Page 66 of Sweet Poison

I looked at her with surprise. "I used it to clean my Minnie. You want it back?"

She made a face and recoiled. "If it’s been on your Minnie, I guess not."

I focused for the next several seconds on properly lathering up and washing my hands.

"Is he really that good?" Natalie asked.

"Look at her face and skin," Kelly said. "She's flushed and red everywhere. What exactly does that tell you?"

"Okay, anyone could walk in now, you guys. Please stop," I begged.

"We’ll stop when you tell us how this secret affair is progressing. I mean, where is it headed? What are his concrete intentions towards you," Pearl asked.

"It’s not heading anywhere," I told her airily. "It’s just casual with us. Just a fling."

"Casual? Fling? Are you crazy? This is your first guy. You’re going to be bawling and horribly sad for a very long time if you’re not careful."

"I feel really bad ... actually,” Natalie said, “we all feel bad because we more or less pushed you into this. The last thing we want is for you to get hurt. The first cut is hard, honey. Be careful."

"I won't get hurt. I have it all under control," I assured with a confidence I wasn’t feeling. I gazed at my worried friends through the reflection in the mirror as they considered my response rather than the relief, they just really seemed to become even more worried.

“Why can’t I just enjoy this thing without thinking too hard?” I asked.

“Didn’t your dad invite him over for dinner a few days ago?" Kelly asked.

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“It seems to me Papa thinks it’s more serious than you do,” Natalie observed.

“My dad has no idea I’ve been with him,” I scoffed.

“I think you give your ole dad too little credit. Tell me, did he disappear a few times over dinner?”

I scowled. Holy Heck, Kelly was right. First, he disappeared into the cellar to look for a wine bottle we didn’t need, then he retired to bed early.

"Did you fuck him in Papa’s house?" Kelly mocked. She could barely contain her amusement.

“Of course not.”

She shrugged. "No need to be so offended. You just did so in school so your home is fair game.”

“If you ask me, both of you seem to be immensely out of control," Pearl said.

I didn’t even argue this because she was absolutely right, but it didn’t feel good to admit to it, so I just remained silent.

Pearl came close then and held my hand. "What do you really want from him, babe?"

I thought about this question. He was exquisitely handsome, the chemistry was amazing, and I had big feelings for him, but I knew almost nothing about him. What I did know was concerning. There was something he wasn’t telling me. But even acknowledging the fact he was hiding something from me caused me pain, which proved the girls’ point that I was already in too deep.

"I don’t know yet," I replied honestly. "But I see where you guys are coming from. I’ll be more careful. I won’t just blindly fall head over heels with him until I know whether he’s gonna hang around for a bit.”

Pearl smiled. "And that's why we’re here. We’re not just here for these juicy details."

"Sorry, but I’m only here for the juicy details," Kelly said.

I laughed. Sometimes closed-minded people said nasty things about her, but to me, she was funny and had a heart of gold.

"You can tell us later. We should all go back. And don’t worry, Montana. No one will guess," Pearl said.