Page 2 of Yours for the Weekend

She holds up both bags in the air. Her towel drops to the floor, and she kicks it away; she uses way more force than necessary, loses her footing, and stumbles back. I lunge forward to catch her, but I’m several feet away. She catches herself on the closed fridge door then laughs loudly.

I point at the nearest barstool. “You need to sit your drunk ass down.”

“I’m fine!”

“Yeah, sure.” I grab the bags from her hand and pop chicken tenders and French fries into the double basket air fryer. “ Sit .”

She rolls her eyes, but there’s no heat behind it. She instead leans forward to snatch her glass and downs it. Her phone lights up with a text. She glances at it then sighs with her entire body.

“Marcus?” I ask.

She slides her phone toward me. I take a large gulp of my mojito and brace myself.

Marcus:

Baby it was just a joke. Let me come back and I’ll make it up to you

I groan and hand her the phone back. “I don’t understand what you see in him.”

And I really don’t. Casey is amazing. A talented graphic designer with a successful career.

A loyal friend who loves deeply. She’s an avid hiker who loves to explore new cities, but is always down for movie nights, eating pizza and drinking wine while wearing pajamas.

Anyone would be so lucky to have her, so what is she doing with Marcus?

Casey rubs her temples, exasperated. “What can I say? The sex is great. ”

A loud sound escapes me—a mix between a snort and a scoff.

I finish squeezing limes and wash my hands.

I’m still far behind her, but I’m on my third drink, and the alcohol has me feeling warm and bold.

“He may be nice and charming, but he makes the creepiest comments about me needing to ‘get back on the horse’ and he’s biphobic. ”

“Oh, my god. No, he’s not!”

I stare at her.

She sighs. “Fine, yes, he’s ignorant. But he’s learning.”

“You deserve better.”

“It doesn’t matter. Things with him aren’t serious.” She picks at her nail. “He makes me laugh. He’s always down for last-minute adventures, and he does amazing things with his tongue.”

“Gross.”

She throws a lime slice at me, and I duck, laughing. “Shut up. You act like you haven’t told me about your and Nina’s sex life in way too vivid detail for years.”

A blush creeps up my cheek as an ache spreads through my chest.

“Speaking of,” she says. “I am sorry Marcus is making comments about you dating again.”

“That would be fine. It’s the comments about how I need to sleep with someone again.”

“Wait. What?”

I sigh. He only made the comments once. The three of us went bar hopping, and, while Casey was grabbing us another round, his sloppy ass started asking me about my type. All while pointing at random women around us in the crowded bar.

“He was trying to set me up at BB’s, and I kept telling him to knock it off. So he was all like ‘Come on, Dakot-y, you’ve hooked up since your Wicked Witch of the West ex, right?’”

“Ew.” Casey cringes. “Also, he doesn’t sound like that.”

I shrug. In my head, he totally sounds like a douche frat boy.

“Okay, he does when he’s drunk,” Casey concedes.

“Exactly.” We both laugh. “But, yeah,” I say. “Then he wouldn’t let up about how I need to sleep with someone new, and that it’s the best way to get over someone.”

“Ugh, I’m so sorry.” Casey finishes pouring my drink and slides it to me. “That’s super inappropriate of him. How come you didn’t tell me?”

“He was wasted.” I sigh. “Things between you were new, and you seemed happy. I didn’t want to ruin it.”

“I kind of wish you did,” she says so softly, I almost don’t hear it. Before I can respond, the air fryer beeps, and the conversation is forgotten as Casey excitedly cheers for “chicken tendies!”

I finish two more mojitos while forcing Casey to switch to water until I can catch up. We argue over who should win this season’s Survivor , and I’m grateful for the topic change away from our exes.

“Want to go on the lake?” Casey asks as she collects our trash.

“You may be sobering up, but I don’t trust you to drive.”

Casey snickers. “Not on the boat. We can take the kayaks out.”

I’ve had enough to drink that I doubt my motor functioning skills, but I’m drunk enough to say, “Yeah, fuck it! Let’s go!”

Lake Blue Skies is a massive circle with limited public access.

There are two dozen houses scattered around its circumference.

It’s a beautiful evening, and the water is packed with boats and kayakers.

Families are outside in their backyards.

Casey waves often and exchanges pleasantries with half of them.

The sun is warm on my skin, and we glide lazily through the water on our respective sit-on-top kayaks.

Another boat passes and waves gently rock us before they lap against the shore.

I’m thankful we’re sticking to the shallow water, since a stupid drowning accident is definitely not on my bingo card.

“Ooh, looks like the Lewises are in town.”

“Who?” I ask.

Casey points with her paddle to a large gray house.

The indoor lights are on, showcasing several people bustling inside the kitchen.

In the backyard, a shirtless man is barbecuing.

Paddle boards litter the well-manicured lawn.

And there’s a cozy bonfire set up with several empty chairs circling it.

Wood is stacked in a pyramid inside the pit, ready for a match.

“I wonder if Lily is here.” There’s a longing in Casey’s tone that hints at the real motivation behind her question, and it finally clicks. Casey’s fuck buddy.

Both families have lake houses, and the two grew up spending summers together.

Lily is the first girl Casey ever kissed.

They tried dating when they were teenagers, but it fizzled out almost immediately.

They realized they work better as friends rather than romantic partners, especially since their primary homes were several hours away from one another and Lily had dreams of moving away from Michigan after high school.

Still, they have an agreement for no-strings-attached fun on the rare occasion they see one another.

Lily is a pilot who is constantly on the go, so even though I’ve been coming to Casey’s lake house for five years, I still haven’t met her. It looks like that may change this weekend.

“Why don’t you text her?” I ask and hold my breath while I wait for her answer.

I’m all for her hooking up with someone if that means this breakup with Marcus sticks, but it’ll suck since spending time with my best friend is the only thing keeping my feelings over Nina’s engagement at bay. Or maybe that’s the mojitos.

“Nah,” Casey says. “My libido can kick rocks. I’d rather hang out with you.”

I snort.

“What?” she asks, amused.

“Nothing.” I pick my paddle out of the water and rest it across my thighs. The sun is setting now, turning the sky a beautiful cotton candy pink and purple. “We should head in.”

Casey is staring at the gray house, a wistful expression on her face, and I wonder what that feels like. Nina and I broke up well over a year ago, and I haven’t been with anyone but my vibrator since. And while I do enjoy my self-care, it’s not the same. I’m so fucking horny.

What would it feel like to have someone to scratch that itch with and without the feelings?

If I’m honest, it sounds kind of nice. I have no desire to date someone new, but arrangements like Casey and Lily have aren’t dating.

It’s just sex. Some no-strings-attached fun without the drama or heartbreak. I think that’s exactly what I need.

But with who?