10. New Year’s Day
New Year’s Day
T he credits rolled for Crazy Stupid Love on the TV as the daylight brightened the already-bright barn. The day had the smell, taste, look, feel, and potential of a Friday.
I sat up on the couch’s edge and stretched my arms above my head, releasing the tension all along my back. Clarkson had moved from my chest hours before to wedge herself between me and the couch. With me up now, she crawled into my lap and tried to lick my chin again. I played with her ears and kissed her wet dark brown nose instead.
Quinn stood up to stretch. She unplugged her phone from an end table and checked the time. “It’s eight-nineteen. Nat may still be knocked out, but she should be up soon to round the boys up. Do you want to shower and change? I’m sure we can find you some spare clothes to wear.”
“Actually, I have an overnight bag in my car with an outfit and everything else I need. If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready!” I laughed with a little shimmy that made Quinn snort. “I never leave on a night out without an overnight bag.”
“You sound like a girl with experience. What happened?”
I rolled my eyes at the memory. “Simone was driving me and Maisie somewhere, and she got us stuck in a ditch overnight in the middle of fucking nowhere . We made the best of a shit situation, but we also learned that Simone cannot be trusted to drive and always bring an overnight bag.”
Quinn nodded her head in approval. Then she quickly typed out something on her phone. “I just texted the valet to bring your car around. It will probably be a while, though. So, go shower in my bathroom. I have plenty of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, whatever you need. When the valet arrives, I’ll bring your bag into the bedroom so you can get ready. What color is your bag?”
I shook my head. “No, I feel bad about using your bathroom and all of your stuff. I can wait, so you can shower first?—”
Suddenly, Quinn cut my words off with her lips. At first, it made me freeze with shock. Some part of me distantly registered Clarkson jumping down with a begrudging bark. I thawed when Quinn’s warm hand snaked around the back of my neck. Her fingers in my locs and pushing me to deepen the kiss set me aflame. This one wasn’t the soft, delicate kiss from the night before. This one was demanding. The only lightness was her tongue caressing my lips. I reached my tongue out to meet hers. Instantly, she made the kiss crushing, and my body wanted to be engulfed in her heat, to feel it all over my skin. Gods, she even tasted like fire, smoke, and ash. She was so fucking hot . There was a growing not-so-small part of me beginning to crave this woman like I needed coffee to start my day. I needed more of her.
I need all of her.
Quinn took my bottom lip between her teeth, and I moaned at her bite. Just when I was about to go in and kiss her again, she pulled away, leaving me cold and panting and hungry .
Her face smoldered as she leaned her arms against the back of the couch, caging me. She was panting from the kiss as well. Her hazel eyes were dark like honey, and her smirk was all the danger of a predator that caught its prey. Her stare locked me in place. Quinn’s voice was husky and did so many things to me. “I warned you about questioning me. Maybe you were too drunk to remember it, but I hope you will remember now. So, what’s the color of that bag?”
“B-Brown. It’s a brown w-weekender bag,” I stuttered, barely able to think.
“Good girl,” Quinn leaned off the couch, and I finally remembered what breathing was. “Now, go shower, sweetness.”
All I could do was nod as I got up from the couch, went into the ensuite, and turned on the shower. I closed the door and leaned against it.
What. In. The. Actual. Fuck.
This girl was going to make me lose my godsdamned mind.
Which made it even crazier that I loved the idea as much as I did.
I went over to her bathroom drawers. It took a few tries before I finally found an old pack of makeup wipes. Steam was beginning to roll from the shower, so I had to wipe the mirror to look at myself in the mirror and make sure I was getting all the makeup off. Looking at myself, I saw that my lip gloss was now non-existent, and my lips were swollen from that kiss. Once my face was clear, I got undressed, folded my clothes on the counter, and jumped into the shower. It was just as luxurious as I imagined, and I was grateful for the scald of the water.
