Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
“What do you mean? She dated Brad,” Holli pointed out.
“You can be asexual and not be aromantic. But, no, I’m not asexual.” Penny didn’t seem uncomfortable or defensive. “I’m just waiting for the right person.”
“You’re saving yourself until marriage…?” Deja suggested for her.
Penny shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t say that. I was raised kind of conservative. And there’s this family legend…”
We all still stared at her.
With a sigh, she went on, “All the women in my family seem to have this thing where the first guy they have sex with is their true love. I’m not sure I’ve met him yet, and I don’t want to mess anything up.”
“Isn’t that a little superstitious?” Holli asked, and I forgot that she didn’t work with Penny every day.
“Yeah, superstitious is kind of my thing,” Penny explained apologetically. “I don’t mind that other people have sex, and I don’t think I should have to wait for a minister to say some words and give me permission. But I won’t do it until I know for sure that he’s the one. For now, guys just have to be content with making out and hand jobs.”
“Well, good for you,” Deja said, raising her half-empty glass in salute. “Wait for a guy who thinks you’re worth waiting for.”
“I swear that was on a poster in my Catholic youth group’s meeting space.” I laughed.
Penny laughed, too, and I was grateful that we hadn’t weirded her out with all our sex talk. She refilled her glass, as well. “I just want to find someone who makes me feel like I can trust them and like we have potential for a future. Somebody who wants the same things that I do and who doesn’t mind taking things slow until we get there.”
I had to admit I’d totally underestimated Penny. With her talk about signs in cookie fortunes and her constantly bubbly attitude, I’d branded her a little piece of fluff. Now, I was deeply ashamed for creating such a one-dimensional picture of her.
Something clicked in my mind. I was a horrible with set-ups. But I couldn’t resist them. “You know…I might know someone who would be perfect for you.”
Penny tilted her head. “Yeah? I’m not sure I’m ready for that, yet. Maybe he’ll still be available when I make up my mind.”
“He just might be.” I didn’t know how Ian’s divorce was going to go down—and I didn’t know when he’d be ready to get out there again, either—but imagining them as a couple made my heart flutter a little “awwww,” despite how much I liked Gena.
So, I’m a sucker for the May/December thing.
“Okay, it’s your turn, Sophie.” Deja nudged me with her arm. “What’s your most embarrassing sex moment?”
“No, no,” Holli interrupted. “As you are the bride, we wanna hear your most embarrassing sex moment with your intended. I know you and Neil are, like, sexual dynamos, but there has to be something that hasn’t gone as planned.”
“Well, there was the time that his daughter overheard me screaming, ‘fuck me harder,’ and we hadn’t even met yet.” My face still flamed red at the memory, even though Emma and I both found it more funny than uncomfortable now.
“Yeah, we knew about that already,” Deja said, giving me a thumbs down. “I told my strap-on anal violation story. You better bring it.”
I scanned my memory. As great at sex as Neil and I both were, we weren’t perfect. There were a number of potentially humiliating incidents. I settled on the most mortifying one. “I can’t believe I’m telling you guys this.”
Holli leaned forward and put on interested therapist face. “We’re all friends, Sophie. This is a safe space.”
I flipped her off. “All right. One time, we were doing it in the shower, and I was trying to do this whole soapy-hand-job-turned-sexy-blow-job thing, and I guess I didn’t rinse him off well enough, and soap went up my nose. But his dick was, like, down my throat, so I did this weird snort/gag combo, and it triggered my gag reflex, and I barfed all over him.”
“You barfed on Neil’s dick?” Deja covered her face, her eyes peeking out from between her fingers.
“More like around his dick. And out of my nose.” I cringed just remembering it. “And I aspirated some, which was extra super sexy. Thank god we were in the shower. Holli, you go,” I ordered. Holli always had the most interesting sex stories, because she’d had a lot of really interesting sex.
Her eyes lit up. “Okay, I’m gonna win this round. This guy I met in L.A. liked to have me dress up in a tiger mascot costume and take this huge dildo, it was like fifteen inches—”
“Nope!” Deja and I shouted, vetoing the story immediately.
“You guys have no imagination,” Holli grumbled and splashed some water in my general direction. I splashed back and inadvertently caught Penny in the crossfire.