Page 17 of Stay Here Tonight
“You know those tabloids make shit up.” Lydia sipped her coffee.How bitter!Like her. “Even if those quotes are true, she’s probably making stuff up.” It wouldn’t be the first time Lydia heard that Penelope Amarillo often blew things out of proportion to get her way.
Joanie closed the tabloid and played with the pewter rings on her hands. “Well,” she began with a tone that Lydia did not like, “seems to me that you may have dodged…”
“Don’t say it.” Lydia couldn’t stand to hear it right now.Dodged a bullet! Because that makes what she did okay?“I’m annoyed enough as it is.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Please.” Lydia glanced either way to make sure her fellow diners were not eavesdropping. “You think a woman like that scores mad pussy by being bad in bed?”
Joanie’s face lit up. “She doesn’t seem to keep them around, though.”
“By choice, apparently.” Lydia grimaced. “I haven’t been able to tell you this yet, but she kicked me out after we, I meanshewas done. I spent the night in a guestroom and was given cab fare home, courtesy of her maid.”
Surprise turned into a second-hand grimace. “Rough as fuck, girl. That blows.”
“It sure does.”
“Sorry. But…”
“Don’t say it!”
“You totally dodged a bullet.”
Groaning, Lydia slammed her forehead against the back of her hand. “Don’t make me think those things, okay? I’d rather appreciate the night in the long run. She won’t be my first one-night stand. She could be the first one I totally regret, though, and that would suck.”
“Especially since she comes by the office all the time.”
“Why did you have to remind me?” If they had separated on a positive note, perhaps Lydia wouldn’t have such negative feelings over seeing Maxine around the resource center.
“Who knows if she’ll even show up for a while with this crap going on. Think it’s true?”
“I… fuck, I don’t know.” How was Lydia supposed to know? Maxine certainly wasn’t a gentle flower in the sack, but that didn’t mean she wasabusive.If that made a woman abusive, then Lydia had some of her own explaining to do.She did spank me. But I liked it? I wanted her to do it? That doesn’t make her a wife-beater or me a victim!“I don’t think so. Come on, Joanie, don’t make me think about that, huh?”
“Yeah.” Even so, Joanie peered at the article again. “Hoooly shit.”
“What now?”
“You see this?”
“I haven’t seen any of it.” By choice, even.
Joanie slipped the paper across the table. Lydia reluctantly looked down at it.
“’She was into really messed up shit,’ Amarillo has reportedly told our SOURCE, ‘Bondage and power plays. She really thought she was a man. Wanted to be my ‘husband’ and made me call her that in bed. She wasn’t that good, anyway. I mean, there’s only so much you can do without a dick involved. What’s the fun in a pussy?’”
Joanie looked up at Lydia.
“She into some hinky shit, eh?”
“I don’t think this is up for discussion anymore.” Lydia crossed her arms on the table and refused to look at that trash rag.
“So she is, huh?”
“Shut up!”
“Whoa, whoa.” Joanie put out her hands in friendship. “I’m not asking for the silly details of your night with her. You’re clearly upset, though.”
“She kicked me out after banging me. Now this report comes out that she’s an abusive piece of shit? What am I supposed to be thinking right now? I’m still in shock. Don’t know if you kept up last night, but I went from being a nobody to Maxine Woodward’s fun toy to cast out of the manor in about twelve hours. Maybe I dodged a bullet? Who knows? I don’t really care right now. I feel like shit either way.”
