Stand Off
Page 47
Leaning forward, she picked up a brownie from the dish. The women were all devouring them, so she wanted to make sure she tasted one before they all disappeared. It was delicious, but there was a slight taste that she didn’t recognize. She almost choked on the gooey chocolate when she recognized what she thought it might be.
“Penni brought us pot brownies!” Casey stared at the brownie in disbelief.
“No, she didn’t,” Vida said, nibbling on her third brownie.
“Yes, they are. She told us when she set them down on the table. You guys must have been in the bedroom changing when she told everyone,” Grace said, enjoying her second one.
Casey started to set the brownie down yet couldn’t resist taking another bite… or two.
“Max has been bragging to Ice about the chocolate cake you make him. He tells Ice it’s better than the one I made him for his birthday.” Grace said in mock offense. “We might need to have a bake off.”
“You buy yours at the bakery on Main Street?” Casey asked taking another bite of brownie.
“No I make mine.” Grace laughed.
“Then you win.”
Penni came out of the bedroom, strutting around the room in the pale lavender slip that had a plunging vee to her flat stomach, showing the diamond piercing in her navel. The slip grazed the top of her slim thighs.
Casey ate the last bit of the brownie, envious of her body.
“I’ll buy this one,” Penni said enthusiastically, retaking her seat then picking up her brownie and wine.
“How many of those have you had?” Casey asked, noticing the blonde’s pupils were dilated.
“A couple. Don’t worry, we won’t run out. I have another platter of them in the kitchen.”
“They’re really good,” Casey was forced to admit.
Penni emptied her wine glass. “It’s my own secret recipe. I bought the weed from the best weed growers in Kentucky, and I got a brownie recipe from a baker in Treepoint then added the pot, but the piece de resistance is my homemade canna oil I use. It makes them really moist.”
“Yes, it does,” Grace said appreciatively.
“There’s enough weed in this room to get us charged with a felony,” Vida said, taking another one.
“Ice’s lawyer will get us off.” Grace joked.
The whole room exploded with laughter.
Gianna hushed them with a wave of her hands. “All right, it’s time for a game. Everyone has on a piece of lingerie, so I want you all to line up.”
The women all stood, lining up against the wall.
“How do we play?” Rave asked above the loud chattering.
“Okay, so I take a picture of all of you from the neck down, and then I send it to you in a mass text. The fun part of the game comes when you send the picture to your boyfriends or husbands and see if they can pick you out of the group.”
“What do we win?” Penni questioned with a narrow-eyed stare at Gianna, who was busy organizing the women who were all high enough to go along with the game. Casey stood next to Penni, who had Rave on her other side.
“Penni, stand still,” Gianna said impatiently.
“Let someone shorter stand next to me. Rave’s boobs are staring me in the face.”
“Quit complaining,” Gianna said, ignoring Penni’s suggestion.
Penni raised her finger, flipping Gianna off.
“That’s it. I’m sending you a couple of pictures. Take your pick and send one to your other half. All we have to do is wait to see who wins.”
Some of the women began to get changed; others just sat around, giving their orders to Gianna. Casey decided to purchase the red one she was wearing.
“That’s a good choice.” Penni began refilling the wine glasses, complimenting all the women on their choices.
“You going to buy one?” Gianna asked Penni.
“I’ll take two. The lavender one and the red one like Casey is wearing. It makes her breasts look amazing, and she has small ones, too. No offense.” She lifted her wine glass in apology.
“None taken.” Casey smiled back at the woman.
No one could get angry at Penni. She had the gift of making you notice her when she came into a room, and if everything felt flat, she laughed. She reminded Casey of a bottle of bubbles that you would buy at the dollar store. When you blew the bubbles, they filled the air with their beauty, but if you actually tried to touch one, they flew away beyond reach or exploded. Penni was the kind of bubble that you never knew which it was going to do.
Grace sat down next to Casey after she came out of the bedroom.
“Don’t forget to send the picture,” Gianna reminded them.
“Crap, I forgot.” Casey took her phone out, sending the text with the picture.
“I was getting changed,” Grace said, sending the picture.
