31. Lila

31

LILA

I was always an optimist, but today, as I pushed Jamie's stroller down the busy city sidewalk toward my favorite brunch place, the whole world seemed even brighter than usual. Getting thoroughly railed and cherished by three gorgeous billionaires certainly put a spring in one's step.

"We're just having such a good day, aren't we, Jamie?" I spoke to the little guy, who was alert and smiling, his little thumb in his mouth. "Things are going pretty well overall right now, huh? I've got my three guys—though of course, you're the number one man in my heart, buddy—and my job is going so great. I get paid to hang out with you all day! Isn't that neat?"

Jamie giggled, and I smiled, carrying on the conversation. It was good for his language acquisition, of course, but I also just couldn't restrain myself from happily babbling. "We're gonna have brunch with my two best friends, who are gonna absolutely love you, by the way. And then we're gonna go see Olivia and have a fun day. Sound good, little dude?"

He let out a perfect little baby-squeal, and I couldn't help but laugh.

Jamie and I made it just in time to the restaurant, but my friends were both already seated and waiting for us. I suspected they were eager to hear what was going on with me and the guys, since I hadn't had the chance to talk to them since I first slept with Felipe. I said a quick hello to both of them and parked Jamie's stroller beside the table they'd snagged before I went up to the counter to order for Jamie and me. I almost ran into a woman who was walking a little too close behind me as I was headed back to the table, and she and I nearly collided in a brunch-y mess when I turned back to get napkins. The slender woman apologized profusely, stumbling over her words.

"Oh, it's no problem," I assured her, sensing something in this woman that needed my compassion. "See, not even a stain! No harm, no foul. You have a nice day, alright?"

"Y–you too," she stuttered out, and for a second before she scurried away, I thought she looked sort of familiar. New York was a big town, but it wasn't impossible that we'd run into each other before. Maybe she was a regular at this place, too.

Brunch began with the usual pleasantries as we dug into our food. I tore up pieces of my croissant to share with Jamie in addition to his fruit and ground turkey sausage, and I let my friends share their updates first. This coming weekend, Christine was going out for the first time with a guy from her gym whom she was excited about, and Gina and I agreed that he was adorable when she showed us his Facebook photos. Gina, meanwhile, was considering quitting the office job she'd been working for a while now to sell feet pics online.

"I'm just saying, if some perv wants to pay me for pedicures, I'm not opposed to some low-effort money," she told us as we laughed.

"Don't listen to her, Jamie," I said to our little companion, who of course didn't understand. "You can grow up to be anything you want, but please don't sell pictures to foot-obsessed weirdos."

This led into my sharing the happy news about my jobs—how I loved both kids, and I was making great progress on my savings thanks to the generous pay. I was even able to tell them that I'd been finding time to write more than I had in a long while.

"I had this idea for a picture book," I explained to them. "I've been working on it here and there in between my middle-grade project. It'll be sort of a Jungle Book thing, where a kid or a baby animal gets raised by some other animals that aren't the same species. It'll teach kids about unconventional family dynamics, you know? Two dads, two moms… more than two parents in general." I slyly didn't tell them that my inspiration for this had come in the form of three men I was dating at once, but I knew it had to come out eventually.

"Listen, babe, that's amazing, and we're stoked for you," Gina told me, her voice serious. "But if you don't spill the beans about all of this billionaire dick you've been getting immediately, I'm going to absolutely lose my shit in this restaurant."

"Language!" I laughed, reaching over to cover Jamie's ears. He wriggled away, though, and wasn't paying attention to us regardless—there was another baby at the other end of the restaurant, probably close to his age, and he was fascinated by them.

"Seriously, Lila, we're dying here," Christine agreed. "Spill that tea before we throw it into the harbor, Boston style."

Gina and I laughed at Christine's nerdy reference, but once it died down, I was more than ready to tell my friends everything. I tried to keep it PG, since we were in public, but I gave them the full overview—how I'd slept with Felipe, then Aaron, then Miles. How somehow, these three men cared about me enough to share. How I'd even surpassed their own sexual experiences, now, by having multiple orgasms at the hands of three men who all worshiped me in bed and out. I covered Jamie's ears more than a few times as I gave them some of the sordid details, leaning in close so I didn't have to shout for the whole city to hear.

When I was done, caught up completely to how I was practically living every woman's fantasy, both of their jaws dropped. Gina was the one who finally had the huge, hilarious reaction I really wanted. "Lila Dawson, you lucky, slutty bitch! Why don't you save some of the orgies for the rest of us?"

I was on cloud nine when, after answering plenty of just-a-bit-intrusive questions and finally getting my friends' staunch approval of my following my bliss, Jamie and I headed back to the subway. I probably should have called a car, since we were a bit far out from the Kramers' Brooklyn brownstone, but the few times I'd taken Aaron up on that offer, it had been on rainy days or other times when I'd been less inclined to walk. Today, I was more than happy to enjoy the perfect weather, the little bit of exercise, and the freedom to be by myself in a crowd. Well, by myself with Jamie, too.

The nearest subway station to the brunch place was pretty busy, but not an unbearable crush. I people-watched a while as I waited for the next train, and while I was scanning the throngs, I spotted the timid woman I'd run into at the restaurant. She was talking to a slender, reedy man in a leather jacket, his greasy hair pulled back in a low bun, and their expressions and postures were tense as they had some kind of argument. It piqued my curiosity, but only a little.

Jamie started to fuss a little, wanting out of his stroller, so I hoisted him up into my arms and awkwardly struggled to fold the stroller back up—Aaron had only the fanciest, most high-tech baby gear, since his money was basically a love language. The train started to chug toward us as I was fumbling with the stroller, the baby, and my purse. Someone bumped into me from one side, and then from the other direction, a pair of arms were snatching Jamie right out of my arms.

"No!" I shrieked, my panic drowned out by the screech of the train pulling up to a stop. I spun around and saw stringy hair, an insubstantial woman's frame retreating, Jamie screaming in her arms. "Jamie!" I called as I started to race after him down the platform, abandoning the stroller and my hopes of boarding the train. My brain was struggling to catch up, but I started to piece together details—I could have sworn that was the same woman from the restaurant, the woman who had been arguing with her seemingly-shitty boyfriend, and it dawned on me all at once where I knew her from.

It was from Jamie's face, and Aaron's, and the framed photo that lived in Jamie's temporary bedroom at the penthouse. The woman who had just snatched a child from my arms was Whitney Pierce. There was no other explanation that made sense.

"Whit—" I started to call out, hoping I was right even as I wished this wasn't happening, but then a pair of strong arms were grabbing me from behind, my nails digging into leather sleeves, and I was screaming. A struggle, a sharp pain, and then everything went black.