past.
“We haven’t done any of the sex stuff.” Cami takes a sip of wine, then bends over to touch up some paint, showing me her perfectly round, begging-to-be-kissed ass.
“None?” Kat looks down at her and frowns. “Like, at all?”
“We kiss sometimes,” Cami says. “Maybe he doesn’t want to do the sex.”
Oh, he wants to do the sex, sweetheart.
“He does,” Kat says, her voice confident. I nod.
“How do you know?”
“Because he’s a man. Trust me, he wants the sex.”
“I think he likes me,” Cami says.
Oh, I like you.
“I hope so. Otherwise I’ll have to remove his manhood,” Kat says, and they both giggle.
“Don’t do that,” Cami says right before snorting, which makes her laugh even harder. “I have plans for his manhood. I think he’d be really good at the sex stuff. Like, really, really good.”
“You know, if he doesn’t initiate sex, you should just drop to your knees and suck him.” Kat nods once. “Just go to town on him.”
Jesus. Just the thought has me rock hard. I need to interrupt this conversation, but just before I step forward, Cami says, “I thought about it. I might just attack him.”
“Yessssss!” Kat says. “Do it. Seriously.”
I clear my throat and walk toward the pantry like I just got here. If they keep talking like this, I’ll scoop Cami up and take her upstairs to rectify the no-sex-yet situation, and she’s way too drunk for that to be our first time.
“Hello, ladies.”
“You’re just in time!” Cami says with a smile and staggers to her feet, then gives me a big hug.
“I am?”
“Yep, lover boy,” Kat says, and lifts her bottle of wine. “We’ve painted the pantry.”
“Say that five times fast,” Cami says with a giggle. “Painted the pantry. Painted the pantry. Printed the pinto.”
“Ha! Printed the pinto.” Kat laughs.
“I like the color,” I reply, admiring the deep coral that looks happy and cheerful in the nice-sized pantry.
“Me too,” Cami says happily. “It’s pretty.”
“Your kitchen is a hot mess,” Kat says with a frown as she walks out of the pantry and throws her empty bottle of wine in the trash. “This is going to require a small army.”
“Or a box of matches,” Cami says. “I could burn it all down and start over.”
“But we just planted a pantry,” Kat replies, then snorts. “Boy, we’re drunk.”
“Drunk painting is good for the soul,” Cami says, smiling up at me. “You’re pretty.”
“Pretty?” I drag my fingertips down her cheek and she snuggles close to me. “I don’t think guys are supposed to be pretty.”
“But you are,” she says with a sigh. “With your dark lashes and thick hair and all your . . . prettiness.”
“She thinks you’re hot,” Kat says, and shrugs when Cami scowls at her. “What? You just told him he’s pretty. I’m translating.”
“Thank you,” I say, chuckling. “I’ll take you home, Kat.”
“I have my car.”
“And you’re way too drunk to drive. You don’t live far.”
“I’ll call an Uber,” she says, waving me off and pulling the app up on her phone. “No need for you to leave and come all the way back.”
“This was fun,” Cami says. “But we forgot to eat.”
“No wonder we got so drunk,” Kat says. “I knew we were forgetting something. According to this, my driver will be here in three minutes. I’ll go out and wait.”
“Thank you,” Cami says, and hugs Kat around the neck. “You’re pretty too.”
Kat snorts again. “You are drunk. You’re welcome. See you when I see you.”
“I’ll go wait with you,” I say as we walk to the front door. “It’s dark.”
Cami crashes on the couch as Kat and I walk outside and down to the sidewalk.
“I think you’re good for her,” Kat says out of the blue. “She’s happy. And it’s been a long time since I’ve seen her be really happy.”
“I’m glad.” This is an awkward conversation.
“Just don’t hurt her.” She points her finger into my chest. “Seriously, don’t. Because then she’ll be sad, and she’s had her share of sad, with her parents dying and her divorce and stuff.”
“I don’t want her to be sad either,” I reply. “And thank you for being such a good friend to her.”
“Well, duh. She’s awesome. Oh, there’s my car.” A black car pulls up to the curb and the driver rolls down the window, verifying that Kat is his passenger. She climbs in the backseat and waves at me, blows a kiss, and they drive away.
I take a deep breath, enjoying the crisp night air, then walk back inside and smile softly at