Page 17 of Love Me (Charlotte Monarchs Hockey #1)

The racks stand a little taller than me and are filled with row after row of penises. Penises in every size, shape, and color. My cheeks burn when I catch a glimpse of a monster-sized, flesh-colored dildo out of the corner of my eye.

Abort mission. Abort mission. In too deep. No pun intended.

I slide around to the other side of the rack and see more penises. How many can they possibly make? I thought one penis fits all. Like, you have to deal with whatever size the guy you’re with is.

I scan the racks, looking for the specific toy I came for. I spot vibrating panties on the bottom rack and crouch down to read the package. They seem fun, but it’s not the product I’m looking for. They’ve gotta have the vibrator I saw online.

Despite my obvious confusion, the guy at the counter stays where he is. He doesn’t follow people around or creep over shoulders checking out what customers are looking at. I appreciate that, but it means I’m going to have to approach him to ask a question.

With silly trepidation an adult shouldn’t have around sex toys, I swallow my fear and stroll to the counter. Just as I’m about to open my mouth, I hear Tonya’s voice.

“Girl! They got the 4.0!”

Instead of addressing a question to the cashier as I had originally planned, I drop my eyes to the floor and turn around slowly.

“Did you need help finding anything?” he calls to my back.

“I think she found it,” I squeak, glancing over my shoulder and giving him a small smile.

When I find Tonya, she’s standing in front of a locked glass case filled with vibrators. Of course, I would find row upon row of penises while Tonya went directly to the section I needed. I should’ve followed the pro.

“They don’t have the one I looked at online,” I say, scanning the shelves quickly.

“I think this one does the same thing and has a few different types.” She plucks a purple, C-shaped object off the shelf next to the display case and wiggles it back and forth in front of my face. “And it’s flexible.”

“Is that a good thing?” I reach out to see what it feels like. My fingers skim across velvety-soft plastic. Which sounds exactly like the description that the manufacturer would write on the back of the box. At least their advertising is truthful.

I’m glad I sent her a link to the product I was looking for before we came in. She knows exactly what I’m looking for. I can’t imagine having to explain it out loud here in the store.

“They also have this one.” She holds up what looks like the exact same thing but in a baby-blue hue.

“Is it just a different color?” I ask.

Tonya moves her hand up and down as if weighing it. “No, this one is heavier.”

I snatch it from her palm. “Oooh, that might be better.”

“Now you’re getting into it,” she says with a smirk.

“I’m trying to think logically. The other one seemed too flimsy. Maybe something stiffer would work better.”

“Logic has nothing to do with this. It’s all about pleasure.”

“You should work here,” I quip.

“I used to.”

“Excuse me?” The vibrator flips out of my hand, but I snatch it out of the air before it falls to the floor. I don’t need to draw more attention to myself as I fondle sex toys.

“I used to work here. Back when I was working part-time at the hospital and Rick was laid off. I picked up a couple of shifts to help make ends meet. It was fun.”

“Is that how you learned so much?”

“Naw! But I learned more than I knew before.”

I know she isn’t kidding, so I let it go. At least I picked the right person to accompany me.

“Back to business,” I say, steering the conversation to the discreet vibrator again. “Does this one have a remote control?”

“Yes. You can even set up an app on your phone that will control it.”

“Yeah, I get that, but I need there to be a physical remote because I’m just going to hand it to Luke on the sly and whisper what it does.

” I wiggle the purple vibrator in one hand and the blue one in the other.

“It kills the surprise if he has to download an app beforehand. Plus, he’d be on his phone all night, and his friends will ask questions.

It sounds like a cool idea until you really think about it. ”

When I look up, Tonya is staring at me with one eyebrow raised. “You’ve really thought long and hard about this.”

“The long and hard ones are over there.” I nod toward the dildos on the racks behind us. “I want something discreet.”

Tonya bursts out laughing. “We’ve been here ten minutes, and you think you know the store now?”

“I could totally work here.”

“Put a vibrator in your hand, and it brings out all kinds of confidence.” Tonya shakes her head.

“It does,” I agree. “I feel like I could take down the most powerful men on Earth with the press of a button.”

After hooking up with Luke on multiple occasions, I know he’ll be open to and supportive of anything I want to try. I like the confidence that swells within me when I think about using this with him.

“Wait until you give it to Luke.” Tonya fans herself. “That boy is going to be putty in your hands.”

“I don’t want putty. I want a hard?—”

“Save the dirty talk for your man, Tinkerbell.”

“Don’t worry, T. There’s plenty more where that came from.”