Page 64 of Never Sleep with the Enemy

The door erupts open amid a wave of familiar laughter. I put the pen down, ready to greet my girls as they stumble in, the sound of shopping bags hitting the walls the first clue of a successful girls’ day out.

“Hey, Boss!” Goldie says. “We’re home.”

“And what did you—” I stop, quickly rising when I see the third person walking in with them.

Katrina.

She lingers behind Tesla and Goldie, hovering by the door to stay out of their way as they drop a dozen bags on the floor. I stare past them, unable to stop my gaze from flowing down, traveling the length of her sundress from top to bottom.

This one is blue with yellow roses printed on it. It’s cinched tightly at the waist, making her hips and breasts pop in a way that makes parts of mepopas well.

“I found so much good stuff for you today,” Tesla says. “I can’t wait to show you. Model for me tomorrow?”

“Uh...” I blink, realizing too slowly that she was talking to me.“Uh-ahh-huh.”

Goldie titters as she tilts back toward Katrina. “See?” she says. “Nothing but vowels.”

Katrina smiles.

“You ready for dinner?” Tesla asks me. “It’s early, but the girlies arestarving.”

I nod, clearing my throat and hoping for words. “I can eat. Just need to change.”

“Samesies,” Goldie says, snatching up two of the bags. “Blue, come help me into this jumpsuit.”

Tesla makes an excited noise and heads out the door with Goldie with a few bags of her own. “We’ll meet you guys in the lobby in five? Eh, make it ten?”

“Sure,” Katrina says, standing back as they go.

The door closes behind them, muting their laughter and voices.

Katrina stands still, her arms folded over the two shopping bags in front of her. “Hi,” she says.

“Hello.”

“They kidnapped me.”

“I figured as much when I saw you,” I say. “And I assumed they would when Tessie demanded I tell her where you lived, so sorry about that.”

She laughs. “It’s okay. We had fun.”

“Good.” I cross the room to the closet. I grab my suitcase from inside and drop it on the bed. “I like your dress.”

“Thank you. They told me that... that it would look good on me.”

I nod in agreement. “They’ve got an eye for that.” I pull a plain black T-shirt from my suitcase. “How are you? They weren’t mean to you, were they?”

“No. Not at all. They?—”

I peel the shirt off my body. In the time it takes to yank it off my head, Katrina spins around to face the wall instead.

“Nice,”she says, the word about two octaves higher than the previous one. “They were very nice.”

I smile as I pull the black shirt on. “You don’t have to avert your eyes, you know,” I say, teasing. “If I didn’t want you seeing me naked, I’d have changed in the bathroom.”

A few vowel sounds tumble out before words form. “I just, um...” Her throat clears. “I don’t want you to think I’m gawking or anything.”

“Wouldn’t mind if you did.”

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