me to read them off? By the way, how funny was it when Ms. Hattie opened that trunk? She was as cool as a cucumber, but Brynn…”
“She looked like her face was on fire.” Caelen jumped in, wanting to avert attention from herself. She’d been mortified.
“I wasn’t any redder than the rest of you!”
“Fellatio, cunnilingus, spanking, toys, ‘sensation play’—What’s that?” Dacey’s voice rose in excitement.
Brynn slammed the box closed, her glasses almost falling off in the process. She was, by far, the most reserved of her sisters. Her straight blond hair, swept up in her signature ponytail, swung back and forth as she glanced around the bar, hoping no one’d heard. “Keep your voice down.”
Dacey, in complete contrast, had no shame. “Oops! Sorry. Not. Everyone around me is at least twenty-one. No one cares, Brynn. Give me back the box; I want to keep going.”
“We heard the list earlier. Enough, please.” Athena took another giant swig from her mug and now Caelen was worried. The last time she’d seen Athena drink was at her wedding. Maybe not even then. “You guys realize that the first, uh, what did Ms. Belle call them? The ‘Intimate Instruction’ classes start this Friday. That only gives one of us four days to get ready.”
“Ugh. First item on the agenda, change that name. ‘Intimate Instructions’ sounds like a douche commercial,” Dacey said.
Brynn giggled helplessly, obviously overcome by the ridiculousness of the situation. It took all of about two seconds, and all four sisters were doubled over on their barstools. Brynn had always had the most contagious laughter.
After they all scrambled for napkins to dab at the mascara running down their cheeks, Caelen cut in. It was time to tell her sisters what she’d been thinking. And somehow, someway, she had to convince them that she could do this. “I want to run the school.”
“What?”
“Since when?”
“Figures.”
“I’ve thought about this a lot. I even wrote up a sketchy business plan, if you want to see it.” Caelen bent to retrieve her graffiti print Moschino backpack and grabbed the crumpled pile of notes that were shoved in the side pocket.
“You did?” Brynn asked softly. “You’re really serious about this?”
“Look. You know my situation. I’m between jobs, right now. And…” She cleared her throat, but refused to cry. All three sisters closed rank nonetheless, cocooning her in a circle, protecting her from prying eyes, “You know how I told you about breaking up with my boyfriend?”
All three sisters nodded their heads, leaning in to better hear Caelen’s softly-spoken confession.
“Well, that wasn’t the worst of what happened to me lately. When I lost my job—No. I really have to cut it out with the euphemisms. What I should say is, when I got fired by my…” married, selfish ex who said he was legally separated and referred to his wife as the Dragon Lady , “boss, it was really messy.”
“Why?”
“What happened?”
“Again I ask, why all the secrets?” Athena’s question was the last and dropped with the force of an atomic bomb.
Because I’m a weak-ass bitch, who believed the totally transparent lies of a married man. Now was the time to come clean, the time to look her married sister in the eye and explain everything, the time to say her boss and boyfriend were one and the same, and in telling one story, she’d have to tell the other.
Where to start? Should she bother explaining he’d said he was legally separated? That he’d said he’d marry her one day? That he swore he hadn’t slept with the Dragon Lady in years? Why bother? In her heart of hearts, she knew she’d been wrong. Their mother and Ms. Belle had raised her better. “All I’ll say is it was really public and really humiliating.”
Athena deadpanned. “Well, that’s convenient. Just when you start to open up again, bam! The wall is back up.”
It must be so nice to live in your ivory tower,
“She looked like her face was on fire.” Caelen jumped in, wanting to avert attention from herself. She’d been mortified.
“I wasn’t any redder than the rest of you!”
“Fellatio, cunnilingus, spanking, toys, ‘sensation play’—What’s that?” Dacey’s voice rose in excitement.
Brynn slammed the box closed, her glasses almost falling off in the process. She was, by far, the most reserved of her sisters. Her straight blond hair, swept up in her signature ponytail, swung back and forth as she glanced around the bar, hoping no one’d heard. “Keep your voice down.”
Dacey, in complete contrast, had no shame. “Oops! Sorry. Not. Everyone around me is at least twenty-one. No one cares, Brynn. Give me back the box; I want to keep going.”
“We heard the list earlier. Enough, please.” Athena took another giant swig from her mug and now Caelen was worried. The last time she’d seen Athena drink was at her wedding. Maybe not even then. “You guys realize that the first, uh, what did Ms. Belle call them? The ‘Intimate Instruction’ classes start this Friday. That only gives one of us four days to get ready.”
“Ugh. First item on the agenda, change that name. ‘Intimate Instructions’ sounds like a douche commercial,” Dacey said.
Brynn giggled helplessly, obviously overcome by the ridiculousness of the situation. It took all of about two seconds, and all four sisters were doubled over on their barstools. Brynn had always had the most contagious laughter.
After they all scrambled for napkins to dab at the mascara running down their cheeks, Caelen cut in. It was time to tell her sisters what she’d been thinking. And somehow, someway, she had to convince them that she could do this. “I want to run the school.”
“What?”
“Since when?”
“Figures.”
“I’ve thought about this a lot. I even wrote up a sketchy business plan, if you want to see it.” Caelen bent to retrieve her graffiti print Moschino backpack and grabbed the crumpled pile of notes that were shoved in the side pocket.
“You did?” Brynn asked softly. “You’re really serious about this?”
“Look. You know my situation. I’m between jobs, right now. And…” She cleared her throat, but refused to cry. All three sisters closed rank nonetheless, cocooning her in a circle, protecting her from prying eyes, “You know how I told you about breaking up with my boyfriend?”
All three sisters nodded their heads, leaning in to better hear Caelen’s softly-spoken confession.
“Well, that wasn’t the worst of what happened to me lately. When I lost my job—No. I really have to cut it out with the euphemisms. What I should say is, when I got fired by my…” married, selfish ex who said he was legally separated and referred to his wife as the Dragon Lady , “boss, it was really messy.”
“Why?”
“What happened?”
“Again I ask, why all the secrets?” Athena’s question was the last and dropped with the force of an atomic bomb.
Because I’m a weak-ass bitch, who believed the totally transparent lies of a married man. Now was the time to come clean, the time to look her married sister in the eye and explain everything, the time to say her boss and boyfriend were one and the same, and in telling one story, she’d have to tell the other.
Where to start? Should she bother explaining he’d said he was legally separated? That he’d said he’d marry her one day? That he swore he hadn’t slept with the Dragon Lady in years? Why bother? In her heart of hearts, she knew she’d been wrong. Their mother and Ms. Belle had raised her better. “All I’ll say is it was really public and really humiliating.”
Athena deadpanned. “Well, that’s convenient. Just when you start to open up again, bam! The wall is back up.”
It must be so nice to live in your ivory tower,
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