With Stacia, there was no room for hesitation. Once she started moving, you either followed—or got left.
Ayesha grabbed my free arm, and together we made our way toward the elevator.
“It’s somefine-assniggas here,” Mars said, licking her lips as she peeped over her shoulder. Ayesha and Stacia nodded in agreement, eyes twinkling.
They weren’t wrong.
I’d noticed a few myself.
“So…” Mars turned toward me with a wicked grin, “whoyougoing home with tonight, Zoe?”
My eyes widened before I could catch myself.
“Oh, don’t act brand new,” she teased. “Remember last week, you said you weren’t opposed to a one-night stand—under the right conditions?”
And just like that, my loose-tongued confession from wine night came back to haunt me. I should’ve known better thanto trust my best friends with anything said under the influence. They held receipts like evidence, ready to prosecute.
Mars raised an eyebrow. “So tell us… whatarethe right conditions? Is it about age? Height? Endowment?Endurance?”
Her tongue flicked across her lips, and Stacia shrieked, fanning herself like someone’s church fan had gone missing.
“Dick sizedoesmatter,” Stacia declared, lifting her glass with zero shame. “I mean… itdoes.”
She took a sip, then grinned before letting out a snort.
“But thestroke?” she said, tilting her head and shrugging. “It better be a beast. ‘Cause a big dick poking around ain’t hitting onnothin’but a nerve. I need him to rock androllmy shit!”
“You hear me?” Ayesha asked, shimmying her shoulders until our eyes met. “Oh—wait. My bad, cuddy. I forgot you were avirgin.”
Her tone was light, teasing, a total contradiction to the so-called seriousness of her words.
The laughter that erupted from our so-called peanut gallery confirmed my suspicion—they werewaitingon her to say it.
“I’m just playing!” Ayesha sang, throwing her arms around my neck and kissing my cheek before I gently nudged her off.
“Ooh, Zoe,” she cooed, leaning into my ear with a mischievous grin. “Don’t think we’re tryna pressure you into anything crazy.”
“I don’t,” I said quickly, and I meant it.
This wasn’t new. I’d grown used to their teasing, especially about the one thing that still separated me from them: I was still holding onto my V-card.
It didn’t bother me—at least, not the way it used to.
There was a time when it made me feel… behind. Left out. But eventually I accepted it for what it was. I wasn’t getting busy when they were, and that was fine.
Stacia was married now. Ayesha kept things exclusive, only sleeping with men she was deeply involved with. And Mars—well, Mars wasMars.
She was the wild card. Unapologetic. Untethered.
And sometimes… I envied that.
Not her lifestyle, exactly. But her freedom.
She could touch the sky on a whim and come back down with no shame attached. I wanted that kind of liberty—just for a moment. Maybe not forever. But foronenight?
Yeah. I wanted that.
“Have you ever touched yourself?”