I washed the party away while I let my mind stray. I was positive to a fault, something that sometimes drove those I loved crazy. I constantly tried to find the good in every circumstance. Even this party that I didn’t want to go to, I still tried to find something to look forward to: booze, hanging out with my besties, dancing for a little bit, and people watching. I expected to have nothing to report as far as events, just like it always was. Nothing exciting ever happened to me.
That changed tonight. Quinn was the last thing I expected. I never would have guessed she would have literally fallen into my life like this. I liked her. Being with her just felt so easy, it was effortless. Our companionship. Our jokes. Our flirting. Oh, and the kisses? Quinn’s dominance? I was obsessed with a woman who could just take control. It’s why I read dark and monster romances regularly. Even with that one kiss, Quinn had turned me on more than anyone else had before, fictional or real. I couldn’t imagine what else she could do.
But I had been down this road before.
I had made instant connections with girls in the past. We had talked for hours on end. They had seemed interested. They had painted a vision for me to fall in love with, and I would give my all to it, laying myself bare. But it was just an idea, as I would discover when they disappeared. No text. No call. No email. Nothing. Just a ghost, the death of potential for me to grieve, and questions. Would I ever find the one? Did that exist for me? Could I find happiness in being alone despite the deep sadness the thought brought me? When would all this hurt end?
On the third day of radio silence from the last girl who ghosted me after the second date, I had sworn to myself between tears and my fourth glass of wine since waking up at two p.m. that I would never fall in love with an idea again. I couldn’t allow my optimism to cloud my judgment and awareness to the point where I got attached and opened myself to hurt. My heart couldn’t take it. It had been shattered already, and the cracks were filled with liquid gold despite the missing pieces. I couldn’t risk another dent, or she might break for good.
So, as much as I liked Quinn and I could see my imagination run wild with what we could be, I just wouldn’t— couldn’t —allow it.
No amount of positivity could cloud that reality.
So, I would not fall for Quinn Garcia.
Resolved, I turned the water off and got out. The floor was heated as I stepped out and even the towel was warm as I wrapped it around me—I guess from the towel bar. This bathroom was even more wild than my own, but I did make a mental note to see if we could get these added to my condo.
I opened the bathroom door, the steam coming out like clouds in a storm rolling in. I did indeed find my bag sitting on the bed. The mirror was already clearing up now that the steam had an escape. Standing before the mirror, I did a quick version of my facial routine. I put on a very light beat: a fierce cat eye sharp enough to kill a man, a voluminous mascara, a rosy blush on my nose and cheeks, plenty of sparkles everywhere, and a matte orange-brown lip. I set it, and my face was officially ready, simple yet magical.
Next, I put on a black mesh bodysuit with a built-in balconette bra with lacy designs over my nipples. This alone was a showstopper with how it lifted my large F-cup breasts to be front and center, but with how the thong made my ass look even fatter? It was chef’s kiss. My obsidian pendant paired nicely as it laid in between my boobs near my sternum and underboob tattoo you could peep through the bodysuit’s mesh. I jumped into some light, ripped high-waisted straight-leg jeans that let even more tattoos peek through. I put on my socks, and pulled my white and black Doc Martens out. I topped the whole thing off with a maroon corduroy shacket. I packed everything in my bag, grabbed my boots, and left both the ensuite and bedroom.
Back in the living room, I could hear Demi Lovato’s Holy Fvck album blasting from behind the closed door of the guest room. So, Quinn must still be in there. I sat my bag and my Docs down near the front door. Clarkson materialized from nowhere with a squeaking PBJ sandwich toy that she immediately booped my chin with. Obsessed with this dog already, I finagled the toy from her and tossed it across the room. She chewed it a bit before trotting back over to make me start the whole thing over.
