"FINE, HAROLD!" Quinn calls back. "WE'RE FINE!"
He grumbles something about hooligans and goes back to his machine.
Quinn snaps back to me, eyes blazing. "Zoey Morrison.In the locker room?!"
"With your hand on his—" Avery chimes in.
"YES."
"And thenwhat?"
I press my palms over my face.
"And then I… cried."
Quinn is, for the first time in our entire friendship,speechless.
Avery is the one who finally speaks, very gently. "Oh Zo… You cried?"
"Like, full sobs. Snot-and-everything sobs."
Quinn looks like she's about to laugh, and the look I shoot her could ice over Harold's espresso machine.
She swallows it, holds up both hands. "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. Talk to us. What happened?"
I take a long breath and… I tell them.
Not the dirty parts. Not the way Colt saidevery morning, watching you, or the way his hands felt under my sweater.
I tell them therealpart.
"It just feltwrong."
Avery frowns. "Wrong how?"
"Not wrong-wrong. Nothim." I shake my head. "He was… God, you guys, he wasperfect. And he stopped the second I made a sound."
"So what was wrong?" Quinn asks softly.
"I don't know. It was just like my body forgot what I was supposed to do next."
I shake my head and stare out the window at Main Street.
"I've told you guys how Daniel and I…" I swallow, shaking my head. "After Morgan was born, sex became a chore. Lights off, under the covers, fifteen minutes start to finish. And it wasn't even bad, it was just…nothing.It was a thing on a list. Like loading the dishwasher."
Avery's hand finds mine across the table.
"AndI had a toddler in the next room with thin walls.Anda husband who didn't really want to be there anymore. So I just… learned to not need anything. And then he left, and I just—"
I shrug.
"I stopped. I moved here and built a whole life where I didn't have to need that kind of thing anymore."
"Oh, Zo."
"And then there's Colt." My voice cracks. "Right there. Telling me I'm beautiful and doing all these wonderful, amazing things for me. And so I kissed him, and soon his mouth was on my neck and his hands were… well, under my sweater and… and his…thingwas…" I gesture vaguely to my lap. "…in myhand."
I exhale, long and shaky.
