“She’s a little too excited about day drinking. Her mom’s watching Theo at our house for the day,” said Luke.
To Ophelia’s surprise, Jack arrived next. She had invited him somewhat last-minute, sensing that he needed to get out more, away from his Prius and dogmatic ideas. Her friends were not like Jack at all, but he had met most of them before and seemed to tolerate them.
“Jack! So glad you came,” she said, pulling him into the house. Jade shot her a brief look of annoyance. Jade did not likeJack, but she’d be fine. There were plenty of people coming so that she could easily ignore him. “Y’all come to the kitchen and get some breakfast.”
More commotion came from the front door as Ophelia’s sister, Jolie, and a couple of her girlfriends arrived, followed by Ben, Etienne, and several others who seemed to travel in packs.
Ophelia locked eyes with Etienne for a breath, then quickly averted her eyes. She was soon approached by Ben, who cornered her in the kitchen while passing out mimosas.
“Hey, my girl,” said Ben in what was a clear attempt to be smooth. The last time Ophelia was around Ben, a couple of months ago, she was in a weak, touch-starved state and made out with him at a bar. She then proceeded to go back to his place for some very lackluster sex. The spark just wasn’t there, no matter how hard she or Ben tried to make the encounter more enjoyable.
Not only was the spark not there, but Ben was also not great at taking some well-meaning direction in bed. Thankfully, he had been sweet and gentlemanly during the whole thing.
Ophelia had set very clear boundaries about it being a physical interaction only, with no expectations beyond the one night. But when she left the next morning, she had the distinct feeling that Ben was going to keep trying for more, and he absolutely did. She had received several invitations to go out or come over to his house, and for each invitation, she’d had a well-timed excuse.
“Hey, Ben. Get yourself some breakfast,” she said as she grabbed a butter dish and jelly jar. With the objects in her hands, his attempt at a full embrace turned into an awkward side hug.
“Oh, for sure. Hey, can you give me access to your Bluetooth speaker? I wanna pump some jams and get this party going.”
“Uh, yeah.” Ophelia had the Bluetooth hooked up to her phone, and the speaker was running through some nineties rap and rock. He handed her his phone, and she quickly connected it to the speaker. Thankfully, Jade appeared and broke up the conversation by drooling over the biscuits.
“These biscuits, girl,” Jade moaned. “I may shove some in my purse for later.”
“No judgment here,” Ophelia said with a chuckle. “I’d rather you eat a bunch than not. Do I need to remind you of the Great Vom of 2015?”
“No, oh God. Stop,” Jade said, wincing. “Trust me when I say I’ll never do that again. I have learned my lesson.” She leaned closer to Ophelia. “Why’d you invite weirdo cousin Jack?”
“Shhh,” hissed Ophelia. “He’s family. I know you don’t like him. Just avoid him.” Ophelia gave Jade a stern look, and Jade rolled her eyes.
“He’s not even wearing a red dress.”
“At least his T-shirt is red,” Ophelia reasoned.
“He just gives me the creeps.”
Ophelia laughed at Jade and slapped her on the bottom, effectively making her scurry away to Luke.
Ophelia smiled as she took in the group of friends crammed into her cottage, making the kitchen and living room look like some type of fun house. The people looked too oversized for the space, which added to the boisterousness of the party. Luke, Etienne, and Ben stood by the couch talking. They seemed as if they were trying to help Ben select a song now that he had control of the speaker. Ophelia quickly flicked her gaze away when Etienne noticed her staring; she focused her attention back to refilling the carafe of orange juice.
Ophelia had been interested in Etienne from the moment they met, but he was always dating someone, typically a beautiful blonde. Plus, he always seemed very indifferent and uninterested. He would talk to her like he did at Delphine’s funeral—kind, but surface-level. Then he would usually disappear or ignore her after initial greetings and pleasantries. Thus, she mentally placed him in the friend zone and moved on. It didn’t mean she was blind, though. She still thought he was gorgeous, but she tried to keep the flirting and longing stares to a minimum.
As she placed the orange juice on the counter, her skin on the back of her neck tingled in awareness. She turned, and to hersurprise, she was met with Etienne’s broad build, accentuated by a deep-V, red halter dress that showed off his pecs and chest hair. The skirt of the dress was laughably short and laden with gaudy sequins barely covering his thick thighs.Fuuckkkkk.
“Whoa, E. Showing a lot of skin there,” Ophelia joked to mask the heat in her face, but her voice came out a tad too deep, too sultry. She mentally admonished herself.
Etienne quirked a mischievous smile. “Honestly, these dresses are very freeing. Everything is nice and breezy.” He swished his hips slightly, making the skirt flare out.
The man was even confident and stately in a slutty, discarded prom dress. Ophelia rolled her eyes. “Did you eat yet?”
Etienne admired the spread with wide eyes.
“My God, Ophelia, you outdid yourself!”
Ophelia shrugged, knowing full well she went overboard.
“Plates and forks are by the sink. Need a drink?”
“I’m good, I’ll get it. Go enjoy yourself.”
