Page 104

“You’re going?” Rocco said in a shocked tone.
She grinned at him and lifted her drink like she was giving a toast. “Why not?”
Rocco gave Paul a reproachful look. “You’re allowing this?”
Paul kept smiling. “Nadia makes her own decisions.”
Rocco scoffed, aghast. “But you’re amother,Nadia.”
Paul gave Rocco an incredulous look.
Nadia lifted her chin. “I’m also a woman, Rocco. Come back from the Dark Ages.”
“We’ll need to avoid Mustique Island, my love,” Paul mused.
Nadia grinned. “Yeah. It’s turned our Rocco into Reverend Parris from The Crucible.”
Paul and Nadia laughed hardily. But I held my laugh in.
Rocco rolled his neck. “Laugh all you want.”
“We love you, Rocco,” Nadia said, smiling endearingly.
“A Mid-Summer Night’s Ball? Like a Shakespeare Ball? I’d love to go,” I said, and all eyes turned to me. Of course, I believed there was some sexual element that I didn’t fully understand, but dressing up and hearing my favorite soliloquies recited seemed something I could get over.
“It’s an orgy,” Rocco whispered.
“It’s not,” Paul and Nadia said at the same time.
I shrugged. “So there’s some sex, but there’s probably dancing, too.”
Nadia and Paul’s expressions became more amused.
Rocco tutted. “They aren’t just dancing or reciting sonnets. The invitation said, ‘Clothing is allowed by approval only. Sexual exhibition highly expected.’”
“We can wear masks and capes,” Nadia said casually. “Like Eyes Wide Shut. But we have Shakespeare themed ones.”
“Oh…ohh,” I said and covered the “O” my lips had formed. My cheeks heated as I tried my best not to imagine our friends naked later. Would they have sex in a room with other people watching?Do I want to watch? Yes, but I’d be a nervous wreck.
“We’d be in the garden as nymphs naked in front of an audience,” Rocco warned.
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players,” Paul teased between bites.
I bounced a little on the seat. “As You Like It. I love that quote from that play.”
“You can recite it during our sex session in front of a crowd that’s close enough to rub your arms and legs,” Rocco joked.Or I think he was joking. His take on the event was more detailed than I expected, and I wondered if he’d done it before.He takes extra care of his body and is very proud. I could easily see him showing it off. Me, too, since he likes me naked a lot.
I worked hard to turn my face into a blank calm. “Reciting would be uhm…difficult.”
Paul chuckled.
Nadia groaned and scolded. “Stop scaring her. I can’t believe this is coming from you, Rocco.” She left whatever she knew unsaid, and I pricked my ears, hoping to hear the rest.
“Rocco’s going through the newlywed territorial phase,” Paul mused.
“I see that, and it’s so weird,” Nadia said, squinting at him.
“Oh well. I’m happy,” Rocco said and took my hand again.