Lily appeared after a few minutes and handed Will a drink. She smiled at him, shot me a quick smile, and returned to the kitchen. Will didn’t seem to notice his girlfriend’s look, and I wasn’t about to ask. He pointed to the front room instead.
“Is that your guitar?” he said to Trip.
“Yeah? You play?”
“Yeah. Only a church band, but…”
The conversation moved away and took Freddie with it. I decided to refill my drink, and Terri met me coming the other way.
“You having fun?” I asked.
She smiled. “I am now.”
“Cool. I was just going to get another drink.”
“Here, have mine.” She pressed a full Jack and Coke into my hands.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’m going to switch to wine.”
“You want me to get you a glass?”
“In a minute.” She looked up at the house. “Will you give me a tour first?”
“Sure. You know where the kitchen is. And this is the dining room. Duh. Trip’s office is there. The living room’s here. We call the front room the octagon room. For obvious reasons.” I looked around and shrugged. “It’s pretty much standard for an upper middle-class Victorian home.”
“And upstairs?”
“Bedrooms.”
“The third floor?”
“They used to be the servants’ rooms, but now they’re Christy’s and my studios.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“Want me to show you?”
“Sure.”
We headed upstairs, where I gave her a brief tour of the second floor before we headed to the third. She glanced at Christy’s studio and went into mine instead. She climbed onto my drafting stool and smiled. I returned it and simply admired her.
She was wearing a purple dress that complemented her olive skin and dark, lustrous hair. The neckline dipped to show her cleavage, and the skirt rose above her knees when she sat. She followed my eyes and pursed her lips with a smile. Then she held her skirt in place and kicked her feet like a kid. Her legs were strong and silky smooth.
“Very nice,” I said. “The whole package.”
“Good things come in small packages.”
“They do,” I agreed with a chuckle that I didn’t explain.
“So, this is where you work?”
“Yep. This is where the magic happens.”
Her eyes glinted. “I thought that was downstairs.”
“Huh?”
“In the bedroom?” She laughed, tinkling and musical. “You’re super-cute when you’re embarrassed.”
“It’s the alcohol,” I lied.
“I’m sure.”
“We’d better head back down.”
“Why? You don’t want to be alone with me?”
“It isn’t that,” I said lamely.
“Christy doesn’t mind, does she? That we’re alone?”
“No, of course not.”
“Okay. Just making sure. I don’t wanna step on any toes.”
“No, it’s cool.”
“She seems in a better mood. Did she solve her birth control problem?”
“What? Oh, yeah.”
“What’d she decide?” Terri asked. “Never mind. I can ask her if you’re embarrassed.”
“No, I’m fine. She started taking the pill. Today, as a matter of fact.”
“Oh, cool. But… why the change?”
“She didn’t tell you what we were doing before?”
“No. She only asked about mine. Why? What did she use?”
“Nothing.”
“Seriously? Whose dumb idea was that?” she accused.
“Whoa, not mine!”
“Yeah, sure.”
“I swear. I wanted to use the pill, condoms, a diaphragm… anything but the rhythm method. Even an IUD would’ve been better.”
“You seem to know a lot about it,” she conceded. “For a guy.”
“It’s my responsibility too. I mean, it takes two to tango…”
“I’m glad you agree.” Her expression softened. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get on my feminist soapbox.”
“It’s all right. I’m a feminist trapped in a man’s body.”
“Lucky for me.”
I took the opportunity to change the subject. “You ready for that glass of wine?”
“And some company?”
“Of course.”
We went downstairs and found the others in the kitchen. Wren was pouring shots that looked moderately difficult—clear liquid with a neat layer of Baileys on top. She was using a straw to add several drops of grenadine to each. She ignored us and concentrated on what she was doing.
“You’re just in time,” Trip said.
“For what? Those things look toxic.”
The grenadine sank to the bottom of each glass and made them look like something I didn’t want to drink.
“Get da fuck outta here,” Freddie said. “They’re Slippery Nipples, a New York specialty.”
I kept my mouth shut and wondered who came up with layered shots anyway. The B-52s that Mark had made had been just as finicky. Didn’t anyone just shoot whiskey anymore? I chuckled at myself when I realized I sounded like Christy’s father.
Wren stood back to admire her handiwork, and everyone applauded. The shots were impressive, even if I didn’t want to drink one. Still, I knew better than to refuse, so I accepted a glass when Trip handed me one.
“To the birthday girl,” he said.
We toasted and drank, and I regretted it almost immediately. “Oh, God, what’s in that?” I gasped. “Licorice?”
“You and I,” Freddie said dramatically, “are no longer friends.”
“I’ll drink his,” Christy said.
“I just like saying the name,” Lily said. “Slippery Nipple.”
“I know, right? It feels good in your mouth.”
“Everyone loves a slippery nipple,” Trip agreed.
“I like sex on the beach,” Wren said.
“Are we still talking about cocktails?” I asked.
“You should try a slow, comfortable screw.”
Everyone laughed at my expression.
“Wren, 1. Paul, 0,” she added with a friendly grin.
“Attagirl,” Trip said. Then, “Who’s ready for some music?”
“Me. Let’s rock this place,” Will said.
“You gotta hear this guy’s stereo,” Freddie said to him. “It’s amazing.”
Christy hung back as everyone filed out of the kitchen and headed toward the octagon room.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“About Lily? She’s nice. Very cute.”
“Will’s nice too.”
“He is.”
“His father’s a preacher. Can you believe it? He’s a Baptist, but still…”
I chuckled. “Baptists are people too. Judgmental hypocrites, but still people.”
“Some of ’em don’t even think we’re Christians. Catholics, I mean.”
“Will seems all right,” I said.
“Yeah. He’s kinda cute, too.”
My eyebrows went up.
“Oh, relax,” she said softly. “I just said he’s cute. I didn’t say he makes me tingle all over.”
Terri appeared in the doorway. “Oh, sorry. Do you want me to give you a minute?”
“No. We were just talking,” I said. “What’s up?”
“I forgot my wine.”
Christy smiled. “Paul will take care of you. Won’t you, dear?”
“Absolutely.”
She stretched upward for a kiss. Then she smiled at Terri and went to join the others.
“What can I fix you?” I asked.
“Whatever you’re having.”
“I thought you wanted wine.”
“I changed my mind. What’re you drinking?”
“Probably wine,” I laughed. “It beats the alternative.”
She made a face. “I didn’t really like it either.”
“You don’t like licorice?”
“Liquor in general.”
“For real?”
“Does that surprise you?”
“Not really,” I said.
“I’m very choosy about what I put in my body.”
“You should be. It’s a nice body.”
“Thank you. Yours is pretty nice too.”
“Yeah, but I don’t have your curves.”
“Now who’s flirting?” she laughed.
“Guilty as charged. But you know what you look like.”
“Yes. And thank you.”