Page 29 of Something Spontaneous

Her eyes flash between the photo and me, prompting me to pluck the phone off the table and hold my thumb over the answer button that’s ironically at the tip of the tentacle, but I don’t answer it yet.

“That’s a dildo?” Her voice drops into a hushed tone. “But it’s so big… How could that fit? And why is it shaped like that?”

“You’ve really never seen a tentacle dildo? Or heard of hentai? Tentacle porn?”

She blushes so hard that I’m worried her cheeks are going to go redder than the wine in her glass. “Is that Grace’s? Do people actually use those?”

It dawns on me that not only do I not know the full dynamic of Sisi and Grace’s budding friendship, but Sisi and I have avoided any deeper discussions about romance or sex while I’ve been here. It’s clearly a touchy subject for both of us, given her ex-fiancé situation and my history with Sly. Along with the fact that I haven’t shared any details about my career choice, judging by the look on her face and her questions, it might be a topic I need to educate her on.

“Grace did not buy that toy. I’m going to answer this because we need to sort out this bestie custody agreement, and when I’m done, we are talking about your lack of sex toy knowledge.”

I set the phone on top of the pizza box and tap the screen to answer the call on speaker phone. “Josie’s phone, currently home to your two best friends. How might we help you today?”

A contemplative hum comes through my phone. “Well, since you’re asking, I’ll take one large pepperoni pizza. Are you really with Sisi?”

I click another button to turn on the camera. A second later, we see Grace’s face. Like, a lot of her face.

I nod at the camera. “Yes, we’re both here and, weirdly enough, we have pepperoni pizza.”

“Hey, Sisi,” Grace says, and I can just barely see the tips of her fingers when she waves.

“Hi, Grace!” Sisi waves back enthusiastically.

I turn my attention back to the phone. “Really, why are you holding the camera like an inch from your face? You need to floss.”

“Oh my god, really?”

“Maybe, maybe not, but you’re still the baddie that landed a famous rockstar,” I tease. “So, what’s up? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t think I can teleport you any of this pizza if that’s what you were hoping for.”

She laughs on the other end, sounding out of breath like she’s walking around. Knowing her, she’s probably at the gym, hustling through downtown Jackson, or hiking because she’s always on the move. That’s one of the reasons we became such fast friends—we both like doing something random and exciting at the drop of a hat.

“Retired rockstar,” she clarifies. “And do I need a reason to call you? Maybe I just wanted to hear your charming voice, okay?”

“You know I normally charge for that,” I deadpan, until I realize what I said and my face pales. Talking with Grace, the joke slips out so easily because we don’t hide anything from each other—other than my secret origin story, of which I’m determined to divulge sooner than later.

Grace cackles. “Oh yeah. What’s the going rate now for⁠—”

I snatch the phone off the coffee table, turn off the camera, and hold it to my ear before Sisi can hear her finish that question. Sisi squints at me, but the commercial break ends just in time, and her eyes immediately flit back to the TV and this absurd reality show.

I laugh anxiously as I stand and head over to the door of the owner’s apartment, just off the motel lobby.

Grace hums in question. “What was that about? Everything okay there?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I peek over at Sisi whose eyes are still glued to the TV. “Sisi doesn’t know about my day job, and I realized we were getting a little too close to going down that rabbit hole.”

“I got you. Don’t worry. My lips are sealed,” she says, and I can picture her making a zipping gesture across her mouth. “So, you’re good though? It sounds like you and Sisi are really hitting it off.”

Guilt still gnaws at me because, of course, we’re hitting it off. This isn’t some new friendship, just one that took a very long pause.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

The sound of the bell at the front desk rings through the lobby and across Sisi’s living room. I guess this overzealous customer at the front desk is going to spare me from my guilt, at least for a moment. Talk about literally saved by the bell.

“Hang on. Someone’s in the lobby, ringing the bell.” I look over to Sisi and point to the open door that leads to the lobby. “Do you need to get that?”

Sisi grins at me before looking back at the TV. “Do you mind? I don’t want to miss this.”

“Me?” I point back to my chest. “I have no clue how to do that.”