I inhale, lean in, and exhale the words in one mortified breath: “IhadasexdreamaboutWesleyandEmmett.”
“What? Sadie, come on, just say it.”
“I had asexdream about WesleyandEmmett,” I whisper.
Her brows shoot up. “Holy shit.Bothof them?” I nod. “You’re a busy girl. What was it like?”
“Lyd!” My voice comes out strangled. “This is not funny. I can barely look at them now.”
She shrugs. “I think there’s a very simple solution.”
“Oh,please,wise one, enlighten me.”
“You,” she says, touching my forehead dramatically, “need to get laid.”
I gape at her. “Lydia—”
“I’m being serious. He-who-shall-not-be-named was giving you mind-blowing O’s on a regular basis, and now your body is in withdrawal. The dream was your brain’s way of…compensating.”
I open my mouth to argue, but someone knocks on the bar. She holds up a finger before popping up to help them, leaving me alone in my shame cave.
I rest my chin on my knees. Maybe she’s not entirely wrong. Maybe I’ve been chasing the wrong thing—searching for earth-shattering love only to end up disappointed. Maybe a fling would be simpler. Maybe it would hurt less.
Lydia drops down again, wiggling her eyebrows. “Sooo. Who are you gonna bang?”
I laugh despite myself. “Ew. Sometimes you’re such a guy about this stuff.”
“Aww, you love me anyway. Now tell me, who’s the lucky guy?”
“I think you’re half right,” I say slowly.
“Half?”
“Yes. I think I do need to…scratch the itch.But I’ve never done the casual thing. Never had a one-night stand. I’ve always been looking for love and—obviously—that has not gone well. Kolson ghosted me. Lane…” A swallow. “I just wanted to love and be loved, and I rushed into anything that resembled that feeling.”
Lydia softens instantly. “Baby, the only reason you evenlookedat Lane was because you were overreacting to yourrealfeelings.”
I frown. “Agree to disagree.”
“Mmm. Except I’m one hundred percent right.” She twirls her finger. “Continue.”
I roll my eyes. “Instead of a relationship or a one-night stand, I think I need something in-between. A fling.”
She winces. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. And I don’t think there’s anyone around here you’dwantto sleep with more than once. We should just go to Lucky’s. Tourists are easy.”
“I don’t want to go from zero to a hundred in the time I have left here. I think having a fling is the perfect solution.” I shrug. “You said so yourself.”
“Um, correction: I did not suggest you getting a regular fuck buddy. I said you needed to get laid.”
“Ugh, can we not call it a fuck buddy? It’s a fling. No strings. No attachments. A mutually beneficial arrangement.”
“Sounds like a fuck buddy to me, but sure, honey. A little summer fling.” She smirks.
I stick my tongue out at her—right as a familiar deep voice rolls from the other side of the bar.
“Have you seen Sadie?”
Wesley.
