“And Declan busted them,” Ella blurted out.

“Way to have my back there, sis,” Crystal deadpanned. “All right,” she said in resignation, “Mark pushed me into Ella’s broom closet, and we kind of made out.”

“Shut the fluck up!” Beth squealed excitedly.

Suzy rolled her eyes. “I swear, with all of these kids around now, we can’t even curse anymore. I’ve been reduced to ‘mothertrucker’ and ‘duckhead.’ It just doesn’t give me the same feeling of satisfaction.”

“No kidding,” Claire agreed. “Jason rolled out the F word in front of Chrissy a while back and she was like a parrot. She must have said it in front of my mom and Louise a dozen times. It got to the point that they were giving me dirty looks and suggesting I go to church more often.”

“So, we already know that Mark had his hands either down or up your dress, since it’s all turned around.” Mia laughed. “Dare I hope that he had them both places?”

Crystal knew that her blush was giving her away when Mia’s eyes widened. Throwing up her hand in a high five, she said, “You go, girl!”

“It was amazing,” Crystal confessed before adding the part that worried her. “But he said that he couldn’t be what I was looking for. I tried to assure him that I only wanted hot sex, but he seems to believe I’m looking for a wedding ring. A relationship down the road would be good, of course, but I’d be happy with a man who actually puts me first—even if it’s only for a night.”

“Honey, every woman deserves to have her toes curled.” Suzy nodded. “You just need to take the reins here and make it happen. If he shoved you in a closet, then his composure is hanging on by a thread. All you have to do is reel him in. Take this time to torture his ass.”

“Suzy’s right,” Mia agreed. “He’s sitting over there talking to Seth. So you’re going to follow me, and when I sit on Seth’s lap, you sit on Mark’s.”

“Okay—Wh-what?” Crystal’s eyes widened. “I can’t do that. He’ll think I’ve lost my mind.”

“Trust me.” Claire smiled. “That’s not going to be what’s on his mind.”

Gwen clapped her hands and bounced up and down in excitement, causing the other women to look at her in alarm. “Cool your jets there, baby mama, or something’s gonna fall out,” Emma advised, looking wary.

Before Crystal could run in the other direction, Mia grabbed her arm and pulled her toward where her boyfriend sat. Seth started to get to his feet, but Mia pressed him back down then settled across his lap. I can’t believe I’m doing this, Crystal thought before she followed suit and perched gently on Mark’s lap. She heard his quick intake of breath before his arms encircled her, almost as if by reflex.

Then her traitor of a friend smoothly got to her feet and tugged her boyfriend up with her. “Come on, babe. I need a drink.” In the blink of an eye, they were gone and she was left alone in the corner with Mark.

“You have no idea who you’re dealing with, baby.” Mark sighed as he tightened his grip on her.

Stroking her fingers through his thick dark hair, she said earnestly, “I know you think I’m some sort of goody two-shoes, but I can be bad—I want to be. I’ve never been given the opportunity before—but I know I can do it.”

Looking pained, Mark laughed—although it came out sounding more like a wheeze. “Baby, this isn’t some kind of baking contest. There is nothing wrong with being a good girl. Hell, that’s one of the reasons I can’t keep my hands off you. Your innocence must be like some sort of crazy bat signal to me. I’ve never spent time with a woman like you, and frankly, it’s messing with my head,” he admitted wryly.

She had no idea how to respond to his confession. He’d both pushed her away and pulled her closer with just a few words. Other than his good looks, she was attracted to him because instinctively she knew he would take her places in the bedroom that she’d only imagined in her dreams. If he asked her to leave right now and go have sex with him, she would do it without question. After all, she’d spent her adult years making first her mother and then Bill happy. She’d paid her dues, and she was damn well tired of waiting around for what she wanted. Instead of her life finally starting, it felt some days as if everything was passing her by instead. “Then stop fighting it,” she advised. “I want you, and you seem to feel the same. We’re both adults and free from any other obligations. Er—you don’t have a girlfriend or a wife, right?”

Mark tapped her chin, shaking his head. “Angel, of course not. I thought I’d covered the fact that I didn’t do the relationship thing.”

Smiling brightly, she said, “So we’re good, then. Do you have like a toy drawer with all of the supplies we’ll need or should I buy them? Do you think they sell that kind of thing at Walmart? I usually buy my KY Jelly there, but it’s in the pharmacy section.” Snapping her fingers, she added, “Amazon! That’s where I purchased my—thing, so I can just order what we need. I have a Prime account, so I get free shipping.”

His head slumped against her neck as his body shook. “Are you all right?” she asked as she looked at him in concern.

“Baby, what ‘thing’ did you order from Amazon, and why do you need KY Jelly?” he asked in a tight voice. “Shit, if you’re talking about a vibrator, then don’t tell me. I can’t handle knowing.” Crystal looked away, not saying anything. He’d said he didn’t want to know, after all. “Fuck, that’s what you bought, wasn’t it? Do you ever use it and imagine it’s me inside of you, Angel?”