Page 61 of Keystrokes and Kittens

I’d at least had the good sense to do those things sober. I’d worried about getting Isobel pregnant, so a condom had been a must. I’d been concerned about hurting Rajesh—since I was his first as well.

Oh, wait.

I also lost my virginity to Walker Michaels. He was the first guy to penetrate me. So, kind of cool that I’d lost my virginity three times. Some people might think that was excessive. To count that way. Except each of those memories was precious. There’d been plenty of people I’d had sex with in the intervening twenty-some-odd years. My wife being the most important.

Still.

I was more nervous with Sam than I’d been with any of those other people.

When he appeared at my doorway, my breath caught. Nothing special about the pajamas he wore. Cotton. Utilitarian. Blue-and-green checked. Kind of a lumberjack vibe. I smiled.

He advanced into the room. Squinting.

I chuckled.

“Are those…?” He gestured.

“Yes. Yes, they are. Rainbow unicorns. Lolita sent them last year. Gag Christmas gift.”

“And what did you send her?”

I laughed. “Okay…but don’t take this the wrong way. I don’t want you to think I sexually harass my employees.”

He cocked his head. “Okay, now I’m really curious.”

“A vibrating dildo.”

“Jesus.”

“Right? And with anyone else, I never would’ve considered it. But this is Lolita, and she laughed for twenty minutes straight. Honestly, she thought the thing was the best gift ever.”

“Maybe she felt like she had to say that. Being your employee and all.” He frowned.

“I shouldn’t have told you. Except to explain the pajamas. She’d made a comment about her old dildo burning through batteries too quickly. I bought her a rechargeable one with a five-hour battery life. She’s since said that was very considerate of me.”

His mouth dropped open. “Okay, well, I can’t imagine having a conversation with Desiree about—” He winced. “Just…ew…”

“Which shows you the kind of relationship I have with Lolita. In those early years, we put in some insane hours. I was making my way through a rough spot in my marriage. Lolita had just left, in her words, a massive wanker. We…encouraged each other through that time. Eventually, she met someone who treated her the way she deserved to be—as a precious gift.” I shrugged.

“And you?”

“I accepted my wife’s decision to end our marriage. Hell, she never even saw the pajamas. She wouldn’t have gotten the joke.”

He scratched his cheek. “I’m almost sorry I asked.”

“The dildo?”

“Yep.”

“That’s fair.” I gestured to Tibby. “She’s down for the night. Are you okay with her staying? She doesn’t jump on the bed or anything.”

He stared. “Why would I mind? We’re not going to, you know—” He pursed his lips.

“No. Just…I don’t know…I didn’t want you uncomfortable.”

“Well, Peaches and Jack are down for the count.” He advanced closer to the bed. “Which side do you sleep on?”

I pointed to the left side. “Closest to the north-facing window. So I can look out over the lake in the early morning without having to get out of bed.”