“This is unfortunately a pretty normal thing in Strawberry Springs,” Grace explained. “I think we’ve all seen Hugh naked many times. Still was unexpected, though. Do you wanna do something else? We can still hang out after Mollie and Wren get here.”
“N-no. This is fine.”
“It better be. I’m not getting paid enough for this!” Hugh griped.
“Is it fine?” Grace asked me, ignoring Hugh.
“Yeah.” I finally lowered my hand and slowly looked at Hugh. He had an uncountable number of wrinkles and amassivedick.
But I’d watched a lot of porn. I was no stranger to the male anatomy.
“I can definitely do this,” I said.
“Really?” the other woman asked. “You’re my kind of girl. I’m Jade.”
“Piper. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve been meaning to come to the shop, but I’ve been busy with ...” I struggled to come up with a good descriptor. “Crippling anxiety.”
“Join the club, girl.” Jade rolled her eyes. “And it’s fine. We get to meet now. Even if it’s under weird circumstances. You should’ve come last week. That lady was so freaking beautiful.”
“I’m beautiful,” Hugh griped.
Both women sighed.
“Why don’t you come set up near us?” Grace offered. “You can have the corner and I can move my station to give you plenty of space.”
God, I loved her. She was so sweet.
“Thank you. That’s perfect.”
Both women asked me basic questions about where I was from as we waited for Mollie and Wren to arrive. They got there right at five, both of them racing to cover their eyes when they saw who was waiting for them.
“Hugh?” Mollie complained. “Why?”
“Oh, I need bleach,” Wren added.
“Welcome,” Jade called. “Sorry to draw your attention from the naked old man, but we have a new friend.”
Both women’s eyes went wide and they rushed over.
“You’re out and about!” Wren said. “It’s so good to see you.”
“I figured it was time.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’ve done all of your introductions,” Hugh grumbled. “I’m getting cold and my dick is shrinking! Hurry up!”
“Jesus Christ,” Mollie muttered. “I think my eyes will be scarred after this.”
“It’ll at least be a good story,” I said before picking up a pencil. “Wait, do any of you know how to draw?”
When the class was over, we lingered in the library, taking over one of the rooms to chat. I had my awful drawing of Hugh, while Jade kept hers too, saying she would show it to anyone who dared to cross her.
Mollie, Wren, and Jade all threw theirs away.
If I did manage to smooth things over with Theo, I wanted to show him my drawing, if only for his reaction.
Worst case, I could use it to deter visitors from my door.
But thoughts of anything else were few and far between. I was so focused on my new friends that it was hard to even think of Theo. I learned that Mollie was preparing for blueberry season and Wren was working on a new, larger apartment next door to Jade, who couldn’t wait to see who moved in. Grace had a one-year-old who was adorable, and she loved fashion.
