Chapter 27

Tasha woke up in a big pile of people, and, presumably, a cat. Sometime in the night, Sophia must have gotten up, because instead of being in the middle, she was on the outside, and Tasha was now in the middle. She could see Nocturne’s ears, barely visible past Sophia. Meanwhile, she could feel Megan spooning her from behind. Well, this is definitely different. I don’t really have to get up anyway. I really hope that Megan moves her hand before she wakes up, because that is definitely going to be awkward otherwise.

She was planning to work on some websites this morning for the adult boutiques that Lauren referred. Concentrating on this mental task list was more difficult than usual because she could feel the bare skin of Megan’s legs touching hers. It was distracting.

It feels good, but it shouldn’t feel good. Well, maybe it should feel good, but not this good. I haven’t felt anyone touching me like this in a while. Maybe I should call Maria. Why does that somehow feel wrong now? Back to the websites. What was the one that I’m working on first? Uh, Playtime Princess or something. Okay, here’s what I need to do…

Tasha continued mentally prioritizing and cataloging until Megan started snoring gently in her ear.

That’s distracting.

Then Megan shifted, one of her legs sliding along Tasha’s.

Yep, I gotta get up. I need coffee and a cold shower. A very cold shower.

Tasha managed to somehow extract herself without waking anyone except Nocturne. She started making coffee and then fed the desperately starving Nocturne, who was doing her best to convey the message that she had never been fed before and that Tasha needed to remedy this situation right now. Once that was done, Tasha grabbed yogurt and granola and sat down at her laptop. She was moving along productively when a bleary-eyed Megan stumbled out with a raging case of bedhead. Tasha watched her scratch her head and sniff the air.

Focus on work, girl.

“Coffee?”

“I made some a while ago. I think it’s still hot.”

“Awesome. Lemme pee.” Megan turned toward the bathroom, absentmindedly scratching her butt. Tasha watched her walk away.

Why is this so hard? That’s what she said! Ugh, grow up. She’s your best friend, not some rando hook-up. Focus on setting up a sales page for vibrators. Oh, that’s not helping right now. What do guys think of? Baseball? Focus on the work. It’s boring and normal.

“Thanks for making coffee. You’re the best. Whatcha workin’ on? Oh, that’s a lot of vibrators! That’s gotta be fun to work on.”

“Eh, it’s not that much fun, really. Setting up a sales page for vibrators is basically the same as setting up a sales page for car parts or books.” I never realized that shirt was that loose before. And now I know that she doesn’t wear a bra to sleep. Come on, Tasha. Get your shit together. Stop perving on your best friend. “Um, did you sleep okay? Anything weird happen in the night?”

“I slept great. And weird how?”

“Uh, you know. Strange dreams or something?”

“No. Not that I remember. Did you have strange dreams?”

“No, just thought I’d ask. I want to make sure that you’re okay.” Smooth. Real smooth recovery there, Tasha.

“What are your plans for the day?”

“I want to do some freelance work this morning and then I’m taking Sophia to the cat shelter in the afternoon, to give you some time to yourself.” I desperately need some time to myself right now. Or maybe not just to myself. Oh good, now I have two internal monologues. “What about you?”

“Well, as much as I appreciate the thought, I think that I’m going to go out to see if I can find some presents for Sophia. Thank you so much for taking her to the shelter. That really helps.”

“My pleasure! I really enjoy spending time with her.”

Tasha went back to her freelance work while Megan, gingerly cradling the mug of coffee in her hands, went to sit on the couch. They stayed like this until Sophia woke up and came out from the bedroom, accompanied by Nocturne. Megan got up and greeted her daughter, offering her breakfast. Nocturne meowed piteously, prompting Megan to offer her breakfast, too. Tasha broke out of her zone to inform Megan that Nocturne had already had breakfast that day, and that the meow was, in fact, a lie.

Once Sophia was fed, Tasha was vaguely aware of Megan asking her daughter to try doing yoga with her. The two changed clothes and got out the mats as Tasha continued to work. Tasha soon found herself observing them, watching Sophia try out the unfamiliar poses with the typical enthusiasm, erraticness, and flexibility of an eight-year-old. She then found her gaze drifting to the skintight yoga pants that Megan was borrowing, idly reflecting just how well they fit her friend’s ass. Really well. That is a very fine downward dog. If that shirt slides up any more… Get it together, girl. I really should have taken that cold shower.

Tasha deliberately turned her laptop so that she could no longer see Megan and Sophia. She plugged in her headphones and put Prince on the playlist. The infectious grooves helped her focus on work, at least for a while. Then she realized that maybe Prince wasn’t the best choice in her current state. “Raspberry Beret” quickly led Tasha’s imagination to inappropriate places. Tasha hit pause and desperately tried to think of anything that was catchy but not sexy. Okay, time to listen to some Dio. If I get desperate, then there’s always Pat Boone. Tasha shuddered. Come on, Ronnie James, don’t make me listen to Pat Boone. Tasha relaxed as “Stand Up and Shout” started playing, once again finding the zone, her fingers tapping wildly on the keyboard.

She had finished one project and was about halfway through the second when she felt a touch on her arm. Tasha hit pause and looked over her shoulder. “Hey, Megan what’s up?”

“Um, I was going to ask if you want lunch, but now I’m thinking that I should probably also ask if maybe you could make sure that your laptop screen is facing in a way that Sophia won’t see it.” Megan pointed at the extremely large and anatomically accurate dildo currently on the screen. “I do realize that I need to have The Talk with Sophia at some point, probably sooner than I want, but maybe not this soon.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” Also, sorry that I was perving on you so hard earlier that I had to turn away. Oh, by the way, you were getting a handful in your sleep. “Lunch sounds good. Leftovers? And when you do have The Talk, I’m sure that some of Lauren’s gifts would make great demonstration pieces,” Tasha added mischievously.

“Thanks, Tasha… Now I’m terrified of her getting tall enough to reach the high shelves in the closet.”

“You’re welcome! That’s what friends are for.” Tasha grinned at her.

As Megan pulled leftover scampi out of the fridge, she said, “It looked like you were rocking out.”

“Yeah, some Dio-era Black Sabbath.”

“I think I’ve only listened to the original line-up.”

“Those Ozzy-era albums were awesome. Here, listen to this.” Tasha pulled out the headphones and hit play. “This is the title track of the Heaven and Hell album.”

“Oh, my god… that bass line. Wow. I’ll have to check that out later. Sophia, come join us for lunch, sweetie.”

After lunch, Tasha took Sophia to the cat shelter for a few hours while Megan went out to find presents for Sophia. Tasha texted to make sure that Megan was home and that the presents were well hidden before returning. Once home, she and Sophia changed clothes to keep from spreading anything to Nocturne. Tasha then showed Megan and Sophia how to make samosas.

All in all, it was a very pleasant day for all three of them. Once Sophia was in bed, Tasha went back to work, hoping to finish before she went to sleep. She felt in the mood for some sleazy-good rock and roll. Hmmm, AC/DC? Crüe? KISS would work. Oh, there. Kix it is. Tasha kept working until Megan headed to bed. Eventually, she laid down to sleep on the couch. How do I tell her that I am sleeping out here because I’m thinking really inappropriate things about her?