Page 95 of Unexpected Heroine

Gasp.

I meant text. The temptation to text him.

Good Lord in Heaven, that was a close one. And I’m not even tipsy like my besties.

“Lettie, you okay?”

My head whips toward Freya. “Yep. Why?”

She puts her hand on my leg under the coffee table to steady it while holding my gaze.

Oh sugar smacks. I didn’t even notice my leg was bouncing.

Stella narrows her immaculately drawn-on brows at me. “Girl, your leg’s a-twitchin’ worse than Kate Kelly was at her nephew’s graduation party.”

The memory dances through my mind, drawing a giggle from me. My nerves reduce almost instantly.

This is why my friends are here. To take my mind off the bad shit so I can attempt to live again.

Freya’s begging eyes dart between us, and she clasps her hands in a prayer position. “Story, please.”

I twirl my fingers in Stella’s direction, yielding the floor.

Glancing over my shoulder, I check to see if Kri’s listening. She doesn’t seem to be. Unfortunately, she’s been mostly disconnected from the group, making me wonder if she feels unwelcome. I don’t like the thought of that. She’s one of my rescuers; therefore, she’s always welcome with me.

Stella clears her throat and sets down the playing cards, which is a relief. If she went at it much longer, she might have shuffled the tits off the queen. “Kate’s a wild one back in Climax. When she hosts a party, there’s no telling how it’ll end. Could wind up streakin’ through town square or passed out in Jenny Christensen’s rose garden.”

Both of those things happened after Kate’s parties.

To protect my good name, I interject, “For the record, I didn’t partake in those activities.”

“Of course, Lettie. We believe you.” Freya taps the back of my hand and makes doubting duck lips at me.

While suppressing a giggle, I swat her hand away.

Stella resumes the story. “Well, Kate threw one of her legendary parties to celebrate her nephew graduating college. As per tradition, she got blitzed on fuzzy navels.”

“Well, sure.” Freya nods along indulgently. “The fuzzy navel is the most sacred of all traditions.”

After taking a sip of wine, Stella keeps spinning the yarn. “Despite Kate’s advanced age, those college hunks looked good enough to eat.” She mimics licking her fingers like she’s enjoying fried chicken. “They were football players. Young, dumb, and full of cum. Legal consenting age. Barely.”

“Cougar bait,” Marley whispers, mostly to herself.

Freya’s riveted by the story. I swear she’s got hearts in her eyes. Looks like Jonesy has competition for Stella’s affections.

“Cougar bait is right.” Stella swirls the wine around in her glass. “To be clear, I’m not shaming anyone for what allegedly occurred that night. Good for Kate. Hope I’m doing as well at her age.”

“We should all be so lucky, Stella Bella,” I tease.

“From your mouth to God’s ears, Lettie. Howeverrr,” she draws the word out, straightens her spine, and tilts her head to one side.

“Oh my fucking hell,” a voice bellows out from the other side of the room. “Hurry up and tell us what happened!” Kri stands with her hands on her hips and metaphorical steam billowing from her ears. “Lettie, how do you stand this shit? She’s killing me here.”

Everyone laughs, especially Kri.

Apparently, she has been listening and is quite invested in the story.

Stella must enjoy irking her, because she waits a solid five seconds before continuing. “Around eleven that night, Tammy Smith was ready to leave. Only she couldn’t find her son, Timmy—one of the aforementioned hunks. She asked me if I’d seen him. Naturally, my lips were sealed since I’m the type who wouldn’t say shit if my mouth were full of it.”

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