“I should go,” she said.
I swallowed to moisten my mouth. I thought about arguing with her, but she seemed determined. Besides, I knew Catholic guilt when I saw it.
“I’ll sleep on the couch,” she said.
I found my voice and said, “Not with Will?”
She shook her head.
“Okay.” I climbed off the bed and told Christy, “Stay here. I’ll be back in a few.”
“I had fun,” Lily insisted.
“Us too,” Christy said. “Sorry about Will.”
“I’m over him. I thought this weekend might fix things, but…” She shrugged indifferently. “He’s history.”
“I’m so sorry,” Christy said.
“I’m not.” Lily pulled on her bikini bottoms and then rotated the top to untangle the straps.
“Why bother?” I said. “Unless you’re going to sleep in it. Besides, you look better without it.” I gestured toward the door. “Ready when you are.”
“Aren’t you going to put on some clothes?”
“I told you,” Christy said, “he’s weird about nudity.”
“You’ve seen me already,” I added, “and Will is out like a light.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Mmm. Now, let’s find sheets and blankets.”
* * *
I returned to the bedroom to find that Christy had moved under the sheet but was bright-eyed and very much awake.
“Are you upset?” she asked as I slid in beside her. “About Will?”
I shrugged. “He’s young. And a product of his upbringing.”
“I can’t believe I wanted to do something with him.”
“You didn’t know what he was like.”
“Maybe Trip isn’t so bad after all,” she said after a moment. “He still takes me for granted and says stupid things, but he isn’t like Will. Not at all.”
“No.”
She sighed. “I think about other guys all the time. Not having sex with them,” she added quickly, “but sucking them off.”
I nodded.
“I think about doing it with girls too. Like, all the time. I told you, my libido goes into overdrive sometimes.”
I moved her hand to my dick. It swelled and began to grow as she stroked it gently.
“I’m glad you understand,” she said softly. “I was always too afraid to tell anyone. Even Wren. Brooke knows, but… she’s like me.” She fell silent and then asked, “What did you think of Lily?”
“She’s fun,” I said.
“She really likes attention, doesn’t she. How come you didn’t have sex with her? She wanted you to.”
“It’s… hard to explain.”
“I think I understand.”
“You do?”
“Oh, Paul,” she sighed affectionately. “I grew up with five brothers. Remember? I know about ‘guy code,’ or whatever you call it. I think you hurt her feelings, though.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“That’s why she left so quickly.”
“Yeah. She… um… tried again,” I said, “while we were making up the couch.”
“What happened?”
“We started kissing. She asked if I liked her breasts.”
Christy nodded. “She did the same to me, the first night we fooled around. What’d you do?”
“Reminded her you were waiting for me. She felt guilty at that point—”
“Girls don’t really have a code, but… um… you might be right. About Catholic guilt.”
“I know I’m right,” I chuckled.
“Fine, Mr. Smug. Back to Lily. What happened then?”
“I kissed her goodnight, told her to sleep tight, and said we’d see her in the morning.”
Christy nodded and sighed. After a moment she asked, “What’s going to happen? With Will, I mean.”
“No clue. He’ll have the mother of all hangovers. Then we’ll see.”
“He’s such a jerk to her. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. And… I never thought I’d say this, but I don’t like Baptists. Well, not the Southern kind.”
“What’s not to like?” I said with acid sarcasm. “They’re judgmental, hypocritical, sanctimonious—”
“Be nice. I said I don’t like them. I’m not going to trash them just because they’re different. They’re still Christians, even if they don’t think we are. Catholics, I mean.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“You don’t like them ’cause of the one you dated, before me. What was her name?” she asked, faux-sweetly.
“I don’t remember,” I lied.
“Paige.”
“How’d—?”
“Wren told me. About the Catholic one too. I even know about that waitress at the Old College Inn.” I stiffened in surprise, and she laughed with genuine affection. “Oh, Paul, you should’ve seen your face when Lily suggested it.” She sighed and enjoyed the memory. Then she kissed my chest. “I know about most of the notches on your bedpost. Not the ones from before I met you, but all of them since. Want me to name them?”
“No,” I rasped, “that’s o—”
“Gina, Kendall, Wren, Leah, Susan, your mother, Erin, those swingers at camp— Elaine and the other two. I don’t know their names. Trip couldn’t remember, but I know there were two of them. Want me to continue?”
“Please don’t.”
“Why not? It’s a short list after that. Daphne, of course. And for a while I thought Sara, but you didn’t sleep with her. Well, she didn’t. You probably would’ve if she’d wanted to.”
I didn’t trust myself to reply.
“She loves you, but not like that, I’m afraid. Let’s see, who else? Mmm, there’s Paige and Tracy, but not Kimberly. You said she was only a tease. But then there’s Gracie. Ugh. I still can’t believe you slept with her.”
“It was a year ago. Longer, in my heart.”
“Mmm,” Christy agreed. “And I’m giving you credit for all the ones you didn’t sleep with. Last summer, I mean, when Wren was throwing them at you.”
“Thanks?”
“You’re welcome. Oh, and I need to update the list. There’s Brooke, of course. And Lily, although she doesn’t really count. Not yet. You didn’t have sex-sex with her. I’m sure I’m missing some, ones I can’t possibly know about—”
I reminded myself that discretion was the better part of valor.
“—but that’s most of them. Oh, I almost forgot… Leah’s mother. I knew from the way she looked at you. I think it’d been a while with her, though. And Kara, but not since I met you. I like her and Victor, by the way,” she added. “I wouldn’t mind doing it with them.”
“Good to know.” I’d begun to recover my composure, so I said, “You forgot one name, the most important.”
“No,” she said, “I was saving myself for last.”
“To make a point?”
“I suppose.”
“Which is…?”
She thought about it and then shrugged. “I don’t know. Only, I know about your past and don’t mind. I’m not jealous or anything. Well,” she admitted, “maybe I’m a little jealous of Gracie. She tried to take you from me. But you’re mine.”
“With a capital M,” I agreed.
“And… I suppose I told you ’cause I know there’ll be more. Women, I mean. Notches on your bedpost.”
“I don’t really think of them like that,” I said. “They’re people.”
“Real people with real lives,” she said in a near-perfect imitation of Wren.
I blinked in surprise.
“I know,” she added. “And I don’t mind that you slept with them. ’Cause I’m in charge of the bedpost now. That’s how Erin said it works. The women decide. I like that part of it.”
“Which part don’t you like?”
“The planning and being responsible and not knowing what I’m doing. Tonight could’ve been such a disaster. If you hadn’t taken over, I mean.” She thought about it and added, “I was watching you tonight, with Will. You were so cool when he was telling all those made-up stories about things he’d done. And then with Lily. You practically seduced her right in front of him.”
“I didn’t mean to.”