“Just so we’re on the same page, do you mean, a penis piercing?”
“Um… Yeah.”
Tay raises a brow, then swings one leg off the chair. “Okay, well now I’m invested. But let me just say, if we’re making this a pros and cons conversation? That piercing belongs firmly in the pro column.”
I blink. “Wait. You’ve seen one?”
“More than seen it.” She’s grinning wider than I’ve seen her grin before. “And let me tell you—I still think about it.”
I laugh, caught somewhere between scandalized and fascinated. “How did you know I was making a pros and cons list?”
She just gives me a look. “Ashley. Youarea pros and cons list.”
Fair.
“Okay. One for the pros side… so you still think about it, eh?”
Tay smirks, unspooling a coil of lights. “Let me put it this way—if er… inserted properly, that little piece of metal turns the entire act into… let’s say, a more intense experience. Extra pressure. Extra friction. Inside, and right behind the clitoris…”
I nearly drop the lights. “You are out of control.”
She shrugs, totally unapologetic. “You brought it up. I’m just saying—if you’re making a list, definitely factor in that level of fireworks.”
I think about telling her there were already plenty of fireworks last night—even without the piercing—but there are some things I’d like to keep to myself.
“Duly noted,” I say.
She pauses. Eyes me. Smirks. But doesn’t push.
We get right back to work, draping strings of lights over the headboard, blowing up bride and groom balloons to make a garland that we hang on the walls with little magnetic hooks, and scattering silk yellow petals over the bed in the shape of a heart. Tay tapes a sparkly “Luna and Noah” banner across the balcony doors, and I start assembling the mini spa kits for each guest—face masks, lip balm, and a tiny bottle of rosé, plus a crown and sash set laid out for Luna.
It’s all pretty mindless, which I’m grateful for, because my mind is right back on Beckett. And the wordsregulatory scrutiny.
“You’re good, then?” Tay breaks our silence. “The dinner went okay?”
“It did, actually,” I say. “Even though… there’s still a lot to figure out.”
My mind flickers back to the candlelight, our conversation, and—strangely—the fact that I’d spent the entire evening without wearing underwear.
Not exactly my usual vibe.
Kind of like parasailing.
I shake the thought off with a smile. “What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?”
It’s a deflection, sure—but with Tay’s lifestyle, I know the answer will be worth it.
Tay laughs, surprised. “Craziest? Getting engaged.”
My brow lifts. “You’re engaged?”
“Was.” Her smile softens, wistful. “A long time ago. He called it off a month before the wedding.”
Wow. That was not what I expected.
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want, but… what happened?”
Tay measures out a piece of ribbon. “He said I didn’t love him enough. That I wasn’t ready to settle down. That we wanted different things.”