I had accidentally tossed it a bit under the couch, so while I was waiting for her to wiggle her cute butt underneath to get it, I glanced around. When we had first entered the Barn, I had thought it was immaculate. Sobered and curious now, I saw the small touches that really made this place Quinn’s. There were built-in bookshelves around the mounted television full of romances, classic novels like The Giver , and celebrity memoirs. From my spot in the middle of the living room, I could immediately spot Tina Turner’s, Tina Fey’s, and Jennifer Lewis’s memoirs. But I also noticed how much Colleen Hoover occupied her shelves, which was strange alongside Sister Souljah, Zane, and other black smutty romances and even the Fifty Shades of Grey series. Oh, the girl had range . The front door had a shoe rack full of very expensive sneakers that would have made Everett swoon. In the kitchen, I noticed bouquets of fresh herbs growing in one of those fancy indoor planters and bowls on the counter full of fresh fruits and vegetables. The laundry room even had a walk-in dog bath area for Clarkson. The more I saw of Quinn the more I felt I was learning about someone I always had known, like reading a book where you know the ending but you just love the world and characters too much to stop turning the page.
Byrd, you aren’t supposed to fall for her, remember?
Clarkson returned with the toy just when Quinn stepped out of the guest room. Her curls were weighed down with water from the shower, but they were already dry enough not to drip onto her clothes. Speaking of, she wore a navy shirt that was somehow both tight and loose, jeans that fit her in all the right places, socks, and a backwards hat on top of her drying curls. It was simple, but I liked it. Especially the jeans. My heart skipped, but it started full-on twerking when I saw Quinn giving me a similar appraising look from head-to-toe. Her hazel eyes were still that dark honey I wanted to put in every cup of tea I drank.
Don’t fall for her, Byrd. Stay strong!
“You look sexy as fuck, sweets. I thought nothing could beat the Paramore shirt.”
I laughed, but I could feel my face heat. How could we be this attracted to each other so quickly? I had never had such chemistry with anyone before, especially being demisexual. Gods above and below, I was so fucked. I might as well just buy a plot of land and prepare my gravestone: Here lies Byrd, the girl who died of a broken heart caused by fantasies and delusions .
“You don’t look so bad yourself there, stud,” I said.
“Really? Did you peep the hat?” Quinn turned like an excited kid to show me her hat. Against the black of the hat, there was large cursive embroidery with one word: Titties .
I cackled. “You are incredible , starlight!”
Quinn turned back around, absolutely cheesing at my compliment.
Maybe I wasn’t the only one totally screwed here. I wasn’t sure if that reassured me or made me even more nervous.
W hen Quinn and I got inside, we found that the whole mansion was—without exaggeration—an objective disaster.
There was so much glitter and confetti on the floor you could hardly see the hardwood. Shoes, purses, phones, and other stray items lay abandoned on the floor and furniture. Cups, empty bottles, and butts of spent cigarettes and blunts were strewn in corners and along the walls. People were knocked out everywhere and anywhere they could find a place to lay their heads. Quinn’s and my footfalls echoed off the walls. Upstairs, I saw the DJ packing away his equipment. Behind the bar, I saw Jesse and the other bartenders cleaning the bar. Even from here, I could see how wet and gross it was.
“Wow, this place is a wreck ,” I noticed.
“This is actually pretty tame.”
I looked at Quinn incredulously. “It’s been worse?!”
Quinn smirked. “ So much worse. We have found some gross stuff in corners of the room and on the ceiling before.”
“The ceiling ?! Are you serious?! How?!”
“Honestly, we will never know.”
Glancing at the sleeping partygoers, I didn’t recognize any of their faces. I whispered to not wake anyone. “Where are your cousins?”
Quinn shrugged, checking her phone. “It’s honestly anyone’s guess. They have a tendency to never end up in the same place twice. But Nat is usually always the first one up no matter when she lays down from whatever she got into the night before. I trained her long ago to be like my little assistant.”
As if on cue, one of the upstairs doors opened. Nat yawned and leaned against the railing, wearing a sports bra and matching leggings, her phone in hand. Her face was cleared of makeup. Her purple hair was pulled back into a messy bun with her bangs nicely framing her face. Despite the exhaustion in her eyes, she resembled a fitness influencer.