Vida wrote Gianna a check for what she had picked to buy then took her phone out of her purse, sending the picture.
Penni leaned forward, picking up the platter of brownies and offering them to the women after taking another for herself. “Now all we have to do is wait and see. You never did tell us what we would win.”
Gianna reached into a discreet pink bag, pulling out a pretty, long, gold evening purse. Opening it, she tilted the purse forward until all the women crowded around, seeing the large vibrator inside.
“I need that in my life,” Penni breathed.
The women all stared at each other then faced Gianna.
Casey spoke for the whole group. “She can have it.”
* * *
Max was eating his second meatball sub when he felt his phone vibrate. Checking his messages, he choked on the bite he had just taken.
“What the fuck?” He heard Ice’s exclamation next to him. Then Colton’s phone went off, and Max knew exactly what the men were staring down in wonder at on their cell phones.
“Give them to me,” Max snapped.
“I’m not giving you my fucking phone.” Ice reared back out of his reach.
“Give it to me!” Max held his hand out to Colton.
“Fuck no.”
Max stood up, his stool falling backward onto the floor.
“Give me the fucking phones!” Max bellowed jealously.
“I’m not buying any more furniture, and I’m not buying them new phones. Why in the fuck would they give you their phones, anyways?” Jackal asked, standing up from his stool at the bar.
Ice leaned sideways out of Max’s reach, showing Jackal the picture.
“Are you nuts? Don’t show him that!”
Jackal’s mouth dropped open, jerking the phone from Ice’s hand and stepping from his reach.
“They at your house?” Jackal asked Max.
“All fifteen of them,” Max said grouchily.
“Later.” Jackal left the clubroom with a glint in his eyes that made Max suspicious, but he relaxed when he saw the brother going down the hallway to the bedrooms.
“Damn, I hope Vida buys the one she’s wearing. Hell, I hope she buys the one Casey’s wearing, too,” Colton murmured appreciatively.
“I’m going to kick your ass!” Max took a step toward him then heard a bike start outside. “That son of a bitch took off!”
Max stormed to the door, seeing Jackal turn onto the road, heading in the direction of his house. “I’m going to kill that motherfucker.”
“Penni brought us pot brownies!” Casey stared at the brownie in disbelief.
“No, she didn’t,” Vida said, nibbling on her third brownie.
“Yes, they are. She told us when she set them down on the table. You guys must have been in the bedroom changing when she told everyone,” Grace said, enjoying her second one.
Casey started to set the brownie down yet couldn’t resist taking another bite… or two.
“Max has been bragging to Ice about the chocolate cake you make him. He tells Ice it’s better than the one I made him for his birthday.” Grace said in mock offense. “We might need to have a bake off.”
“You buy yours at the bakery on Main Street?” Casey asked taking another bite of brownie.
“No I make mine.” Grace laughed.
“Then you win.”
Penni came out of the bedroom, strutting around the room in the pale lavender slip that had a plunging vee to her flat stomach, showing the diamond piercing in her navel. The slip grazed the top of her slim thighs.
Casey ate the last bit of the brownie, envious of her body.
“I’ll buy this one,” Penni said enthusiastically, retaking her seat then picking up her brownie and wine.
“How many of those have you had?” Casey asked, noticing the blonde’s pupils were dilated.
“A couple. Don’t worry, we won’t run out. I have another platter of them in the kitchen.”
“They’re really good,” Casey was forced to admit.
Penni emptied her wine glass. “It’s my own secret recipe. I bought the weed from the best weed growers in Kentucky, and I got a brownie recipe from a baker in Treepoint then added the pot, but the piece de resistance is my homemade canna oil I use. It makes them really moist.”
“Yes, it does,” Grace said appreciatively.
“There’s enough weed in this room to get us charged with a felony,” Vida said, taking another one.
“Ice’s lawyer will get us off.” Grace joked.
The whole room exploded with laughter.
Gianna hushed them with a wave of her hands. “All right, it’s time for a game. Everyone has on a piece of lingerie, so I want you all to line up.”
The women all stood, lining up against the wall.
