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“Oh, come on, Ari. We all do the down and dirty. I just need a pic of your guy hanging above my bed so I can have red hot sex with my hubby while fantasizing about your sex god. ”
“How cute. You’re actually embarrassing her,” Miley said with a laugh.
“Come on. We’ve known Ari for months now. You know she blushes at even the mention of the S. E. X. word,” Shelly spelled out.
“You are terrible, monstrous friends. I can’t believe I’m still standing here taking this abuse,” Ari said with a smile.
“Yes, we’re horrible. I’m expecting my chariot of fire to show up to escort me to the gates of hell at any moment. For now, I’m still here, so spill the beans before we try Chinese water torture on you,” Amber threatened.
“I just want to say that I truly feel sorry for your husbands. Living with any of you has got to be like being married to an FBI agent who constantly interrogates. Geesh. ”
“Yeah, yeah, now spill,” Shelly said as she impatiently tapped her toe on the floor.
“That was… just a friend. I refuse to spill anything further. I’ve been away from work for a couple weeks now, and I don’t want to give them any excuses to fire me. If you promise to leave me alone for the entire day, then maybe, just maybe, I’ll share something with you after work,” Ari said, making sure to look each of them in the eye so they knew she wasn’t bluffing.
“Fine, but I want you to know that I’m not very happy about this,” Miley pouted.
“You can grumble and call me names behind my back. ”
“Okay. That makes it a little better,” Shelly said with a forgiving smile.
“We really have missed you, Ari. No one has managed to enter this friendship circle before you came along. You’ve turned us from the three musketeers to the Foursketeers. ”
“Foursketeers? That’s not a real word,” Ari said with a laugh.
“Yeah, well, it sounded good in my head,” Amber defended.
“Are you ladies planning on working anytime soon, or do you think chatting around the water cooler is your job title?”
“We’re going. Keep your pants on,” Miley said as she turned toward her office.
“Miley,” Ari hissed as she glanced apologetically at her boss. “I’m sorry, sir. I’m coming now. ”
“It’s good to have you back, Ari,” he replied before smiling and heading back to his office.
Amber hugged her again, before they all went to their desks. As Ari sat down, she took a relieved breath. The job was boring, but her friends made it all worth being there. She truly hoped they never ended up going their separate ways. She’d found laughter again, and she didn’t ever want to lose it.
Ari managed to avoid telling her friends much of anything about Rafe, but what she didn’t realize was that they got ahold of her phone while she was in the bathroom and found several steamy text messages from him.
Since the girls were determined to hook her up, they decided to see if they could do some matchmaking. The messages they’d read were all about what he wanted to do to her… all night long, and her replies were less than enthusiastic.
The girls wanted to see a show, and they were about to get their money’s worth.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“I won’t take no for an answer, do you understand?”
Ari stood frozen, as if trapped, knowing there was no way out. She either said yes and did this the easy way, or she said no and was kidnapped and had all sorts of tortures inflicted upon her. She wanted to run, but she knew there was no way out.
“Fine, yes. I want you to know that I’m not going willingly and I’m very upset with you. ”
“I can live with that. ”
Ari watched as Amanda sauntered away, obviously pleased to have gotten her way. Ari was stuck going out dancing with the girls. At least Amanda had promised it was a classy Latin club where her brother was a bouncer. Ari had threatened their lives if there were any more roofie attempts on her.
“Let’s go. Miley and Shelly are already in the car. My husband took the kids to a movie so my house is where we’re getting ready. I have the perfect outfit for you. ”
“No way are you dressing me slutty, Amber,” Ari yelled as she chased after her friend. She had to protest even though she knew she was going to lose in the end. It seemed to be the story of her life.
The girls chattered on about how amazing this club was the entire half-hour drive to Amber’s place. Ari had to admit, if only to herself, that it did sound kind of fun. She’d ignored the messages from Rafe all week, and tonight was a good time to go out dancing and see if she could find a man who’d spark her interest as much as he did.