Flesh: Part Seven (The Flesh Series Book 7) by Sky Corgan Page B

but I keep
forgetting to pick one up every time I go to the store.
    For a moment, I
think about not answering, but then I remember it's Girl Scout cookie
season. Last year, they came to our apartment, and I stocked up. If
I'm lucky, it will be a Girl Scout. It probably isn't though.
    Deciding to take a
chance, I pull myself off of the sofa and look through the peephole.
My face breaks into a smile when I see who is standing on the other
side.
    "Derrick!"
I say his name with all the enthusiasm I'm feeling as I open the
door. Hopefully, now I don't have to drink alone.
    "Buttercup!"
He mirrors my excitement.
    "What are you
doing here?" My eyes scan down his body to the plastic bags he's
holding in each hand.
    "We never
really celebrated getting the Reddick contract." He lifts the
bags up, and I can see that there are two bottles of wine in one of
them.
    "Man after my
own heart." I press my palm against my chest.
    "I'm glad
you're home." He steps inside and heads for the kitchen. "I
was a bit worried about coming over without calling first, but I
wanted it to be a surprise."
    "It's a very
pleasant surprise. I was drinking alone, and you know how much fun
that is." I roll my eyes and follow him into the kitchen,
watching as he sets the bags on the counter and begins unpacking
them. Inside is an assortment of fruits, cheeses, meats, crackers,
and chocolate.
    "Do you have a
tray I can put this stuff on?" He begins rummaging through the
cupboards.
    "Yeah. Over
here." I open the cupboard nearest the door and pull out a
plastic platter for him to put the food on. He takes it from me and
immediately goes to work setting up our snacks.
    "Should the
wine go in the fridge?" I peel the plastic bag from the bottles.
They're both chilled, so that answers my question. I put one in the
refrigerator and grab a corkscrew from the drawer to open the other
one.
    "I tried to
come over last night, but you were gone," he mentions though he
doesn't ask where I was.
    I know the question
isn't lingering far behind, so I decide to answer on my own. "Yeah.
Janice and I went out."
    "Where'd you
go?" He leans back so I can get some wine glasses out of the
cabinet.
    "I kind of
don't want to tell you," I admit, shifting my weight.
    He stops cutting up
the block of cheese he's working on and gives me a disappointed look.
"Late night with Reddick?"
    "Yes and no."
I quirk my head to the side, not wanting to meet his gaze. "I
told you that Janice was there."
    "Did he ask for
a threesome?"
    "Derrick!"
I gasp, leaning over to elbow him in the side.
    "What? I get
the impression that wouldn't be a too far-fetched thing to expect
from him." He looks genuinely offended by my shock.
    "No." I
shake my head, pouring us each a glass of wine. "He didn't ask
for a threesome. He invited us to go to Fleshfest. Well, he invited
me to go to Fleshfest. I invited Janice because I know she wouldn't
forgive me if I didn't."
    "Fleshfest,"
he says the name with absolute disgust. "What in the hell is
that?"
    "It's a fetish
festival, but it reminded me a lot more of a club." I try to
play down the event. "There was music and dancing and booths
that sold sex stuff."
    "Sounds
classy." He rolls his eyes.
    "Well, it
wasn't." I set his glass of wine in front of him and steal a
grape from the tray. He doesn't try to stop me or complain.
    "Did you have
fun?" Derrick takes in a deep breath as if fearing the answer.
    I briefly bite my
bottom lip before taking a sip of wine. My answer is really two-fold,
but if I'm being completely honest, the bad outweighed the good. "Not
really."
    "Good. Then
there's no reason for you to go out with him again." He takes
the tray and his glass of wine and walks around me to the living
room.
    I follow him and sit
on the sofa as he sets the tray down on the coffee table.
    "What's on the
dumb tube?" Derrick leans forward to grab the remote.
    "I was watching
the Futurama marathon."
    "No Lifetime
Move Network?" he teases.
    "No," I
huff. Asshole.
    He flips to the