“Rise and shine, little bitch,” Quinn sang.
Nat flipped her off with a grimace at Quinn’s cheery attitude. I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“It’s time to get this show on the road, Stass. Where is everyone?”
Nat rolled her eyes with all the attitude expected from someone who had gotten maybe three hours of sleep, but she started counting off on her fingers as she listed. “Cole and Simone are in the basement, awake and getting ready to come up, at last text I got. Cody is in his room. I knocked, and he grumbled something. But let’s be honest, he’s not actually awake. And Cooper is?—”
Another door opened and closed near Natassa. Cooper emerged, clean and well rested. That hard edge remained in his eyes that made me not want to stare too long. What was with this guy?
“Well, speak of the devil,” Nat said.
“Good morning there, starshine,” Quinn greeted.
He made a grimace similar to Nat’s. Their family resemblance was clear. “What the fuck?”
“You look refreshed, like you are the only one who didn’t get into trouble last night,” Quinn noted.
Cooper crossed his arms. “Maybe I’m just better at doing it.”
“Or you didn’t do anything at all because you have zero game,” Nat quipped.
He rolled his eyes. “Not everyone is a Times Square billboard for who they fucked.”
“At least, I can say I have a story to tell.”
“Can we focus?” Quinn said, as I was enjoying their banter. I always found sibling spats to be hilarious. It reminded me of me and Uncle Everett or Aunt Max and Pops when they were alive. “Can someone go and wake Cody?”
“I’ll go do it. I bet it murdered Nat to have to wake up everyone,” Cooper said.
Nat nodded. “I hate waking people up and being awoken. It’s why I’m a morning person who gets up before everyone else.”
“You really look it there, princess.”
“Fuck off. I’m about to do manual labor . You think I’m going to do it with a full face on? You are a butch, but you aren’t that crazy. I’ll get dressed after we are done with this shit, if that’s alright with you, boss ?” Nat said, flicking Quinn off again before making her way downstairs.
Quinn chuckled. As Nat approached, she shook her head with her arms crossed. The ends of her ponytail swayed along her shoulders. “She is so annoying. You have no idea just yet.”
“You two behave like sisters more than cousins,” I remarked.
“Well,” Nat said, “in a house with three other boys, you kind of have to band together if you want to have any trace of happiness and peace. So, even though she’s five years older than me, we grew up close. Quinn drives me fucking crazy, and she can be such a dad sometimes. But she’s also my best friend, and I would literally kill those three dingbats upstairs for her.”
Before I could fully digest this information, Quinn put her hands over her heart and joked, “Oh, and they say that her heart grew three sizes that day. Who knew the brat was capable of human feeling? And toward me? I’m touched.”
“You have one more comment before I punch you until you die.” Nat gave Quinn a glare made of swords.
Quinn just laughed. “You can certainly try, runt.”
Nat made a fist and raised it. Before she could act on her promise, the elevator dinged open to reveal a sleepy Simone and disheveled Cole hand-in-hand. Cole wore gray sweatpants, and Simone wore a dark green Westside High Varsity Swim Team shirt and boxers—very obviously, Cole’s clothes. Her face was clear of makeup, and her hair was down and her afro curls instead of her beach waves.
“Byrdie! I missed you last night!” She let go of Cole’s hand to wrap me in a hug. I immediately caught the scent of saltwater in her hair. Had she jumped into the pool? She pulled back with an excited glint in her tired eyes. “Where did you go?”
“Well, I—” I started when there was a sudden huge crash upstairs, making Simone almost Scooby-Doo jump into my arms. The commotion was soon followed by a string of curses and more bangs loud enough to stir some of the sleeping partygoers.
“I’m guessing Cooper had to wake Cody this time?” Cole asked.
“He offered. It was his turn, anyway, though,” Quinn stated, with a shrug of her broad shoulders.
