Page 11 of No Place Like You

A howl of laughter rips through the four of us.

“Okay, okay,” I say, cutting into our laughter. “How about we talk in code?”

“All right,” Annabelle agrees through a lime wedge in her mouth. She pulls the squeezed citrus from her lips. “I just want some sexy, six-foot-five-inch, two-hundred-and-sixty-pound man meat to…‘squeeze’ me.” She lifts her wrung-out lime wedge in the air.

“It’s been such a long time since I’ve been squeezed,” I say, adding a small frown to the deep sigh ending my sentence.

“I believe I was squeezed two weeks ago,” Alma adds. “Although, I wouldn’t necessarily consider that squeezed. Maybe…pinched?” She holds her thumb and index finger in front of her, pressing them together with a look of disappointment on her face. “I want to be wrung out with not a single drop of liquid left in me. Like a chamois.”

A look of forlornness glazes over our faces, mixing with the alcoholic haze buzzing through us.

The last time I was properly “squeezed” was three years ago.

I must have said that out loud because three sets of shocked eyes and gaping mouths are facing my direction.

“Three years?!” Annabelle screeches.

“You haven’t had sex in three years?” Margo asks, lowering her voice.

“No, I mean, I-I’ve donestuff…I just…” I stutter.

“Three years?!” Annabelle repeats.

“With who?” I turn to Alma, who’s waiting for my answer.

“What do you mean?” I ask, playing a little dumb at the same time a warmth starts to trail up my cheeks from that second tequila shot.

“Who ‘squeezed’ you three years ago?”

“Oh, no, not squeezed. I was properly wrung out.” I giggle. “In fact…it’s safe to say it was the best sex ofmy life.”

Margo grips my arm. “Do we know him? Was it one of those douchey frat boy types from school? Or was it someone from your old work?”

“And more importantly, can we call him right now? Because you definitely need a repeat.Three years?!” Annabelle shrieks.

“He doesn’t even live here.” I wave my hand in their direction, assuring them a reunion isn’t possible tonight. “He lives in New York.”

“And how did this wringing out happen?”

“I met him when I was visiting my sister.”

“So it was a one-night stand?”

“Uh, I guess?”

No one says anything, and I suddenly feel a little embarrassed. Is three years really that long? With my focus on finishing grad school, the shock of getting fired, and surviving on the basis that my life has felt so empty for the last year, mind-blowing sex was the last thing on my mind. And so far from reach, I might add.

“Can we talk about something else?”

“Yes,” Margo answers. She reaches for my arm and gives me a reassuring squeeze. “How about more tequila?”

“Please,” I say, suddenly wanting to forget how much I want to be wrung out by a specific someone.

6

Dexter

It’s been aboutthree months since Hayden moved out. After a few years of Natalia coming and going from her place to ours, making herself comfortable while strolling around the apartment in Hayden’s clothes, they were finally ready to find a place of their own. And while it’s been nice to have a little bit of privacy until I find a new roommate, it gets a little quiet sometimes. A little too empty and cold, even in the heavy summer heat.

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