“Oh, come on, Precious!” I swatted his large backside playfully as he stuck his tail in my face. He sat down and snuggled in with Evie. We stared at each other from across the couch, and she smiled.
All complaints slipped from my mind.
I’d do anything for that curve of her lips.
“They just wanted to catch family movie night.” She laughed.
Family movie night?
She turned to watch the movie, and for a bit, we forgot all about Thornton—and all the men she fucked that I didn’t want to know about but, as a glutton for punishment, eventually needed to hear about.
“Did he really die from a heart attack?” she asked as Mike and Debbie ran from the alien circus tent and toward the police station.
I pulled my eyes from the screen. “He did. How long did you wait before you started dating again?” I shot back quickly.
I thought the rapidness of my reply surprised her. She pursed her lips. “I didn’t date until I was out of high school, so…about two years. You?”
“Dating isn’t something I’ve ever really done,” I answered truthfully.
“What do you mean?” She laughed dryly. “I’ve seen tons of photos of you with people.”
“Sex. I wouldn’t consider any of them my exes or anything.”
She grew quiet and returned to the movie.
“Glenn and Bryce said he’d taken too many erection pills? Is that part true?”
I pursed my lips. I didn’t particularly like to remember that day. He was a real bastard, and I had no regrets, but he’d made me feel so low, I still hated him for it.
“Yes, but not voluntarily. I tossed a handful of Viagra into his drink. Too many, and your body goes into shock. Who was he?”
“Who was who?”
“The man you dated after me. Did you guys sleep together?”
“What makes you think it was a man?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Are you...”
I was openly bisexual—had been for years. I’d never thought to ask Evie about her sexual preferences in a partner. That stuff never interested me. Sexuality was a spectrum; we were all on it somewhere. She shrugged and motioned for me to hand her the popcorn. I had to raise it over the dogs and stretch to pass it.
“I tried dating women, but it wasn’t for me.”
“Okay, so stop avoiding the question. Who was he, and did you guys sleep together?”
Her jaw tensed. She didn’t want to tell me.
“His name is Trenton. He’s a programmer at Western Michigan.”
“Trenton?”
“He’s super nice, but it wasn’t a love connection. Just fun.” She shrugged, then returned to the movie.
I begrudgingly turned to the screen and watched the killer klowns from outer space terrorize Crescent Cove. I couldn’t focus and enjoy the movie, though.
How many people had she hadfunwith? I knew it didn’t matter. I’d slept with so many men and women I’d lost count. But the thought of Evie dating, touching, or loving another man was making me spiral.
“Glenn said he’d been having an affair when he was found, but Bryce said it was a sex worker. Do you know anything about that?” she asked.
