophie?” Jill asks. Her perfectly shaped eyebrows arch and there’s a trace of a slur in her voice. The booze is catching up to her. My cheeks flame. All eyes are glued on me.
I stutter, and consider lying, but instead I tell the truth. “Last night.”
“See? That’s why she’s glowing. It’s okaaay to have sex with your spouse, even if you hate ’em,” Jill says with too much glee oozing out of her small frame.
“Okay, hot shit,” Callie says. She’s standing now, hands parked on her hips. “Why don’t you tell Sophie about the chest of drawers?”
I have no idea where this is going so I take another slug of my margarita, giving myself instant brain freeze.
“Absolutely not,” Jill says.
A barking laugh erupts from Tina. “Sorry, Jill.”
I’m too intrigued and starting to feel buzzed so I blurt out, “What is Callie talking about?”
Jill’s face turns scarlet and she crosses her arms in front of her waist.
“Alex and Jill have a secret dresser. Dedicated to their sex toys! The bottom drawer is for the whips—”
“Stop!” Jill whines.
“The next one is for the restraints,” Callie says. A smirk ripples across her lips. “And the next one—”
“I hardly knowher,” Jill says, gesturing toward me. “She’s gonna think I’m such a freak!”
“I’m okay with it,” I offer, mainly because Iamso intrigued and beguiled by Jill and how this demure, petite woman is apparently into bondage.
“They are into crazy, freaky shit,” Callie continues. “Alex barking like a dog while Jill whips him, Alex wearing a cuff around his neck while his arms are in restraints.”
This is the most I’ve ever heard come out of Callie.
“If only the hospital staff knew what averybad boy Alex has been,” Callie says, licking a line of margarita slush off her well-lipsticked lips.
Instead of looking angry, Jill seems to be actually blushing with pride, tipsy and swaying on the deck to Beyoncé, who’s piped through the outdoor sound system. She looks to me to see if I’m rattled, so there’s only one way to show her I’m not.
“Sounds fun,” I say, lifting an eyebrow.
I feel Margot’s eyes on me, alert and intrigued. “Do you guys do that kinky shit?”
There she is again, wondering about me and Graham. It’s both terrifying and titillating. I don’t want him in her sights, but I also like that she thinks ofus in that way. I’m not sure how to answer. I wobble, then say, “I mean, no, nothing like that, but we like to have fun.”
I’m grateful when Tina pipes up again, saving me from mindlessly blurting out any more. “Bill likes it when I suck on his toes,” she says sheepishly.
“Ewww, that’s just gross, honey,” Margot says.
—
THE SOUND OFa boat whining from across the lake cuts the conversation off. It’s a blue-and-white-striped pontoon boat and it’s heading for Jill’s deck.
“Oh, great! They’ve made it back safe and sound!” Jill says, lifting her cover-up off the back of a chair and protectively wrapping it around her.
“You didn’t tell us fucking kids were coming,” Callie says.
“Well, it’s not like they’re going to wanna hang out with us, so chill,” Jill says.
I see Margot sit up in her chair and shield her eyes, staring at the approaching boat. Brad is driving and Jamie sits in the back with his arm slung across the padded seat. A girl with long blond hair sits in the passenger seat next to Brad. She’s wearing a ball cap the way young girls and celebrities do, with her hair completely covering her ears and the cap parked precariously on the top of her head as if it could blow off at any moment.
As the boat reaches the dock, Jamie steps to the front and loops a rope around a wooden pole that’s attached to the pier. He’s topless in red swim trunks, his lean chest glistens with sweat, and I blush, thinking of our moment together at Margot’s.