There was another loud boom upstairs and then Cooper came into view on the railing, giving a shirtless Cody a noogie, like they were boys on a playground. It was strange seeing a guy who had such weird energy acting like a school bully. Cody tapped his arm in surrender, and only then did Cooper let him go. Cody pushed against him and cursed again.
“I’m awake, okay? Damn, y’all act like you can’t wake me up like I’m a normal person.”
“Bruh, waking you up is harder than trying to find a unicorn-shifter. We always have to resort to violence.” Cole laughed.
“Y’all suck ass, dude.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, go get dressed, so that we can get this shit done, asshole,” Quinn said. Cody huffed and went back toward his room. Before he reached it, Maisie damn near collided with him.
“Oh, he’s in for it now,” Simone whispered beside me, and I nodded in agreement. Maisie hated being woken up by loud noises. I have seen her come close to homicide when it happens.
Of everyone so far, Maisie looked the worst, but also like she had had the best time. Her hair was a tangled mess and her makeup was smeared all over her face. She wore Cody’s shirt from the night before and nothing else. Somehow, despite all of this, she still looked gorgeous, like a celebrity caught taking a purposeful candid. Gods, what did my girls get up to last night?
She looked up at Cody, then down at us, and back to Cody. One of her eyebrows was raised as she asked, more so to him than to us. “Why the fuck was I awoken by fucking Wrestlemania at ten a.m.?”
Cody matched her raised eyebrow and pointed his thumb at Cooper, who was coming into view downstairs, fixing his hair and clothes. “That would be my brother’s fault there, babycakes.”
She kept her eyes on Cody, narrowing them. “Do. Not. Call. Me. That.”
“Oh?” Cody invaded Maisie’s bubble. “And what are you going to do about it? That thing you did last night with?—”
“ Stop it !” Nat shouted. “Flag on the play! Innocent younger sister here who does not need to hear your filth and sin!”
Cody glanced down at Nat. “ Please . Little Miss Spit in My Mouth and I’ll Call You Daddy? You are as innocent as a whore in church.”
“Wow, way to kink-shame me, skidmark,” Nat said.
I nudged Quinn as they continued insulting each other. “Are they always like this?”
“You have no idea.” Quinn rolled her eyes. “Hey! Can we save this for later or do it while we are working? We have two hours, but Jason comes in one!”
“What exactly is this that we have to get done? It had better be good for me to be awake and dealing with this dick for brains,” Maisie said, pointing at Cody.
He looked offended, even if it was playfully. “Hey!”
“Oh, I like her a lot,” Nat said.
Cole ignored them and answered Maisie’s question instead. “It’s tradition.”
“What kind of tradition?” I asked.
“Well,” Quinn answered this time. “When Cody decides to throw ragers, they can get out of hand and wreck the house. So, we started a tradition. Before the party, we would have movers take out everything. Those same movers would bring in some furniture we bought just for this. Functional, but cheap shit that if it got wrecked, we could just throw it out and replace it. After the party ends, we try to clean the worst of it before the maids come so they have an easier time and don’t tell our parents how crazy things got. Then the movers come and bring in the actual furniture while the maids finish the rest and we hit up our favorite diner.”
“That is insanely genius,” Simone complimented. “How many parties have y’all had where you were able to come up with that?”
“Since Cody was, like, eleven, and he’s three years younger than Quinn… So, like thirteen or fourteen years?” Nat answered.
“A bad boy who really is a troubled kid with a past, huh?” I quipped.
“I heard that!” Cody said from above. “I’m a bad boy, but I have a heart of gold, sweetheart.”
He winked my way, and I rolled my eyes, making him chuckle.
“Well, the gang’s all here now! So, let’s get started,” Quinn announced, rubbing her hands together. Her demeanor became more commanding, and her voice deepened and projected in the room. She took on this sort of no-nonsense authority. It was a sight I was enjoying watching, and I could feel a stupid smile forming on my face as I watched her take control. “Big thing is going to be getting the floors as clean as possible. Cooper and Cole, you two start going around and waking people up and getting them out of here. You two will be far gentler about it than the rest of us. Cody, get your ass down here and grab the brooms, grabbers, dustpans, and trash bags. Nat, when he gets back, we’ll start collecting the big stuff and then sweeping.”
