Page 10 of Omega
“I’m not sure I’m brave enough for that.” She followed the path of a cawing seagull as it carved through the evening air overhead. “I’m not sure I’mcapableof that.”
“You loved Eric,” I pointed out.
She snorted. “Eric was convenient, and I didn’t dislike him. But, ultimately, he was a loser. He wasmyloser, sure, but he was still a loser. I always knew it. He was good enough in bed that I never needed to go elsewhere, you know? I mean, I would have dumped him had that been the case. I’m no cheater, you know that. But did I love him? Hell no. Not even close. We were together for almost three years, yeah, but that was more because it was just…easierto stay together. Good enough that we didn’t break up, but not good enough that it really meant anything. Love? I don’t know what that looks like.” She shrugged, traced the cold metal railing with a short, unpainted fingernail. “I never have, and I never will. I’m glad for you, but it’s not for me. It’s not gonna happen for me. I just…I don’t know how it ever could.”
“You think I expected this with Roth? You think I knew what I was doing? Shit, you think I know what I’m doingnow? You close yourself off to it, it won’t happen. But if it comes along, you jump at it and you hold on for dear life.”
Layla rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mom.”
“What happened with Eric, anyway?”
“I told him I was moving.” She shrugged. “You called and asked me to come out onto the boat with you, so I just…told him I was moving. Didn’t tell him where, or why. He just lit a joint and was like, well, I’ll miss you, see ya.”
“Wow. You’re right, he is a loser.”
“Tells you how much I meant to him.” She waved a hand in dismissal. “The only thing he was gonna miss was my half of the rent and the BJs when I didn’t feel like fucking.”
I stared at her. “Wait, what?”
She glanced at me. “Even I’m not in the mood all the time.”
“So you’d suck him off?”
She shrugged. “Sure. Why not? It only took a minute or two, and he’d shut up and leave me alone for a day or two.”
“A minute or two? I thought you said he was good in bed?”
“Okay, number one, no, I said he wasgood enoughin bed. Not great. He had decent stamina and didn’t mind letting me use a vibrator so I could get off faster. Plus he was pretty well hung for a skinny white dude.”
“But back to the blowjobs. A minute or two?”
“Well, if you do it right, yeah. When it’s not about foreplay, it doesn’t have to last forever. You just…work him until he shoots off. That’s the point.”
“I think you may need a new set of standards, babe,” I mused.
She smacked my arm. “Hey, now. My standards assure me of sex when I need it. And besides, not all of us have billionaire sex gods to pleasure us until we scream.” She quirked an eyebrow. “In related news, you should think about looking into gags or something, because bitch, you screamloud.”
I flushed. “You can hear us?”
“Nope, I can hearyou.” She started moaning loudly, mimicking an orgasmic scream, thrashing her hair all over the place, and generally doing her best Meg Ryan/When Harry Met Sallyimpression. “And that’s how you soundbeforeyou come. I don’t have the lung capacity to do an impression of you orgasming. If I didn’t know better I’d say he was murdering you…over, and over, and over…and over. And over—”
“Shut up, Layla.”
“—And over, and over. All night. Every night. Like Jesus-fuck, woman, don’t you ever take a break? Does he haveanyrefractory period at all, or can he just fuck all night long? And you wonder why I want off the damn ship. It’s like living on a porn set.”
“All right, Layla. I get it.” I pretended to be extremely interested in my cuticles. “I’ll try to be quieter.”
But Layla wasn’t done. “You know, I’m not a voyeur or anything, but you scream so loud for so long I can’t help but be a little curious as towhatthehellthat man is doing to you. I mean, earlier today he had you screaming so loud Harris and I had to go down into the very bottom of the ship and turn on the music to drown you out. God knows what the crew hears. And even then, I swear you two were rocking the damn boat. In the middle of the day, no less!”
“Layla—”
“We’ve sailed through twenty-foot waves that didn’t faze this fucking aircraft carrier of a yacht, but you two, fucking?” She pretended to be tossed side to side, lurching wildly. “Swear to god, I thought we were gonna capsize or some shit.”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP, LAYLA!” I shouted.
“Youshut the fuck up!” she shouted back at me. “How’s a bitch supposed to sleep with you yowling all night long like a damn cat in heat?”
“I’m about to shove you overboard,” I warned, laughing in spite of myself.