“You’re not lying now. You’re just not telling him.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s the definition of a lie, Aspyn.”
“It’s not. It’s withholding information. And you’re going to tell him if he’s worth knowing them, so calm down.”
“I can’t calm down. I already like him too much. More than I should. I can’t help it. Every time he’s texted me this week, I’ve gone back and reread it. I have every text memorized. Talk about clingy and psychotic.”
“That’s not either-or, Sage. You’re allowed to like a guy. There’s nothing wrong with that. You’re allowed to put yourself first. It’s only going to make you a better mother, and you know that.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
“I know. You spent months crying that you couldn’t breastfeed because you didn’t produce enough milk to fill both their bellies, but hey! Look at the bright side—now you have an amazing rack, and your titties aren’t touching the floor.”
“Only you would turn that into a positive.”
“I turn everything into a positive. You can manifest the life you want.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “I’m manifesting great sex tonight. Not just great sex, mind-blowing, passionate, animalistic sex tonight.”
“Are you having sex with Ashton or a lion?”
I chuckled. “Am I manifesting too much?”
“Not at all. He’s best friends with Sawyer, and that man fucks like a god. I have never come as much as I have this week from any man before. He’s like a fucking sex magician.”
“How many times did you see him this week?”
“Ummm … almost every night. Sometimes during the day.”
“The day?”
“Yeah, he’s a med student. His hours are all jacked up.
“He’s going to be a doctor?”
She smirked, wiggling her eyebrows. “A gynecologist.” She gazed up at me. “Maybe that’s why he knows my body like the back of his hand?”
“I don’t know what’s crazier—the fact that he’s going to be a gyno, or that you know he’s going to be one.”
“Oh, come on. I ask my bed buddies questions. I’m not made of stone. Plus, I like to know whose name I'm screaming out, and let me tell you, Dr. Sawyer sounds really fucking hot in the heat of the moment.”
I busted out laughing. “Aspyn! You didn’t tell me that!”
“You’ve been freaking out about Ashton all week.”
“True, but still! Every day?”
“You’re making it sound deeper than it really is.”
“He’s been deep in you all week. How much deeper can it get than that?”
“Sage, I leave after we’re done. It’s a straight-up sex session. Sometimes, during sex, we just randomly start asking each other stuff. I don’t know, it’s weird and hot all at once.”
“It sounds like you like him, Aspyn Rose.”
“I like his dick. It’s nice.”
“How charming.”
She winked at me.
“When are you seeing him again?”
“After I drop you off. He’s feeding me take-out and then eating me.”
“He’s feeding you take-out? Like a date?”
“It’s not a date. He’s just ordering take-out for us. We go for hours, and I need fuel. The man has stamina like his balls just dropped. He’s insatiable, and I’m taking advantage of his big dick and sexual appetite. If he wants to feed me to boot, then I will happily oblige.”
“What are you eating?”
“Thai.”
“He likes Thai?”
“Not sure. He asked what I wanted, and that’s what I said.”
“Wow. He asked what you wanted. Sounds like a date to me.”
“He also asks me to ride him harder, Sage. Trust me, it’s not that deep.”
“So you guys just do it, and then you leave?”
“Yeah, but sometimes we go again and again. I leave after that.”
“How does that play out? Do you say thank you, come again?” I playfully mocked.
She chuckled. “Something like that.”
“Do you like him?”
“I don’t like random men, Sage.”
“You like Brady.”
“Brady doesn’t count. I grew up with him.”
“I still think you’re lying, and something has happened between you two.”
“Brady can’t handle me. He’s too much of a gentleman.”
“What’s wrong with being a gentleman?”
“Gentlemen lead to heartache, and I don’t have time for that.”
I shook my head in astonishment. “You’re like a dude.”
She shrugged. “Believe it or not, that isn’t the first time I’ve been called that.”
Aspyn continued talking about all the things Sawyer could do with his tongue, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d taught Ashton how to use his mouth in the same way. When she started driving toward what looked like a drive-in theatre, my heart raced a mile a minute. The closer we got to my final destination, the clearer the flashbacks became of the last time I was in the woods alone with a guy, and we all know how that turned out.
What the fuck? Are the dating gods punishing me?
My first real date ever, and I was reminded of Memphis!
Why, God, why?!
“Oh. My. God,” Aspyn acknowledged. “You’re thinking what I am, right?”
“Yeah.” I shook my head at the tragedy that was my dating life. “Is this a bad sign?”