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“I’m pouring out my guts here, bitch, and you’re off in la-la land like I’m boring you to death,” a voice says, breaking into my reverie.
I’m lost, imagining ways I might get Chance back inside me, beneath me, or on top of me, but when I blink and focus, I find four pairs of eyes peering at me. Three look curious, but one is furious.
“Sorry, Natasha. You were saying that your date went well?” I’m echoing the bare bones of what she’s been ranting about for the last ten minutes because I honestly quit listening when she started repeating the same concerns over and over in a loop despite any advice to the contrary.
She huffs, “Notwell. Immaculate. Perfection. Dream-like.” She iterates every word with a wave of her hands, like she’s doing magic in midair to bring them to life.
“But you don’t trust it because you’ve been hurt,” Sara adds, filling in for what I didn’t say. She’s got the trauma response on lockdown and knows it when she sees it, though we all see it in how Natasha’s behaving. Truthfully, even she sees it in herself, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready to deal with it yet.
“Right! How can I? I mean, Josh is perfect, which nobody is, so I keep searching for the red flag, testing him at every turn. But he’s all patient with me and shit, talking through my worries when I haven’t even told him what they are.” She looks downright offended at his caring response. “He even liked the Powerman 5K I got from Samantha and wasn’t intimidated by it at all. Sat right there and sexily jacked off with one hand and flicked my bean while I took care of business with the vibe. Who does that?” She throws her hands wide, looking at us expectantly.
“You got that one?” Daphne gasps, grinning in carnal camaraderie. “I did too! Did you know it’s waterproof? I tried it in the tub and almost drowned.Glub, glub, glub.” She makes a sound like her last breath is escaping from under the water and then grins. “Could’ve died, still would’ve been worth it.”
“Even better with a friend,” Natasha proclaims, stuck on Josh.
I did catch that she met him on campus when she was grabbing coffee in the central quad area. He’s an employee, not a student, already well established in the computer science administration, and he’s sexy, smart, and kind, according to Natasha. And thankfully, great in bed, because Natasha near immediately broke her proclamation swearing off men when she met him. Another selfish sex incident or ghosting like with her rugby player probably would’ve sent her to the nunnery. Instead, she’s staring down a lifetime of happiness with a great guy and freaking out about it.
I tell Natasha, “You deserve good. You deserve a man who listens to what you say, hears what you don’t, and responds accordingly to both. You deserve a partner who shows up for you, celebrates you—win or lose—and wants what’s best for you. Maybe Josh is all that, or maybe he’s not, but don’t go in carrying baggage like a pack mule climbing Mt. Everest, letting your past taint your present or your future.”
She glances up with glossy tears in the corner of her eyes. “Thanks, Sam. I’m just scared because I think he might be the one, but what if I’m not ready for my one yet?”
“Then you get ready. But also, don’t be a greedy bitch,” Katie adds. “You want him to do all that stuff Samantha said, you can’t keep one foot out the door. You gotta give too.”
“Who you calling a greedy bitch?” Natasha questions, her brows climbing her forehead and her tone turning sour. But she’s kidding and a moment later, she’s laughing with Katie. “Got it... no pack mule-ing and no greedy bitching. Be ready.”
“Back to the Powerman 5K,” Sara says, leaning forward to meet my eyes. “How’s business going? You feeling good about joining Jaxx with all this?” She’s good, remembering my concerns and following up on any changing thoughts.
I consider carefully, but to be honest, the money makes it an easy answer. “Yeah, I hit my party goal and got my bonus. I really needed that, but I kinda hit up everyone I know to do it, so I’ve only sold around ten units since then. But I’m cohosting a party with Jaxx tomorrow in the community rec center, so that’ll be big for sales, hopefully.” Then I remember, “Oh! There’s a new product if you want to look at the site. The Velvetream Rabbit.” I pause as all three women scramble for their phones and start clicking into the Bedroom Heaven website. “If you want to order one, let me know and I’ll do a special delivery to you after tomorrow’s event.”
“Put me down for one,” Daphne says so quickly that I’m not even sure she’s gotten to the preview page yet. I guess she enjoyed the Powerman 5K so much that she’s expanding her horizons.
* * *
A party is a party is a party, I tell myself. But this community rec center set-up is approximately two percent like our deal at the Bedroom Heaven quarterly party.
“Are you sure we’re going to get any traffic here?” I ask Jaxx.
She doesn’t look up from the banner she’s fidgeting with as she answers, “For the tenth time, yes. This place is full of orgasm-starved people at lunch time. Today, they’re going to get a little extra pizzazz with their study sesh.”
I hope she’s right, but whether she’s right or wrong, this party’s happening, so I need to do my part.
I lay out our sample products on the table, along with the pink name placards, then organize the bins so that we can fill orders easily. We’ve even got an area to wrap purchases up with silver foil tissue paper and matte black bags to make it look special. Because everyone deserves a little gift for themselves!
But beyond our table, the rec center looks about as festive as a library. There are a bunch of empty round tables, a high bar along one wall with privacy dividers, and some tall plants beside a water feature that’s probably supposed to be soothing but makes me need to pee every time I see it. Add in some industrial carpet, fluorescent lighting, and a guy who keeps hushing people for simply existing, and we’ve got party central. Or at least it is according to Jaxx.
“Yeah, that one’ll get you there, guaranteed,” Jaxx promises a girl a bit later. “It’s heavy duty, though, so don’t get addicted or you’ll never be satisfied with a plain old, boring dick.” She winks, and the girl grins back, handing over her credit card happily.
“Not a problem. Don’t want or need one of those. Ever,” she retorts.
Thankfully, Jaxx was right and I should’ve trusted her more because we’ve been swamped with customers. Sure, some have been looky-loos, but that’s still a win because we’ve been pimping the QR code for the catalog like crazy, and some of those people will likely place orders later from the privacy of their own homes. But even if they don’t, the ones who’ve been interested have been buying.
Jaxx is definitely a flashier salesperson, touting horsepower and pulse modes, but I’m holding my own, talking to customers about their specific needs. We agreed to go fifty-fifty on the profits and sales credits for the party, and I think my share is already up to a few hundred dollars. I can’t believe this, both how much money I’m making and how many people I’m helping.
But it’s not all party-fun-times.
There’s a table of guys who’ve been eyeing us for the last half hour. They’re not bothering us, exactly, but the attention and laughter from them aren’t making our sales any smoother, and we’ve definitely had less traffic since they took up residence. Nobody wants an audience staring them down while they choose a toy.
Which is why I’m leery when one approaches. The last thing I need is to deal with some fuckboi.
