20. Abbie
20
ABBIE
T he sun burns my eyes as I slip through the front lobby door of Seth's building, my heels dangling from my fingers. The click of the latch sounds too loud in the morning quiet. My heart is pounding as I hail my Uber, praying neither of them wake up.
The ride home passes in a blur of replayed memories that make my cheeks flame. Did I really...? With both of them...? The alcohol's worn off but my skin still tingles where their hands touched me.
Back at my apartment, I collapse into bed fully clothed, covering my head with the pillow. Sleep claims me before I can spiral too far into mortification.
Hours later, I stumble to the kitchen, desperate for coffee. My head throbs.
"Well, well, well." Tessa's voice cuts through my foggy brain. "Look what the walk of shame dragged in."
"Shhh. Coffee first."
"Bitch, where were you last night? You didn't text me and the only logical excuse I'll accept is that you were getting laid."
The coffee pot slips in my grip. "I... um..."
"Oh shit, you totally were!" Tessa bounces on her toes. "Was it silver fox? Please tell me it was silver fox."
My face burns as I focus very intently on pouring coffee. "Sort of?"
"Sort of? What does that even mean? Spill!"
"It was silver fox... and his friend."
Tessa's shriek could shatter glass. "You had a fucking threesome? My sweet, innocent Abbie had a threesome?"
"Keep your voice down!" I hiss, though we're alone in the apartment. "I was drunk and they were both so... and then we….
"Who are you and what have you done with my prudish best friend?" Tessa slaps both hands on the counter. "The same girl who wouldn't even make out with Brad Thompson in the coat closet at prom?"
"That coat closet smelled like moth balls." My coffee sloshes as I sink into a kitchen chair. "And Brad had braces."
"But two men at once? Two older, successful, probably kinky as hell men?"
"They own the speakeasy."
"Holy shit, you fucked the owners?" Tessa's eyes go wide. "Like, both of them?"
"Well, not exactly both..." The recollection of Seth watching makes my thighs clench. "It was more like... one and a half?"
"One and a- girl, what does that even mean?" She plops down across from me. "Deets. Now."
"I can't believe I did it either, okay? But Corey was so... and Seth kept looking at me like..." I bring my cool coffee mug to my burning cheeks. "God, what must they think of me?"
"Who cares what they think? Look at you, living your best life! Getting your groove back!" Tessa wiggles in her seat. "My little caterpillar is becoming a beautiful, sexually liberated butterfly."
"Stop." But I can't help grinning. Her enthusiasm is infectious.
"Never. This is a milestone moment. We should celebrate. Get mimosas and compare notes on threesomes."
"You've had threesomes?"
"Honey." She pats my hand. "So many threesomes."
"Oh god, my head." I slump forward onto the kitchen table. "Can you make me some toast? The blandest toast possible?"
"Coming right up, you sexual deviant." Tessa pops bread in the toaster, humming what sounds suspiciously like 'bow chicka wow wow.'
"I hate you."
"No you don't. I'm your best friend who's about to feed you hangover food while you dish all the dirty details."
The coffee machine gurgles, filling the kitchen with blessed caffeine fumes. My stomach lurches. "Maybe just dry toast for now."
"Amateur." Tessa refills my mug again. "So which one was better looking up close? Silver fox or his friend?"
"They were both..." I’m getting hot just talking about it. "I mean, Corey has this whole distinguished thing going on, but Seth is..."
"Hot as balls?"
"Tessa!"
"What? I'm just saying, for a repressed little prude, you sure know how to pick 'em." The toast pops up and she slides the plate in front of me. "Two successful older men? That's like, peak fuck fantasy material."
I nibble a corner of toast, testing my queasy stomach. "I'm not repressed."
"Honey, before last night the wildest thing you'd done was letting Chandler go down on you with the lights on."
"That's not..." I pause. "Okay, maybe I was a little reserved."
"A little? Girl, you used to blush when people said 'penis.'"
"Penis," I say with exaggerated clarity, making her cackle.
"Look at you, all grown up and saying naughty words. So was it good? Like, mind-blowing good or just drunk-good?"
The memories flood back - Corey's commanding presence, Seth's hungry stare, hands and mouths everywhere... My face flames. "It was... educational."
"Educational?" Tessa howls with laughter. "That's the most Abbie way possible to describe a threesome."
"Shut up and give me more toast." But I'm giggling too, even as my head pounds. Maybe Chandler was right about one thing - I had gotten boring. But boring you would never have ended up in bed with two gorgeous men.
"I should get some more sleep." I push away from the table and stand, my legs still wobbly. "Got class tonight, then work."
"Work?" Tessa's eyebrows shoot up. "You're actually going back there after...?"
"Of course I am. I'm not letting this affect my job." Though the thought of facing Corey and Seth again makes me a little nauseous. "I'm a professional."
"A professional what exactly?" She waggles her eyebrows.
I throw a piece of toast at her. "You're terrible."
"And you're a bad ass." She catches the toast and takes a bite. "Seriously, I'm proud of you. Breaking free from bland Abbie, living dangerously..."
"It wasn't dangerous." But my cheeks heat remembering how safe I felt with them, even doing something so wild. "Just... different."
"Different is good. Different got you laid by two hot guys." She raises her coffee mug. "To different!"
I clink my mug against hers, laughing despite myself. "To different. Now I really need sleep."
"Sweet dreams." She winks. "Though I doubt they'll compare to last night's reality."
"Later, Tessa." I head toward my room, her delighted cackling following me down the hall.