“Is there anything else you need done?” I asked as the boys ran off to do their assigned tasks, leaving me, Simone, Nat, and Quinn downstairs and Maisie to lean on the railing.
Quinn turned her hazel eyes onto me, and I knew I would do damn near anything she asked of me. There was a sparkle in them as she looked at me along with a bit of softness that felt aimed at me and only me. She directed, “No, sweets. We got this. We have done this so many times that we have it down to a science.”
Quinn noticed Simone then, hovering closer to me. “But you know what will be helpful? How about you and your friends go and get dressed and ready upstairs? Like I said, we’ll make quick work of this. So, if you girls are ready by the time we are done, we can go and eat sooner.”
“Oh, I don’t want to impose on your tradition or anything by inviting ourselves?—”
Quinn raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t inviting yourselves. I’m inviting you . I already know that Cole invited Simone. And Maisie?—”
“She’s my invite. Anyone who can put Cody in his place is someone I want on my side.” Nat smiled up at Maisie, and Maisie smiled back down at Nat.
“We want you there, sweets. I thought that was implied.” Quinn gave me that smolder again, and I felt my knees melt. She was making my vow impossible. “Now, go get dressed, you three. We are already going to be waiting on Natassa to be ready, after all—Ouch!”
Quinn rubbed the spot on her arm that Nat had punched while Nat shook her head. “Did you choose violence this morning? You keep coming for me for no reason.”
“Blame the shots you made me take. Anyway, why don’t you show your friends to one of the guest bedrooms upstairs, babe? They can get ready there, and I will knock when we are good to go.”
“Cool! Thank you so much! I’m excited!” I declared. Simone started to leave the room when I called out, “Oh, Simone, Maisie, your bags are by the door. I’ll help?—”
I was about to follow Simone when Quinn grabbed my hand, sending that good electricity through my body. As she pulled me against her, her warmth washed over me, and the smell of oranges and mint flooded my nose. She laced our fingers together and looked down at me with those gorgeous eyes.
“Thank you for offering to help. That was sweet of you,” Quinn said.
“Of course, starlight! I couldn’t just leave you all down here working to clean up a party you didn’t even want while I go gossip. Thank you for inviting me and my friends out with you and your cousins. I appreciate the chance to spend more time with you.”
“Oh, I’m happy about this party now. It was fun. Like, really fun,” She winked. “Besides, I would hate for anything to get on that pretty little outfit of yours.”
Quinn bent down and gave me a quick kiss on my lips. I wanted more—more of her—but I fought to remember where we were and that her cousins were here and—didn’t I just vow to not fall for her? Wasn’t I supposed to be protecting my heart? Still, I think she had the same conflict of desire going on as she reluctantly pulled away and let go of my hands. I turned to leave and felt a slap on my ass. I turned back around to find Quinn with another devilish smirk on her cool, soft lips. When I held up my two fingers and acted like I was licking between them, Quinn’s laughter followed me all the way up the stairs to one of the guest bedrooms Quinn had pointed out on her tour.
My smile held for far longer than that.
A s soon as Maisie, Simone, and I got into the room and closed the door shut, we all squealed like teenage girls.
“Ohmigods, ohmigods, ohmigods!” Simone screamed. “I can’t believe everything that happened tonight!”
“OMG, it was the best party EVER !” I yelled with her.
“I have a ridiculous amount of tea to spill,” Maisie said.
“Oooh, okay! Let’s get you two in the shower, and we will start spilling ASAP! Quinn said they are going to be fast downstairs. So, who’s showering first?” I asked.
“Oh, I showered already.” Simone’s smile was pure mischief. “But I am very curious about why Byrd is not only showered but dressed already.”