“How do we play?” Rave asked above the loud chattering.
“Okay, so I take a picture of all of you from the neck down, and then I send it to you in a mass text. The fun part of the game comes when you send the picture to your boyfriends or husbands and see if they can pick you out of the group.”
“What do we win?” Penni questioned with a narrow-eyed stare at Gianna, who was busy organizing the women who were all high enough to go along with the game. Casey stood next to Penni, who had Rave on her other side.
“Penni, stand still,” Gianna said impatiently.
“Let someone shorter stand next to me. Rave’s boobs are staring me in the face.”
“Quit complaining,” Gianna said, ignoring Penni’s suggestion.
Penni raised her finger, flipping Gianna off.
“That’s it. I’m sending you a couple of pictures. Take your pick and send one to your other half. All we have to do is wait to see who wins.”
Some of the women began to get changed; others just sat around, giving their orders to Gianna. Casey decided to purchase the red one she was wearing.
“That’s a good choice.” Penni began refilling the wine glasses, complimenting all the women on their choices.
“You going to buy one?” Gianna asked Penni.
“I’ll take two. The lavender one and the red one like Casey is wearing. It makes her breasts look amazing, and she has small ones, too. No offense.” She lifted her wine glass in apology.
“None taken.” Casey smiled back at the woman.
No one could get angry at Penni. She had the gift of making you notice her when she came into a room, and if everything felt flat, she laughed. She reminded Casey of a bottle of bubbles that you would buy at the dollar store. When you blew the bubbles, they filled the air with their beauty, but if you actually tried to touch one, they flew away beyond reach or exploded. Penni was the kind of bubble that you never knew which it was going to do.
Grace sat down next to Casey after she came out of the bedroom.
“Don’t forget to send the picture,” Gianna reminded them.
“Crap, I forgot.” Casey took her phone out, sending the text with the picture.
“I was getting changed,” Grace said, sending the picture.
Vida wrote Gianna a check for what she had picked to buy then took her phone out of her purse, sending the picture.
Penni leaned forward, picking up the platter of brownies and offering them to the women after taking another for herself. “Now all we have to do is wait and see. You never did tell us what we would win.”
Gianna reached into a discreet pink bag, pulling out a pretty, long, gold evening purse. Opening it, she tilted the purse forward until all the women crowded around, seeing the large vibrator inside.
“I need that in my life,” Penni breathed.
The women all stared at each other then faced Gianna.
Casey spoke for the whole group. “She can have it.”
* * *
Max was eating his second meatball sub when he felt his phone vibrate. Checking his messages, he choked on the bite he had just taken.
“What the fuck?” He heard Ice’s exclamation next to him. Then Colton’s phone went off, and Max knew exactly what the men were staring down in wonder at on their cell phones.
“Give them to me,” Max snapped.
“I’m not giving you my fucking phone.” Ice reared back out of his reach.
“Give it to me!” Max held his hand out to Colton.
“Fuck no.”
Max stood up, his stool falling backward onto the floor.
“Give me the fucking phones!” Max bellowed jealously.
“I’m not buying any more furniture, and I’m not buying them new phones. Why in the fuck would they give you their phones, anyways?” Jackal asked, standing up from his stool at the bar.
Ice leaned sideways out of Max’s reach, showing Jackal the picture.
“Are you nuts? Don’t show him that!”
Jackal’s mouth dropped open, jerking the phone from Ice’s hand and stepping from his reach.
“They at your house?” Jackal asked Max.
“All fifteen of them,” Max said grouchily.
“Later.” Jackal left the clubroom with a glint in his eyes that made Max suspicious, but he relaxed when he saw the brother going down the hallway to the bedrooms.
“Damn, I hope Vida buys the one she’s wearing. Hell, I hope she buys the one Casey’s wearing, too,” Colton murmured appreciatively.
“I’m going to kick your ass!” Max took a step toward him then heard a bike start outside. “That son of a bitch took off!”
Max stormed to the door, seeing Jackal turn onto the road, heading in the direction of his house. “I’m going to kill that motherfucker.”
