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Carly snapped her fingers in front of my face. “Earth to Daria. You home?”
“I’m sorry, what?” Did they ask me something? I shook my head, trying to clear away the fog.
Adrienne pursed her lips. “Who would win in a fight between Barney the Purple Dinosaur, and the yellow Teletubby.”
“Laa-Laa,” I corrected her before the rest of my brain caught up. “Wait, what? No you weren’t.”
Reese snorted. “Because the purple one would kick all their asses. Obviously.”
“Barney is purple too,” Carly said.
“But Barney is a dinosaur, which means he’s extinct, and Teletubbies are English. One still exists one doesn’t.” Adrienne’s logic made more sense than I wanted it to.
“Really, what were we talking about?”
Adrienne sipped her drink. Did she get more reserved when she was drunk instead of less? Be interesting to find out. “How to pull you back to our world.”
“She’s just dick-stracted.” Carly looked pleased with her own joke.
Adrienne looked at her wide-eyed and shook her head. “We’re not talking about that.”
“About what?” Reese asked. “It’s rude to keep secrets in a group like this.”
“About the two sexy swim coaches who turned her into a cougar,” Carly said.
I sighed. Apparently we were talking about it. “It was just a one-time thing.” The words tasted rancid, and I tried to wash them down with water. I should’ve gotten a drink, but then I’d down it and want another and another.
Carly stared at me. “But you were so happy yesterday morning.”
“Two younger men at once, who wouldn’t be?” Reese wasn’t drinking either. At least I was in good company. I had a hard time getting a read on her; she was flashy and direct and stunning and had an amazing voice, but she rarely talked about herself and frequently seemed like she was holding part of herself back.
“Her kids walked in on them.” Adrienne winced and snapped her mouth shut.
Yup. No filter. “It wasn’t that bad. But Alana’s old enough to know what we’d been up to.”
Carly sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth. “Ouch.”
“It’s fine.” I didn’t sound the least bit convincing. “One time thing, like I said. As long as Alana forgives me.”
Reese huffed and nibbled on a chip.
“You have thoughts?” If we were going to dissect my life at the dinner table, we might as well go all in.
Reese shrugged. “Too many people are willing to give up love for fleeting moments.” She sounded like she spoke from experience.
Irritation rankled over me. “This is not love, and my girls arenotfleeting moments.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Reese held up her hands, as if in surrender. “But kidsareadaptable and what pisses them off today makes them happy tomorrow. Yours already understand what’s going on with Adrienne, Dustin, and Phillip. Unless you think their lifestyle is unnatural.”
I glared at her. “You’re making a lot of assumptions.” I looked at Adrienne. “You know I don’t have any problems with you at all, don’t you? And I don’t have an issue with the girls being around it, and I love that they understand it.”
“I know.” Adrienne nodded. “I also get that introducing new people directly into your home is different. Alana’s obviously already attached, and if things go bad… I get it.”
At least someone did. “Exactly. Which is why I’ve ended it. One. Time. Thing.” If I said it often enough, I might convince myself. Something occurred to me. I turned to Carly. “You’re being awfully quiet.”
“Because you don’t want to hear it.”
Might as well. Everyone else had said their piece. “Try me.”
