Chapter 36
SEX MATH
Aubrey
Later, as the stars wink in the night sky and an upbeat tune floats from my playlist, I grab a chocolate-covered strawberry and take a bite.
We’re stretched out on the couch. I’m curled up against Dev, my legs resting on Ledger’s thighs.
We’re all in our jammies. We ordered dinner in and now we’re finishing dessert.
“Did Fitzgibbons assist you with locating the strawberries?” I ask.
“He was most decidedly helpful,” Dev says, adopting the British tone again.
I raise my chin haughtily. “Do thank Fitzgibbons for me.”
“Are you playing Bridgerton, Aubrey?” Dev asks, back to his voice now, his bedroom tone.
“Well, it’s a sexy show,” I say. “And I do kind of want to go to London.”
“To pretend you’re in Bridgerton?” Dev asks.
“Sure,” I say, picturing drawing room trysts and library canoodling. “There really should be a season where one of the heroines has two suitors shagging her at once.”
Dev seems to give that some thought. “There should be.”
“Seriously, I’d watch the hell out of that.
Wait, wait.” I sit up straighter, ideas pinging through me.
“What if, and hear me out, there was a whole spin-off devoted to unconventional pairings? I can see it now. Lord Whackoff and Lady Aycock bring Henry Cummings into the bedroom,” I say, then finish my strawberry, savoring the sweetness of the fruit and the decadence of the chocolate.
“And what would be the bang prediction on that?” Dev asks.
Ledger arches a brow in question. “What’s that?”
Dev quickly explains about the book club and the bets we make, then Ledger flashes a cocky grin. “Well, we hit at the forty-two percent mark.”
I furrow my brow. “How do you figure?”
“Third night. Of seven on the trip,” Ledger explains.
I give him a look like where are you getting those numbers from? “We’ve only been on the trip two nights. We had sex yesterday.”
With a dry laugh, Dev says, “Dude, your sex memory needs a tune-up.”
Ledger rolls his eyes. “I remember yesterday. But I’m counting Saturday night. We hung out then, so…”
Dev shakes his head. “No. That’s not how this works.”
“Oh, you’re an expert now on bang predictions?” Ledger fires off.
I cut in since, well, this is my area of expertise. “I’m pretty sure in our case it’s two out of six. Since we return on Saturday. So, that’s thirty-three percent.”
“Which means we have sixty-seven percent more opportunities,” Ledger adds, looking delightfully smug.
“I’m not entirely sure sex math works that way,” I say.
“It does,” the guys say in unison, and I suppose it’s not surprising they agree on that.
I grab another berry. “Fine, I like your sex math, and I like these so much better than the champagne.” When I finish, I offer one to Dev.
With an affectionate grin, Dev takes it. “Good,” he says, and judging from the flicker in his eyes, the meaning isn’t lost on him—I like their gift more than Aiden’s bubbly freebie.
I take another strawberry from the silver tray and give it to Ledger.
Dev breaks off the chocolate covering, setting that down on the tray, then eats his berry. Ledger doesn’t give him a hard time about his regimented eating. I don’t either. It’s the choice that works for him.
I draw a deep, contented sigh. I feel so damn good with them, and yet there’s still that nagging issue unsolved.
What do they want?
But I’ve been good at using my mouth today and not just for sucking cock. I set down the stem of the berry on the silver tray, then wipe my fingers on a linen napkin. “Guys, this trip has been amazing. You’ve been such great sports,” I begin.
Dev sits up a little straighter.
“But what?” Ledger asks, his guard up.
“There’s no but,” I reassure him, and this is going out on a limb, but I do it anyway.
“You’ve given me a dream trip, and I’ve done the things I wanted to do. But I want to know where you’d like to go,” I say, opening the conversation that way.
Dev squeezes my shoulder. “I’m having a great time.”
I believe him. I can see it in his enthusiasm.
“No place I’d rather be,” Ledger seconds.
“Thank you, but what I’m trying to say is…what if we went somewhere else? What if we did the things you wanted for the rest of the trip?”
“Like fucking you every second of the day?” Dev asks.
Ledger shoots a hand in the air. “Sold.”
“Seriously. Do you want to pick the agenda? This was the trip I was supposed to take with someone else, and I’d really like to make new memories. Where do you like to go?” I ask, determined to get an answer.
With a twinkle in his eyes, Dev says, “I love Vancouver. The food is amazing.”
“Supposedly the nightlife is too,” Ledger says. “Last time we were there we were pretty beat from this youth hockey camp we did with Sanchez on the Vancouver team.”
Before I can even ask, Dev grabs his phone, opening Google. “Let’s take you there and take you out.”
With a glow inside and out, I sink back into him as Ledger massages my calves. “Yes,” I say.
It’s a new honeymoon, and it’s a good thing we packed our passports.
In the morning, we pack up and leave.