Page 71 of Sex Positive

A stunning young woman wearing a sleeveless knee-length silver dress appears beside her. Her long blond hair cascades down her back, red-painted lips curved in a vaguely familiar smile Charlie can’t place.

“It’s a lovely party,” Charlie says politely.

The girl laughs, a dimple emerging in her left cheek. “That’s sweet of you, but you can admit it’s stuffy and uptight. The best part was Betsy, but even she had to run her set by the organizers beforehand.”

She waves over a tall, dark-skinned woman dressed in a sparkling plum-colored jumpsuit. Betsy Jacobs is an up-and-coming comedian who went viral earlier that year for her impressive roast of a very well-known former professional baseball player. She opened the party that evening with a thirty-minute stand-up set.

“Betsy, this is Charlie Rogers,” the girl says. Charlie startles, bewildered that this girl knows her name. “Charlie, this is Betsy. Betsy was just telling me how much she enjoyed Dr. Angelo shooting down Theo’s assumptions about people who use vibrators.” The girl points to Charlie with a wink. “Charlieis the one who facilitated all that.”

Betsy holds out her hand, and Charlie shakes it while trying to wrap her mind around what, exactly, is happening.

“That was seriously the best thing that could have happened to him,” Betsy says, grinning broadly. “Men have so many bullshit ideas. What’s the status of the clinic? Places like that are so important. Is Victoria here? I’d love to speak with her.”

Charlie stares at the comedian.

Network, Charlie, she silently pleads.

She glances at the young woman, who smiles coyly behind her champagne flute. “Thank you. She’s not here tonight, unfortunately. We’ve received a great response from the pod, but there’s still a lot to do before we’re in the clear, so we’re actually planning a fundraiser in a few months. It’ll double as a sexual health fair to promote wellness and education.”

“Oh, amazing!” Betsy cries. “Let me give you my card. I’d love to help in any way I can.” Unclasping a small clutch the same color as her jumpsuit, she retrieves a simple business card and extends it to Charlie. “I think there are a lot of people who would be willing to help out if it meant keeping a place like that open.”

Charlie stares at the card, her thoughts spinning. It’s simple white card stock with Betsy’s name, number, email address, and the titleprofessional roaster,which she’s pretty sure is meant to be a joke. Her body suddenly feels too small for the emotions whirring inside her.

Breathe, Charlie.

“Thank you.” She lifts her gaze, forcing herself to act like a normal human. “That would be amazing.” She glances at the other young woman, who beams at Betsy.

Betsy pats her shoulder. “Why don’t you call me tomorrow and we’ll discuss more details, hm? It was lovely meeting you.” She turns to the young woman. “Emilia, I’ll chat with you later. I’m going to go accost Senator Cane about his stance on climate change.”

She slinks off, leaving a bemused Charlie in her wake.

“Sorry to ambush you like that,” the young woman—Emilia—says. “Wes told me to introduce you to her. She couldn’t stop praising Victoria, and I knew she’d be thrilled to meet you.”

Charlie looks at the girl, pieces coming together in her brain.

“Wes said—” she begins, when a warm hand appears on her back.

“What did I say?” His eyes twinkle in the bright lights.

“That Charlie looks stunning,” Emilia quips with a wink.

When he catches her eye, something crackles between them. “Obviously.”

Charlie’s skin burns. She gulps her champagne so fast she nearly chokes.

The dark-green, curve-hugging silk number that ends just above the knee is Syeda’s. The sweetheart neckline reveals more cleavage than Charlie usually shows, and the back swoops low before rising to cap sleeves. A pair of nude pumps completes the ensemble. It took her a full hour to decide how to ask Sy if she could borrow an outfit.

“It’s his mother’s holiday party,” she explained as she stuck a pair of silver pendant earrings through her ears, averting her gaze from the reflection of Sy’s dark eyes in her bedroom mirror. “I’m going to network. Quinn seems to think there will be people interested in the expo.”

“So a work party,” Sy said slowly. “Looking likethat.”

Charlie stuck out her tongue, knowing her friend was only concerned for her well-being. “You’re always insisting I go out!”

Sy shot her a small, rueful smile. “Just be careful, love.”

When her Uber dropped her off outside the hotel where the party was taking place, Wes was waiting for her in front of the valet. The flash of surprise that crossed his face when she emerged from the car made the dress and heels worth it.

“You clean up well,” he said.