Page 58 of Over the Line

“Last time was red velvet,” Jacqueline added.

“See?” Leaundra added. “I’ve been traditional, and it didn’t work. So green tea it is. At least it’s better than chili chocolate avocado.”

“Seriously? Avocado?” Sydney echoed, exchanging glances with Jacqueline.

“I kid you not. This is what my life has become.” Leaundra put down the bottle, then returned to her place by the window. “Please, I beg you, let me live vicariously through you.”

Obviously getting no reprieve from that quarter, Sydney turned to Jacqueline. “You’ve always got fantastic stories about perverted judges.”

“You’re not getting out of this,” Jacqueline said. “Later tonight I’ll tell you about Judge Samuels and what he was wearing under his robe.” She lifted her glass in a mock salute.

Sydney and Leaundra dutifully followed suit. They pretended to clink the glasses together.

After a sip, Jacqueline returned to the topic at hand. “We want to hear about Mr. Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down.”

“There’s not much to tell. He’s not any different from other guys I play with at the Den.”

“Well, we like those stories too, right, Lea?”

“Damn straight.” She nodded. “But this is significant, and don’t pretend it’s not. He’s the first guy you’ve gone home with since Lewis.”

“He was a loser,” Jacqueline added helpfully. “We should have tattooed a capital L on his forehead while he was asleep.”

Sydney grinned. There was nothing like hanging out with friends she’d known since her late teens.

“So, about Michael,” Leaundra prompted.

“Master Michael,” she corrected automatically.

“Hmm.” Jacqueline arched a carefully sculpted eyebrow.

“When you went to the Den, did you see that hunky piece of man, Gregorio?” Lea blinked. “I mean, he is single, right?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sydney replied, shaking her head. “You’re getting married. Remember?”

“Oh. Right. Walking down the aisle. I digress.”

“Yes. He was there.”

Lea fanned herself.

“He even had a few words with Master Michael about me.”

“And he approached you anyway?” Lea asked. “Brave man. I like brave men.”

“You like any men,” Jacqueline fired back.

Completely unoffended, Lea lifted a shoulder.

“So then what happened?” Jacqueline asked, returning them to the original discussion.

“We played, and after that, he invited me back to the ranch.”

“In the middle of nowhere,” Lea added. “And you spent the night.”

Sydney nodded.

“You met his goat. He cooked you breakfast. And you left without giving him your phone number.”