Page 157 of Curvy Girl Summer

“So, what happened?” Nina asked me. “I know you said you weren’t going to bring Tyrone home tonight, but did he qualify for birthday dick?”

Placing my phone on the ledge of the tub, I reclined back so my head hit the tile behind me. “No. I don’t think so.”

“How did he blow it?” Jazz asked.

“It wasn’t him…” I closed my eyes. Flashes of moments in that office with Ahmad flickered like a highlight reel. I shook my head, hoping to stop seeing it… and feeling it. I cleared my throat before I continued, “It was me.”

“You blew it?” Jazz’s confusion was evident. “How? Why?”

“It was the bartender, wasn’t it?” Nina speculated.

Using my toe to add more water to the tub, I remained quiet.

“It was!” they yelled in unison.

“I don’t know what happened,” I began, my stomach twisting as I started to tell them the story. “Ty looks even better in person than he did in his pictures. He brought me roses.” I gasped. “The roses! I left them at the table.”

“He got you roses, and you left them? And you enjoyed talking to him, but you ended the date early?” Jazz paused. “Are you okay?”

“No!” I wailed, covering my face with my hand. “I was enjoying my date with Ty. He was saying the right things. He was being respectful, but he was giving me that look that let me know that he could getrealdisrespectful if I asked him to. He asked me questions, remembered things about me, and wanted to stay and enjoy the live music with me.”

“This sounds like your dream date,” Jazz commented.

“And then Ahmad happened,” I continued.

“I knew it!” Nina yelled.

“The petty part of me was enjoying the fact that Ahmad was in his feelings,” I admitted. “I was enjoying my date, enjoying the attention he was giving me. And then every time I looked at the bar, there was Ahmad—staring dead at us.”

Nina cackled. “I love it. I live for it.”

“So, what happened next?” Jazz probed impatiently.

“I was doing what I said I was going to do. I ignored him. I gave my time and attention to my date and minded my business. And then I thought I might have food in my teeth, so I excused myself before the performer came onstage. The line to the bathroom was long, so I walked back out and…” I squeezed my legs together and shifted in the water. “Ahmad was there.”

“Oop!” Nina reacted.

“He wanted to talk. I told him we didn’t have anything to talk about. He grabbed me and pulled me into an office down the hallway, and we got into it. I said some things. He said some things. He apologized. I didn’t accept his apology, but I… I guess he made some points.”

“Like?” Jazz pressed.

“Like the fact that he didn’t feel the need to explicitly tell me about his marital status, because he only saw me when I was on dates.”

“That’s true,” Nina agreed. “Shit. He’s got you there.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “So I don’t know what happened, but before I knew it, we were kissing.”

“Holy shit!” Jazz screeched. “You two kissed?!”

“And his hands were all over me and mine were all over him, and”—I squeezed my thighs to relieve some pressure—“then he asked me if I needed to come.”

“What?!” Nina screamed.

“And I did.” I shook my head in shame. “So, he made me.”

I wasn’t embarrassed to tell my friends what happened. They were my best friends in the world, and they wouldn’t judge me. The shame I felt was because I made rash decisions that I didn’t usually make. Even in the past when I was sexually frustrated, I would figure something else out.

I never had random hookups.

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