Page 3 of Rope Me, Cowboys

“Oh no,” she said, pulling up short. “That’s wallowing.”

“I think this calls for wallowing.”

“You only get to wallow for one night. Are you sure you want to use it already?”

“Yes.”

“Tell you what,” she said, taking my arm again. “Let’s stop by that little sushi joint and get a vat of the miso soup you love so much, and if you still don’t feel like forgetting your sorrows, then we’ll go home.”

“Deal,” I said. “We can run by Charlie’s on the way and bring him some. He sounded awful on the phone today.”

I still had no idea how I’d landed a guy like Charlie. Not that there were other guys like Charlie. He was literally perfect in every way—handsome, athletic, class president, valedictorian, and hopelessly devoted. Haley’s explanation was that I was badass. Mark’s was that Charlie had a weakness for bad girls. This was obviously not a flaw in my eyes, since I was the bad girl he had a weakness for.

The one area we didn’t agree on was his vow to wait until marriage to have sex, and it wasn’t like I could fault him for that. The problem was, we were only eighteen and that was a long-ass wait. But I knew I’d never find a guy like him if I spent the next twenty years searching. I made do with the finger vibrator Haley had given me for Christmas two years earlier when I’d told her about Charlie’s vow of celibacy. She’d also bought me a package of rechargeable batteries so I wouldn’t blow my college fund on batteries. Haley was nothing if not thoughtful.

“Of course,” she said. “Come on, let’s get a cab.”

I felt a little guilty for running by my boyfriend’s place when I was spending time with Haley, but she wouldn’t fault me for it. She knew I’d never ditch her to hang out with a guy, even Charlie. And she loved Charlie because he loved me. If I were sick, he’d check in on me, probably bringing chocolate, homework, cold medicine, and chicken soup. If it weren’t for his cold, he’d have been there for moral support tonight just like she was. Plus, my mother loved him, so she always forgave my bad behavior a little when he was around. The least I could do in return was make a quick stop for miso soup delivery on my way to Haley’s.

When the cab finally pulled up in front of his Park Avenue apartment, we piled out, giggling and trying to hold the takeout bag upright so the soup didn’t spill. We told the cab driver to wait, and I let myself in. Charlie had gotten his own place after graduation, and I had my very own key. I still felt a little thrill of pride every time I used it.

The apartment had been decorated by one of the best in the business, and as always, it was immaculate. I expected to find Charlie wrapped in a blanket on the couch watching TV, but the spacious living area was empty.

“He must be sleeping,” I whispered, tiptoeing towards his bedroom.

“Is he watching porn?” Haley asked, stifling a giggle.

“Charlie doesn’t watch porn,” I said, rolling my eyes. And then I heard what she must have already heard. A breathy, gasping sound. My tipsy brain couldn’t come up with an alternative to the porn explanation, but I was sure it was something totally innocent. It was Charlie, for God’s sake. The guy wore sweater vests.

Because I knew it wasn’t anything he wouldn’t want me to see, I marched my drunk ass right into his bedroom without even knocking.

And then I screamed.

As I had so confidently assured my bestie, Charlie was not watching porn. If there had been a camera set up, however, he could have been starring in porn. Hell, maybe there was. I didn’t have the presence of mind to look around his familiar, tastefully decorated bedroom. I was too busy staring at my boyfriend.

He was lying on his back, halfway off the bed, with a naked brunette kneeling between his knees, her head bobbing as she devoured his previously-unseen-by-me cock. A naked redhead straddled his face, moaning in rhythm with the strokes of his tongue. Apparently, he had no reservations about oral sex before marriage. Or threesomes, as long as there was no penetration—or girlfriends—involved.

When I screamed, the brunette didn’t even seem to notice. She was too engrossed in blowing my boyfriend.

The redhead twisted around and looked down at Charlie’s face—the part of it that wasn’t buried in her twat. “Oh, is that your girlfriend?” she asked.

Charlie pulled his mouth from her pussy long enough to peer around her ass at me. He gave me a shit-eating grin and released the girl’s thigh to make a welcoming motion that included me and Haley.

“Come join us,” he said. “Or should I say, join us and come?”

“You—you piece of shit,” I screeched, wincing at my shrill tone even as it came from my mouth.

“Four mouths are better than two,” he said with a wink, then buried his face in the redhead’s crotch.

“Give me that,” Haley said, snatching the forgotten takeout bag from my hand. She popped the lid off one of the tall soup careens and pushed it into my hand while she opened the second one.

“On the count of three,” I said, and together we doused perfect Charlie with two quarts of scalding miso soup.

4

Amber

Now