Page 114 of Stolen Voices

“Sorry, I just… I’ve been so selfish, thinking only about my feelings for Eli. I never stopped to think about the consequences if he had feelings for me. How being with me could hurt him.” I sniff, wiping away my tears.

“Way to go, Rylann. I was going to tell her to seduce Eli until he breaks, and you break Callie instead.”

The mix between a chuckle and sob slips out as Emery, Rylann, and Scarlett laugh with me.

With reluctance, I leave Rylann’s hearty hug, but with an idea. “Can I sing something new to you all?”

“As long as it’s notHeart Wishes,” Scarlett teases, referring to my hit song fromElla in High School.

I groan. “Definitely not.”

I hate that song so much. It’s still my number one requested song. Everyone loves it, and I know I should be thankful for how it put me on the map, but it reminds me of the heartbreak and turmoil I was going through. That song reminds me of my mom’s setback at the hospital that sent her retreating into herself. It’s avestige of everyone’s applause when I cried singing the last note. I wasn’t acting. Every heartbreaking tear was real. The song is a constant reminder that all my wishes for my mom to get better never came true. Still haven’t.

Pushing those thoughts away, I pick up my guitar and play the song I wrote before the accident. It’s a little spicy, but in a way, it also expresses my feelings for Eli.

The girls clap and cheer at the end, making me blush.

Rylann beams at me. “You love him.”

Not ready to admit that to her—or anyone—before the man himself, I change the subject. “What do you think? Is it good?”

“It’s an amazing song, Callie,” Emery admits. “I think you should play it for him. It will tell him exactly how you feel.”

“I think you should seduce Eli,” Scarlett advises without an ounce of shame.

Ignoring Scarlett, I turn to Rylann—who, only after a couple of hours, I know is the levelheaded one—and wait for her advice.

“This is going to sound very unlike me, but go with Scarlett’s plan,” Rylann suggests, making Emery gasp in astonishment.

Scarlett cackles. “That’s why we’re besties.”

“Are you serious?” I ask, perplexed.

“Oh yeah. Totally serious. Then, after you have crossed the line, play him the song so he doesn’t freak out. If he’s anything like Jace, he’ll want to be a gentleman and take things slow. You’ve been crushing on him for two years, and he probably has on you too. Just go for it like I did with Jace. Make him want you until he snaps.”

“I don’t know how to seduce a man. I’ve only had one serious boyfriend, and he initiated everything.”

“It’s not hard, my friend,” Scarlett assures me. “Slight touches, kisses on his cheek close to his mouth, a bat of the eyelashes.”

“Ask him to bring you a towel to the bathroom and stand there naked, waiting for him. Or mention that you aren’t wearing panties. Jace likes that one.”

Emery sniggers and points at Rylann’s stomach. “Bet he still does.”

Rylann, honest to God, blushes a bright pink but doesn’t deny it.

“Oh, and if all else fails”—Emery lowers her voice to a whisper, letting me in on her secret—“let him walk in on you using your vibrator.”

“Good one, Em. That will make him nice and jealous. He’ll either whip out his dick and jerk off on you, or he’ll be ripping the toy away so he can shovehistoy inside you,” Scarlett spouts, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

I blush. “You all are crazy.”

I must be the crazy one, though, because everything they are saying conjures images of the sexy man doing all of those things to me.

“But we are married to the men we pulled these tricks on, so take our advice or don’t. It’s up to you.” Scarlett sips her drink as she watches me with her knowing eyes.

Can I actually do the things they said to do?

You walked out in those yoga shorts.