“That means our group activities will alter slightly, but nothing to worry about. We’ll just be a party of seven instead of nine,” Nia explained. “So, after breakfast, we’ll see them off, and lunch will be at noon. Then, we’ll do our activity. Is that all right with everyone?”
“Sure,” Kristina said and took a sip of her coffee.
“No problem,” Jennifer added.
“Fine with us,” Debra spoke, placing her arm over the back of Sharon’s chair.
“Great. Thank you for your flexibility,” she replied and went back inside the house, where she walked to her bedroom and gathered her thoughts.
She’d had an interesting night and was still processing what had happened. Nia hadn’t ever had an encounter with a client, even when they’d requested it, citing her professionalism, but when Becky had asked her if she’d be interested in joining her and Helena, Nia hadn’t given it a second thought. She’d said yes, and they’d all had a great night together. Nia supposed part of the reason she’d said yes was that shehadbeen with Becky before and they were friends. The other reason was that she’d read both of their applications, where they had clearly indicated wanting to have a threesome and preferably not with a stranger, but with someone they knew and could trust. Nia had fit the bill, and she’d been interested.
Now, last night had been great, and she’d happily repeat it, but it also had her doing a lot of thinking. She’d been in an open relationship with a woman who also traveled for work for the past four months, and it was fine. They got together whenever they were both in town, but it wasn’t the same. She could tell Becky and Helena loved each other, while Nia had been focused on others finding love, never really focusing on herself. She’d been traveling a lot for the past several years, and for whatever reason, it had just clicked with her that she wanted something like what Becky and Helena had found.
Of course, to have what they had would mean changing some things in her life. She would need to slow down and offer fewer events or train someone to host them instead, but she didn’t want to stop helping people find love. She got joy and purpose from it. Unfortunately, helping others wasn’t enoughfor her anymore. She wanted something for herself, too. She picked up her phone and dialed.
“Hey, can we talk?” she asked the woman she’d been seeing.
CHAPTER 46
Carrie
“Nia?”
“Yes?” Nia asked, looking a little out of it.
“I was hoping you could ask Gage if she’d want to be with me tonight as well. Not sure if that’s still a requirement; it seems everyone’s already basically paired off, but I wanted to respect your rules.”
“Thank you,” Nia replied. “Let me check with her, and I’ll let you know.”
“Okay.” Carrie nodded. “Are you all right? You seem… I don’t know.”
“I’m just tired,” Nia said. “I didn’t sleep well last night, but I’m all right. Thank you for checking.”
“No one really talks to you on these things, do they? Outside of the events you’re running for us, no one’s really talking to you as anything but the host. I noticed that during cocktails and stuff. You help start conversations when we’re all nervous sometimes, but mostly, you stand off to the side.”
“I observe,” Nia returned. “Part of the job.”
“Right,” she said. “You don’t know me very well, but if you need to talk or something, just let me know.”
“Carrie, you’re the client. I’m here foryou. That’s the job, and I enjoy it.” Nia smiled. “But thank you very much for your consideration. I appreciate it.”
“Of course,” she replied and watched Nia walk out of the kitchen.
“Hey, did she say it was okay?” Gage asked, walking in soon after Nia walked out.
“She’s going to talk to you about it.”
“Still? Obviously, I want you. You just had your hands all over me outside.”
“I did not.” Carrie laughed.
“Yes, you did. Your hand was on my thigh. Sometimes, it was on my neck. You had it on my back for a minute, too. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you like me or something.”
“Will you go track Nia down and talk to her so that we know for sure that we’re okay for the night?” Carrie said and continued laughing.
“I’ll do that, but we’re not required to be back out here until noon. It’s just after ten. Any chance you–”
“Yes,” she interrupted.
