“Since Monday,” Lorelei answered, diligently mixing Carson’s rum and Coke.
Her broad-shouldered customer leaned in on the bar, clearly staring in the hopes of making eye contact and charming her with his smile. “Less than a week? And he’s already ditching you at a party? Man. That’s not okay.”
A pale, brooding young face in stylish black clothing glided past as Lorelei passed Carson’s drink. He seemed to be listening in. She scowled inwardly, but maintained her cool demeanor for Carson.
“So what do you do when you’re not tending bar at house parties?” he asked.
“Whatever makes my lover happy,” she shrugged.
“Woah. Seriously? So what if he wanted you to-“
“He would not,” she interrupted dryly.
“Aw, you don’t even know what I was gonna say!”
“I do indeed,” Lorelei smiled. She looked at Carson levelly as her voice took on a sweet tone. “Your ambitions are plain as day, and your approach as clumsy as a drunken vagrant. Come back to me in ten years when you have learned some measure of subtlety and charisma. I shall laugh at you then as well, but I will at least give you a round of applause for your efforts.”
Stunned and speechless, Carson withdrew. Lorelei ignored him, turning her eyes briefly to the darkly-dressed shadow floating back toward the living room. As she watched, Drew leaned in to say quietly, “Daaaamn. You smack everyone down that hard?”
“When I feel like it,” Lorelei grinned back. “I’m not from a very nice neighborhood.”
The “bar” grew a bit busier over the last few minutes. Guests continued to show up as the night wore on. Drew and Lorelei happily mixed and doled out more drinks for more people as the faces became a bit more diverse. It was much more than a high school reunion party; paths diverged after graduation, after all, and most everyone had made new friends. There were multiple schools, workplaces and social circles present. The underage drinkers soon became the minority.
That was a bit of a relief for the host. Sherri hadn’t stressed about it, but it was at least a minor worry that was reduced through this dilution. The slender hostess began pitching in to help in the kitchen at Lorelei’s invitation. She slipped between the older woman and the younger “bartender,” pointedly staying closer to Drew and bumping into him a lot.
Lorelei was pleased to see it. Sherri was an adorable, lithe young redhead, dusted with freckles and classically Irish features from head to toe. She also had an obvious liking for the young man behind the kitchen counter. The scent of Lorelei’s lusty kiss upon his lips left Sherri less inhibited about showing it.
“God, you two are lifesavers,” Sherri laughed as she bent around Drew to grab yet another bottle of juice for mixers. “You can stay all night, right?” The question seemed to be to both of them, but Lorelei knew better. She didn’t answer.
“I ain’t got anywhere to be in the morning,” Drew shrugged. “I can stay or leave whenever.”
Sherri stood up straight, very much up against him. There was a confident, taunting glint in her eye. “Or just stay,” she suggested.
Drew hardly needed the help of Lorelei’s kiss. He was more than capable of making things happen on his own. “That could happen,” he answered.
Just as Sherri stepped back, though, Drew was struck between the eyes by a flying black hair scrunchie. The source stood on the other side of the counter. “Stop flirting and make me a drink!” demanded the scrunchie’s happy owner. “I’m growin’ a beard over here!”
“Aw, it’s my girl, whassup?” Drew grinned broadly. “I didn’t know you were comin’!”
Taylor would have claimed the hug to which she was entitled, but with the counter between them she settled for a fist-bump. She wore simple but flattering blue jeans and a snug black t-shirt. “I’m a rebel. An outlaw. I’m makin’ my own rules from now on…oh.” Taylor blinked.
“Hello, Taylor,” Lorelei said, finally turning around from the opposite counter. She passed a glass of something yellowish and foamy off to the woman next to Taylor. “It’s good to see you.”
“Uh, yeah,” Taylor blinked. “Hi, Lorelei.”
“Oh, you two know each other?” Drew asked.
“Yeah, we met. Wednesday night, at the mall. And the hospital,” Taylor said. She hadn’t taken her eyes off Lorelei, nor did Lorelei turn away from her. The young brunette wasn’t hostile, but she seemed a bit unsure of how to handle this.
Lorelei took the initiative. She stepped around from the kitchen counter, smoothly navigating through the crowd to come closer. “Taylor, I hoped for a chance to talk to you more,” she began. “Wednesday night was crazy for all of us. I know you just got here, but could I steal you away for a bit? Would you mind?”
Pausing only to glance at Drew, who was already distracted again by Sherri, Taylor nodded. “Sure. But is…Is Alex around?”
“He’s here,” Lorelei smiled knowingly, “but he’s in a private conversation.”
* * *
“Ohmygod you’re fuckin’ great,” Jocelyn breathed out. “Wow. Just wow.”
“I’m flattered,” Alex said. His thrusts slowed to a sensual rhythm, but didn’t cease. “I just didn’t want to be like one of those guys who rushes things.”
“How many guys do you think I’ve been with?” she asked with a bit of an indignant pout.
“I wouldn’t guess a very high number. Not as many as there’ve been guys who were hoping they could get with you.”
Jocelyn made a feigned gasp. “Oh, so you’re saying I’m a tease?”
Alex grunted. “Wow. I just keep digging deeper. Can we stop talking now?”
She reached up and grabbed his hair fiercely. “I think you’d better,” she grinned.
* * *
“He’s in bed with someone else, isn’t he? Like right now?”
Lorelei had hardly closed the door to the upstairs bathroom behind them. As she twisted the knob to lock it, she said, “Yes.”
Taylor looked at her in shock. “What the hell? How can you be okay with that?”
“I encourage him,” Lorelei shrugged.
“But that’s-!”
“Taylor,” Lorelei broke in, “be calm. You are safe here. Speak truth to me, and believe that I will speak only truth to you.” She watched Taylor closely, noting the brief flutter of the young woman’s eyes under the power of Lorelei’s suggestion. Satisfied, she spoke again. “You weren’t bothered to find him with Audrey that night, were you?”
“I was-I, um…” Taylor stammered. She rested her butt against the countertop around the bathroom sink while Lorelei stood straight and poised just to her left, between Taylor and the door. “Not…I was a little bothered, but I wasn’t mad at him. I just thought she didn’t deserve him. She’s a real bitch, and he’s always been such a nice guy. Right up until he started jumping every woman with a pulse, anyway.”
“Why weren’t you mad at him for that with Audrey, then?”
“It’s not like he was my boyfriend.”
“Nor is he now. So why be angry with him? He has betrayed no one.”
“Why aren’t you angry with him?”
“I’m not like other women.” She saw that it wasn’t enough of an answer. “This will sound strange, I know,” she explained, “but I want this for him. The one thing he has longed for most is love. He has found that with me. I have no fears for our relationship. Therefore, I want him to have what makes him happy, and I know that in addition to his longing for love, his sexual appetites are exceptional. I am not saying others should feel this way. Far from it. I’m simply saying this works for me.
“It’s a testament to his character that he isn’t a lying, philandering pig given how strong his sex drive is,” the older woman smirked. “Yet if I asked him to sleep only with me, forsaking all others for as long as we are together, he would. Had he fallen for someone else before me, he would be just as loyal to her. All the willing women in the world would be as ashes in his mouth if he thought they came at the expense of another’s pain.
“I’ve had to work to get him to simply enjoy himself,” she said. “I want him to have his cake and eat it, too. I have been there myself. I have taken that too far to turn back. To demand he be exclusive with me now would break his heart, because he would have to let down certain others.”