“Is she having a seizure or something?”
Peter shook his head. “Dude, not cool.”
“Sorry, sorry. What’s going on here, Mare?”
“I’m excited, asshole! You guys look so happy.”
“We are,” I said with a proud nod. “Or at least, I am.”
Maren winked and leaned in close. “So is she. Now, don’t blow it.”
“I’ll try not to,” I said, rolling my eyes. “No pressure or anything.”
“You know I love you, Devvy.”
“Devvy? That’s new.”
“I’m trying it out.”
“I hope it’s short-lived, Mary.”
She recoiled. “Message received. Devvy is dead.”
“Thank you.”
With one swift movement, Lyra linked her arm with mine, leaning in to place a kiss on my neck. “What’d I miss?”
“Well, Maren tried to give me a lame nickname.”
“Interesting.”
“It didn’t take,” Maren said, shaking her head. “Let’s not speak of it again.”
Lyra laughed. “Okay, then. Dev, we should let them mingle.”
“Yeah, yeah, I see some of Pete’s coworkers coming in now. Remember, guys, food will be out soon. Don’t forget to eat.”
Lyra pulled me toward the bathrooms, her hand clutching mine. “Everything okay?”
When we got to a secluded, dark corner in the hallway, she pressed me against the wall. “Yeah, I just wanted you all to myself for a minute. Is that okay?”
“More than okay,” I said, already getting hard. I wanted to drag her into the bathroom and do bad things…very bad things.
Lyra put one hand on the back of my neck, dragging her fingernails at the base of my hairline, just like I liked. I leaned down for a kiss, running my hands through her silky curls as they spilled down her shoulders.
“Wanna get outta here?” I asked between kisses. She laughed.
“Can’t leave your own party, crazy man.”
“No one will know we’re gone. C’mon, there’s a Hilton on the end of the block. We’ll be back before Morgan even has the bill.”
“Don’t tempt me.” She sighed, pulling me in for a hug, resting her head on my chest. I smelled her hair and the familiar scents of strawberries and pears. This time, there was just a hint of cinnamon as well.
Could this woman be more perfect? I didn’t think so.
“Come on, let’s mingle. Morgan asked me to help give out the bracelets to people we know.”
“All right, all right. Just let me settle the little guy down first.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Well, you got me all revved up,” I said, looking down at my very obvious erection.
“Ooh, yes, I did,” she said, raising her eyebrows and licking her lips. “It’s a shame I can’t do anything about that.”
I growled, pushing her against the wall. “Stop teasing me, woman.” I planted kisses on her neck until she moaned. She pulled away and grabbing my hand. “We gotta get back. C’mon, it’s dark. No one will notice your boner.”
A shocked laugh left my lips. I put my hand over my heart dramatically, making my words sound like a 1950s housewife. “I can’t believe you just yelled boner in the middle of our friends’ engagement party. You’re so immature.”
Lyra rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Let’s mingle.”
Just then, my phone buzzed and I held my breath, hoping it wasn’t work. I glanced at the screen. “Sorry, I have to take this.”
“Work?” Lyra asked with an expression I couldn’t quite figure out.
“Yeah, sorry. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Okay, come find me.”
With a sigh, I answered the phone and walked outside to handle the latest crisis across the globe.
Four hours later, the party was a huge success. The bar was packed with its normal crowds in addition to all the invited guests at our party. Peter and Maren had just left after partying their asses off with friends and family. With slurred words and sloppy hugs, they’d thanked us both profusely before calling an Uber and heading back to their house to pass out.
Lyra and I were pretty drunk too.
“We did good,” she said, leaning against the bar. I nuzzled into her neck for the fiftieth time that night.
“So, the guests of honor have left the building. Can we take off now? Finally?”
“As soon as you pay the bill,” she said with a wink before polishing off her final cocktail. “And I’ve been thinking about this… Are you sure I can’t pitch in?”
I closed my eyes and raised my hand to protest. The room spun just a bit.
“Hear me out, hear me out,” she said. Her words slurred a just a bit, but I was sure mine were too.
“Nope, not listening. You paid for the decorations. People loved the candy and all the streamer thingies.” Lyra pushed her lower lip into a pout. “Don’t do that. It makes me hard.”
Lyra threw her head back in laughter, holding on to my arm to stay steady. “You like that one, huh?” I said with a chuckle. She nodded as she laughed.
“Dev?” a high-pitched voice called from a few feet away. A girl I’d met on Tinder approached us.
Shit.
Yes, Lyra and I agreed we each had pasts, but so far I was the only one whose past kept popping over to say hello. At this point, I was dying for an ex-boyfriend of hers to make an appearance just to even the score.
Lyra turned to the voice as she approached. This was Malika, a model I’d dated briefly before getting back together with Trupti. I wasn’t gonna lie; Malika was stunning. Tall with rich brown skin and silky black hair. Her skirt barely covered her ass cheeks.
Lyra was not pleased.
“Hey, sexy,” Malika said, leaning in for a kiss. I turned my face so her lips landed on my cheek.
“Hey, girl.”
“How are you?”
I took Lyra’s hand in mine.
“Good, good. This is Lyra.”
“Oh,” Malika said, pursing her lips. “Hey.”
She turned back to me. “Why haven’t you called? It’s been forever. I’ve missed you.”
“Life got crazy, you know?”
“Sure. This place is packed tonight. Wanna dance?”
“No, thanks.” I squeezed Lyra’s hand as Malika tilted her head to the side. “This is Lyra… Lyra, this is Malika. Malika and I dated briefly a long time ago.”
“It wasn’t that long ago,” Malika said with a wink, and I didn’t understand why. I literally hadn’t seen her in more than a year.
Lyra swallowed hard and smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
Malika shot daggers at Lyra, who shook her head and laughed under her breath at the awkwardness of the moment. “Oh. Well, now I see why you never called.”
“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “Good to see you, though. We’re gonna bounce.”
She turned and walked away without saying goodbye. I faced Lyra, my teeth clenched and my tail between my legs.
“So…” she began, her brows furrowed, a little wrinkle forming above her nose. “How many women are we going to run into? And should I get an HIV test, like, tomorrow?”