I gave her my own shit-eating grin.
“So, it’s just me that needs to shower? Well, that’s fair,” Maisie said with a playful shrug as her magic picked up her overnight bag and they both headed toward the bathroom. “I was the filthiest of the three of us last night, I already know.”
Simone’s and my jaws dropped, but Simone was faster to recover than me. She grabbed her own overnight bag and ran into the bathroom, saying “See, I really wanted to know about Byrd’s night, but then you say things like that ! Get in the shower now and start talking, Maze!”
Maisie was still laughing when I picked up my jaw from the floor and entered the bathroom. The guest bathroom wasn’t as lavish as Quinn’s in the Barn, but it was still pretty posh and modern, with a huge separate tub and shower and beautiful black subway tiling throughout. Simone had already started setting up at the vanity, and Maisie had already warmed the shower. I hopped onto the counter to sit and listen, happy that there was more than enough room for me for once.
Maisie stretched her arms over her head. Then she confessed, “So, I obviously fucked Cody last night.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I saw you two just a little bit throughout the night. Well, by that I mean I saw Simone twice. But you, I only saw one time on the dance floor having a good little ol’ time.”
Maisie smiled. “Oh, I was. Depending on when you saw me, I was probably getting fingerbanged while giving him a handy.”
Simone’s jaw dropped again while I yelled in shock. “ Marceline .”
Maisie lifted Cody’s shirt over her head and jumped into the shower, but I definitely saw her smirk of pride before she closed the frosted glass door.
“Girl, on the dance floor?!” Simone asked, her curls pushed back with a headband as she looked at Maisie in the mirror.
“Is that what you were doing against the wall when I saw you?” I asked incredulously.
“Most likely!” Maisie answered over the water. “I mean, we fucked everywhere we could. We basically couldn’t keep our hands off each other from the moment we met. We had sex on the dance floor, in the bathroom, in the garage, in the cars—yes, on some Titanic shit—in the basement, in the hot tub?—”
“Oh, Cole and I had sex in the pool, too! The pool and the hot tub are connected, so I’m kinda surprised I didn’t see you there at all,” Simone noted, applying a white base for her eyeshadow.
“You probably went out there early because you were overheating while they went out there after having fucked in at least six different locations first.”
“Truuuue, you know me so well, Byrdie,” Simone said with a wink before returning to doing her eye makeup. Mermaids and other sea dwellers notoriously ran hot. If you ever went into a business owned by them or visited their houses on land, you would notice how cold they always kept their buildings. Hell, with my leg being close to Simone’s shoulder, I could feel the heat coming off her in waves and I knew it had nothing to do with the steam of Maisie’s shower. Since the bottom of the ocean is cold, their bodies adapted. It was convenient underwater, but on land at a party packed with several hundred people, it could be a bit of a sweltering nightmare. I could totally see Simone jumping into the pool the first chance she could to cool down.
Considering that Cole apparently was so good in water and Quinn ran so hot herself, I wonder if they were some kind of water creature, after all?
Maisie turned off the water and got out of the shower, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Cody and I went out there super late. It had to be around three or four in the morning. We weren’t out there for long, though. Trying to fuck in water isn’t my thing at all. Zero friction at all.”
“The scales help, especially when they are sensitive ,” Simone winked before putting on eyeliner.
Maisie shook her head, chuckling. “ Anyway , we went up to his bedroom and fucked some more before passing out around, like, seven maybe? It was insane . I have never fucked anyone for that long, and it be that fun . Before you ask, Byrd, that does include Lexis. We only did it for like six hours, and it was very hot. But this was exhilarating .”
“I honestly cannot believe a man could rival you and Long Day Lexis. You’ve always said she was the best you ever had, and she was a freaking sex witch. Like, a witch whose specialty is sex and lust and orgasms . How can anyone compete with that for best fucking? Are we sure this family is human?”
