Kinky Confessions

“Nice to meet you, Brooke,” I said as I shook her hand. “I’m Paul.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Years in California hadn’t entirely erased her Texas accent. “Chris’s told me a ton about you.”

“She’s told me a lot about you, too.”

“All my dirty little secrets, I’m sure,” she said.

Christy squawked in protest, but I agreed with a laugh.

“Sorry for all the delays today,” I added as we started toward the terminal. “The weather was nasty in the Northeast, so they had to cancel a bunch of flights. The pilots were telling me that the Rockies had snow all the way down to New Mexico. We flew through the edge of it to get here.”

“It’s been sunny here,” Christy said.

“Yeah, well… the rest of the country needs to dig or dry out. Anyway, thanks for coming to pick me up.”

“Chris would’ve pestered me to death if I hadn’t,” Brooke said. “Besides, I wanted to see for myself what all the fuss was about. You’re all she talks about.”

Christy herself beamed up at me.

“I feel the same.”

“Must be nice,” Brooke said with a touch of bitterness.

I released Christy at the same time as she ducked from under my arm.

“Forget Fletcher,” Christy said as she hugged her friend. “He’s a jerk.”

“A loser,” I agreed.

“You’re better off without him,” Christy added.

Brooke nodded but still looked glum.

“Let’s talk about something happier,” I said. “Tell me what you two’ve been up to. I can guess about some of it—”

“Oh my gosh, please don’t.”

“—but I wanna hear the rest. Lots of giggling and girl time.”

Brooke reluctantly smiled and nodded.

“Working on your tans,” I added. “Nude, from what I hear.”

“No, just her,” Brooke said with cheeks gone suddenly pink. “I had class and things to do for school.”

“She doesn’t start her break till next week,” Christy said.

“Ah, okay. So one of you was working while the other was lounging around the pool?”

“That’s what I said!” Brooke laughed.

We reached the main terminal and headed down to the exits, although Brooke started to veer toward the baggage claim carousels.

“I have everything in my backpack,” I said. “I try not to check a bag when I fly standby.”

“Why not?”

“It usually ends up on the flight even if I get bumped. That’s a problem if I don’t get where I’m going. Or I have to track it down once I do, which is usually more of a pain than getting bumped in the first place.”

“Oh, okay,” she said. “That makes sense.”

“Yeah, one time the airline lost our bags for a week, back when my dad first started flying for them. He’d been with a charter airline before, so we didn’t know any better. Anyway, we…”

I told them the story as we walked out to Brooke’s car, a green two-door BMW, which fit her looks if not her personality. I’d expected someone racy and aggressive, a bit like Wren, but Brooke was more reserved.

That’s because she’s complicated, you idiot.

My eyebrows flew up and I automatically glanced at my crotch. Excuse me?

She’s complicated… like everyone.

Sage advice? I shot back. From you?

Hey, I have my moments.

“Are you okay?” Brooke asked as we climbed into the car.

“Huh? What? Sorry. I was just thinking.”

“He was probably talking to himself,” Christy said from the back seat.

“He does that.”

Brooke shot me a quick glance. “For real?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “It’s one of my charming little quirks. But I gave myself some good advice this time.”

She clearly wanted to ask but was too polite. Instead, she said, “Oh.

Okay. Well, thanks for letting Chris come out here. I know you had plans for spring break.”

“I have her the rest of the time. Right now you’re more important.”

“You are,” Christy agreed.

“I don’t feel like it, but thanks.”

Christy changed the subject and asked me, “Have you eaten dinner? Do we need to go someplace?”

“No, but thanks. I ate on the plane. Right now, I just wanna get to your parents’ and relax.”

Brooke pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward the interstate and La Jolla. We passed a sign for the beach, which reminded me of something Christy and I had talked about while I’d been in Atlanta. I turned in the seat to look at her.

“Do you still wanna go to a nude beach?”

“Of course,” she said, although Brooke seemed less certain. “Is tomorrow okay? Only, we can’t stay all day. We have to be home early.”

“Oh?” I teased. “Why?”

“You know. The clock’s ticking.”

Brooke glanced in the rearview mirror and then at me. “I probably shouldn’t say anything, but you might be able to talk some sense into her.”

“About what?”

“Doing things her way. You know, without protection.”

“It isn’t my way,” Christy said. “It’s the Catholic way. And my calendar is protection enough, thank you very much.”

“Ah,” I said heavily. “The rhythm method. Russian roulette.”

“Mmm,” Brooke agreed as she looked at Christy in the mirror again.

“She’s stubborn as all get out, but this is just ridiculous. I mean, c’mon, Chris! It’s science, for God’s sake!”

“You have your way and I have mine.”

Brooke rolled her eyes, and I silently agreed.