Page 2 of Slapshot Summer
“Hey, girlfriend, I was just hearing your voice in my head urging WW to come out of her shell.”
“Good!I hope she listens to me.So how was the travel?What’s the suite like?”
“The travel was uneventful, but the suite!Oh God, Anna!The view of the infinity pool and ocean is to die for.The mattress is thick enough that the princess wouldn’t feel an entire peapod, and the bathroom reminds me of a Roman bath.”Lexi let out a wistful sigh.“I wish you were here to enjoy it with me.I swear, there’s enough room for your entire family in here.”
Anna came from a large Polish family.An only child, Lexi loved hanging around them so she could soak up the chaos, so different from her own life growing up.Her parents were professors, and dinner discussions had been quiet affairs that centered around the cerebral.Not that there was anything wrong with that—Lexi adored her folks—but she reveled in the banter and the unabashed affection Anna’s family lavished on one another.
“So have you met any of this week’s one-night performers yet?”Lexi could practically hear the waggle in her friend’s eyebrows.
“Well, there was this guy on my shuttle.”The image of a tall, dark-haired man with chocolate eyes and a brilliant smile floated through her head.
“Did you talk to him?”
“Well, no.”
Anna sighed.“Lex, Wanton Woman’s not going to have anyone to play with unless you put yourself out there.Promise me that as soon as we hang up, you’ll throw on that slinky white sundress we picked out and take yourself to the bar.When you get there, you’re going tositat the bar—that’s a neon sign that says ‘My hoohah is open for business’—and order yourself an umbrella drink.”
Lexi burst out with a laugh.“Myhoohahis open for business?Anna, I’m notsellingthe goods.”
“Well, you’re advertising them.Especially after getting that Brazilian.”
“It wasn’t a Brazilian.It was a French bikini wax.”And it hurt like hell.
“Okay, how about this for your delicate sensibilities?‘Down for love with the right slab of man meat.Applicants apply here.’Does that sound better?”
“Not by much,” Lexi snorted.God, she missed her friend!
“That way you can interview the best candidates and pick from the bunch,” Anna reasoned.“Or, if you have multiple choices that are too yummy to resist, schedule one for each night of the week.Better yet, set yourself up with a reverse harem.”
“You’ve been reading too many smutty novels,” Lexi deadpanned.
“Something you should consider, my friend, instead of your syrupy sweet historical romances, where the heroine faints the moment the hero dares to kiss her gloved hand.Real people don’t behave that chastely, you know.”
“They did in the nineteenth century,” Lexi sniffed.“Besides, I don’t remember how to flirt.”
“Watch a YouTube video.”
Lexi’s heart sank.“I wish you were here.I need you to hold my confidence up.”
“I wish I could be there too, sweetie, but you don’t need me to hold up your confidence.Lex, you are an incredible woman who simply needs to find that gear inside herself and get it rolling again.And you know what?You took the first step by going to Destiny on your own.I’m really proud of you for that.And I believe down in my bones that good things are coming your way.”
“Thanks, babe.You’re the best.”
“Now stop stalling and get down to the bar!Wanton Woman isontonight!”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lexi chuckled.
“And send pictures!”
“The only pictures I’m sending are of the delicious fruity drinks.”
They hung up, and Lexi piled her hair on top of her head before taking a quick shower to wash off the stickiness of travel and the humid air.In the drawer she’d designated for underwear, she pulled out the beautiful black lace thong and bra set she had planned to wear on her wedding night.She forced back a surge of regret.She’d cried a river over Conrad, and he hadn’t deserved a single one of her tears.Nor did he deserve the head space she was currently giving him to rain all over her idyllic honeymoon for one, so she banished the jerk.
As for the sexy undies, she didn’t plan on showing them to anyone, but she wanted to feel beautiful and feminine.
After reapplying her makeup and spritzing on some perfume, she shimmied into the dress and slipped on her backup pair of high-heeled sandals.Not as practical as the first pair and probably too fancy for the hotel’s laid-back vibe, but they added length to her legs and pushed her height from five three to five six.She was practically an Amazon.
Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, and maybe you’ll believe it.