“Oh, he can compete. He had a Jacob’s Ladder, and one of the biggest thickest dicks I’ve ever seen.”
“ Marceline Repond , shut your whore mouth. Seriously ?”
“What? What’s a Jacob’s Ladder?” Simone looked up from her mascara to look between us in the mirror. I quickly pulled out my phone and searched for the tamest picture on Google to show her rather than describe the piercing. Seeing the picture, Simone gasped.
“Holy fuck. That’s?—”
“Hot?” Maisie used her towel to dry her hair before wrapping it around her. “Oh, it was glorious. What they say is right. The sex is definitely better with it. Like I said, easily a contender for top ten best sexual partners I’ve ever had. Did I mention he knows how to give head and use that tongue piercing to his advantage? Y’all, it was like something out of those books Byrd always talks about.”
“Well, you’ve made my night seem like a fucking Hallmark movie by comparison, Maze!” Simone huffed as she tossed her eye makeup back and moved on to applying her foundation and concealer.
Maisie and I both laughed. I said, “Maisie had nothing to do with that. You and Cole are a romantic comedy all your own.”
“Stop reading me, Byrd. I thought we were friends,” Simone joked with a smile in her eyes, since she couldn’t smile around her makeup sponge.
The girls continued getting ready while we continued talking about their nights. While Maisie was apparently fucking Cody everywhere they could feasibly do it, Simone and Cole had been off romancing each other. They danced like they were in their own little world. He ordered drinks for her at the bar, already knowing what she liked. Cole opened doors for her and gave his own little tour of the house. Naturally, they had sex in the pool, and they did it for a couple hours before getting out to shower and do it again before cleaning up for real and going to bed around three or four. The whole time Simone was talking, her face looked like it could light up a room, or maybe even this whole mansion. She was glowing with happiness, and I couldn’t have been more excited for her.
“So. Byrd.” Simone had finished with her makeup in time to give Maisie the vanity. Maisie was dressed in a skintight cropped mock neck that showcased her sternum, stomach, and back tattoos with ripped wide leg jeans and chains all over and fishnet tights underneath. Her hair was blown out in its usual style. Simone’s face was colorful and beat to the gods as always. My friends always knew how to show up and show out.
“What?” I asked innocently.
“Now, Madam Brydgette Fallon Pierce, you know damn well what we want to know,” Maisie said with a raised eyebrow at me.
“Who in the world was that lumberjane out there?”
“ Simone .”
“ What ?!”
“Would you prefer if she asked who that stud was who looked like she had a strap longer than a Subway footlong?”
“ Marceline !” Simone and I said at the same time.
“Well! Who is she, Brydgette ?” Maisie chuckled at our shocked expressions.
“You two are… incorrigible!”
“Oh, you know she is shook when she pulls out the words that got her that masters.” Maisie teased, making me and Simone laugh.
“Shut the fuck up, or I will never tell you!” I caught my breath and finally answered. “Her name is Quinn. She’s Cole’s cousin. She is the oldest of them all, and they are all close in age, so they grew up as siblings?—”
“Byrdie, honey, I love you. You know I do. But please, for the love of the gods above and below, skip to the good part,” Maisie asked.
“Maisie! Let the girl build up to it, damn! You have to set the scene!” Simone said, taking off her shirt to put on a bandeau. After Maisie rolled her eyes, Simone waved me on to continue.
I recounted the whole night to them while Simone completed her tube top with some shortalls and put her hair up in a pouf and Maisie finished her gothic makeup. I left out from them how much I liked her and the promise I had made in the shower this morning, since I wasn’t ready to vocalize those and possibly ruin the magic of all of this. But as I retold everything that had happened in the past few hours, I toyed with my mom’s necklace. I wondered which would end up lasting: the promise I made to not fall for Quinn or my growing like for this woman who literally fell into my life.
“Maybe you’re right after all, Bee,” Simone said when I finished. “Maybe they aren’t human if they have us all this obsessed.”
Maisie and I nodded in agreement.