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Autumn looks my way with a small laugh, and then she gasps.

“Reya! You’re one to talk about hickeys!” she whisper shouts.

I feel the blood drain from my face.

“No way,” I reply. “I don’t.”

“You do!” She pulls my top down the smallest bit to expose what I’m assuming is a little purple bruise.

Shit.I got dressed before doing my hair and makeup, so I never saw it. I didn’t even think to look.

After our little hookup last week, my neighbor decided to interrupt my night last night. I stood my ground for approximately three minutes, and then we were kissing on my porch. Again. I don’t understand it in the slightest.

It started small, but she tried taking it further. I told her my daughter was asleep inside, and gestured towards my open front door. She got the message and stopped, but thatmouthof hers didn’t stop.

Hence this supposed hickey.

I was disappointed in myself, to say the least. Still am. Giving into her is becoming a trend that I might have to accept. I’ll just think of some other way to get back at her, or convince her to knock her shit off.

To be fair, there wasn’t any music blastingthisweek. I blame last night’s weakness on that. I was in a good mood, I’d slept soundly for a week straight, and didn’t have to drag Dahlia out of her own home.

I groan, and bury my face in my hands.

“We need to talk about this when we’re not surrounded by potential eavesdroppers.”

Which doesn’t take long at all. We’ve already played all of the games, and Vic opened her presents. As soon as she put a hand to her stomach and started complaining about how exhausting the day had been, the place emptied out fast.

It is both hilarious and cruel that she put on the act just to get information out of me sooner.

“Bailey?” she asks, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

I wrinkle my nose.

“No, not the bartender.” I find myself relieved I haven’t heard from her after handing out my number that night. “But it’s worse.”

“Worse? Do we know her?” Autumn asks enthusiastically.

“Not really… no. You knowofher.”

Vic waves her hand in front of me like she’s waving away my nonsense.

“Don’t make this a puzzle, what’s her name?”

“I–” I bite my lip, preparing for their response. “I actually don’t know her name.”

Their jaws drop and they look at eachother, then back at me.

“Scandalous, Reya,” Vic muses.

It is scandalous, it’sridiculous. I don’t know anything about her. She could murder me and disappear, and no one in my life would have anything to go off of. Nothing other than her taste in music and the color of her hair.

Commence even more beating myself up. I’m an idiot.

“Okay, look. I know how dumb I am. I don’t have any excuses, because I haven’t been thinking clearly in weeks. It’s just–”

“You’re horny and made a mistake,” Autumn says. “That’s the start of a million romance novels, trust thatIunderstand. And that I’m excited.”

“You’reexcitedthat I made a huge mistake? Gee, thanks.”