I didn’t know a lot about Courtney’s past, but I knew Paige’s dad wasn’t in her life—or Courtney’s. That had to be hard, especially being a single mom so young. A family tragedy had left both Courtney and Jax financially independent, so at least she didn’t have to worry about money, but I couldn’t imagine trying to raise a child without a partner. I’d lose my mind just trying to care for a plant without help. I wasn’t sure about Courtney’s relationship with her parents, but she was close with her brother, Jax, and it probably eased her mind to have a good male role model present for Paige.
The server came over with Syd and Courtney’s drinks. I was jealous they had fresh coffee, and contemplated getting another, but did a quick calorie calculation in my head and decided that if I did, it would have to be black, no sugar, no milk. If I wanted to drink something that bland, I could drink straight water instead, so I pulled my bottle filled with lemon flavored water out of my bag.
“I’m excited for your house warming party next week,” Syd said to Courtney.
“Me too!” Courtney said. “Everything is finally unpacked. I can’t believe I found a place so fast. Single home rentals are usually crazy hard to find in this area, but I was lucky that I started looking around the same time the last semester ended at Easton. It gave me more options, and the house is really perfect. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a fenced yard for Paige. She’ll love it even more when the snow melts. Jax’s apartment is nice, but it’s small, and Jax and Syd need their privacy—“
“Don’t be silly,” Syd said, cutting her off. “You could have stayed there as long as you wanted.”
Courtney nodded, wrapping her hands around her coffee cup to warm them up. “I know, but Paige and I needed a place of our own to settle into. Stability is important for kids.” She lifted her coffee to take a sip.
“So is Paige not wandering in and finding Uncle Jax and Aunt Syd naked in reverse cowgirl,” I pointed out.
Courtney choked on her coffee and couldn’t stop laughing. Syd blushed and smacked my arm. “Seriously, Brynn?! She’s his sister!”
I gave her a look. “Do you honestly believe Court doesn’t know you’re having sex?”
“No!” Syd stuttered, her face scrunching up as she tried not to look in Courtney’s direction. “But we don’t have to talk about it! It’s uncomfortable.”
Courtney had gotten her coughing under control. “I’m not uncomfortable.”
“I am,” Syd grumbled.
I rolled my eyes. “That’s ridiculous. Sex is awesome. Everyone should talk about it all the time.”
“Says the girl on her way to becoming a sex therapist.”
I shrugged, unapologetic, and changed the subject. “Do you need help with anything for the party?” I asked Courtney.
“I don’t think so. The house is clean and the food is being delivered.”
Food delivery was smart, and exactly what I would have done in her place. Ordering from somewhere simplified things. There would be no worries about trying to make something everyone would like, or accommodate all of the attendees’ various diet and food requests. “Did you invite a lot of people?” I asked. Courtney hadn’t been in town long, so I wasn’t sure how many people she knew.
She shook her head. “Not a lot. Some people from Mom to Mom.”
Syd and I volunteered at CARE, a local nonprofit that supported people with family members in area hospitals. Courtney wanted something to do with her time, and had started talking to Charlie, the executive director of CARE. Charlie mentioned Mom to Mom, and said it was a local nonprofit that provided assistance to single mothers. Courtney had started working there part-time. It was perfect for her situation because there were so many other moms in the programs who she could relate to and help. There were also a lot of kids, and Paige was able to play with them and take preschool classes there while Courtney worked. It was turning out to be a great situation for them both, and I hoped they were each meeting new friends.
“I’m glad that’s worked out so well for you,” I said to Courtney.
“Me too. I was worried about finding something that Paige could be part of. My co-workers are great to include her. It’s definitely a perk, and I like being able to use my own experiences to help others.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what those experiences were. Courtney didn’t talk about it much, but I was happy she was doing well, and liked her job. “What do you do there?” I asked her.
She took another bite of her brownie before answering, “A lot of things. I’m mostly support staff for the full-time employees, so every day is different. Sometimes I sit in on support group meetings, other times I’m making phone calls, working on fundraisers, inputting data, and running errands. A lot of my days are spent with the moms, talking to them, giving advice, playing with the kids.” She glanced over at Paige, doing a quick check as she watched her daughter go down a yellow plastic slide. “My favorite part is the interaction, though. I like being able to listen to other moms tell their stories, and share mine if they’re interested.”
“It’s probably a lot like making friends with someone,” Syd observed, taking a drink of her coffee. “You get to know them, and slowly share more as you build trust.”
“Exactly,” Courtney said. “The different personalities are fun.” She leaned in like she was about to reveal some kind of secret. “Lately, a lot of our discussions have drifted to Mistress A.”
My heart started to race and I took a cleansing breath, trying to calm it down. Mistress A had gone viral soon after I’d started posting. I’d kept my identity a secret, and was constantly worried about outing myself.
Syd snorted. “Well, if the moms are trying to prevent more pregnancies, Mistress A is probably not the best subject to focus on.”
I gave a derisive laugh. “Because a blog can get you pregnant?”
“It provides a plethora of information,” Syd argued.
“Exactly! Information is never bad,” I countered. “If more people had information, there would be fewer teen pregnancies, STDs, and people unhappy with their sex lives.”
“I agree with Brynn,” Courtney said. “We’ve used some of her posts as topics during discussion groups at Mom to Mom. It’s actually pretty liberating to talk about sex so openly and not have to feel bad, or shove desires under a rug.”
I raised my water bottle to her in salute. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks she’s awesome. I fully support anyone who’s trying to get more sexy knowledge to the people.”
Syd rolled her eyes. “Everyone thinks she’s awesome.”
I eyed Syd from the side, wondering who exactly “everyone” was.
“I hear people talking about her all of the time,” Syd said.
To be fair, I’d heard rumblings about Mistress A as well. People loved sex, and loved being voyeurs. The thought that there was a real person out there with intimate knowledge about the subjects Mistress A was posting was extremely appealing to the masses. I’d done my best to protect my identity, though in today’s digital age of data mining, everything from your website searches to your tampon brand preferences are tracked. I’d been careful though…I hoped.
“What are they saying about her?” Courtney asked. “Because at work, she’s considered a goddess.”
“How do people even know it’s a girl for sure?” I asked, trying to throw my two cents in and confuse the scent a bit. I was happy to provide more rumors about my alter ego, especially if they were false.
“I don’t think she would have called herself Mistress if she were a guy,” Syd said.
“You’ve seen Catfish, right?” I asked. “Some people are batshit crazy.”
Syd shook her head. “My gut says girl. Even her site looks like a girl chose the design. She knows too much about a woman’s body to be a dude. She’s even explained period pain, something I’m certain no man on the planet would ever be able to articulate. Yep. I’m going with girl.”
Syd had good instincts…hopefully bette
r than most people. She was right about the site as well. I’d had it designed in shades of red, black, white, and silver. The Mistress A logo was a set of dark red lips, with Mistress A splashed across them in metallic silver. The background on the sides and top of the page was black with an elaborate filigree design over the black in a lighter shade of onyx. It was elegant without being too girly, so it would appeal to both sexes. I’d wanted it to look classy with a contemporary feel, and was happy with the results.
“People just want to know who she is,” Syd said. “No one’s been able to crack her real identity.”
“How is that possible in the world today?” Courtney asked, taking another sip of coffee. I resented her metabolism. I felt like I’d gained at least a pound just watching her eat. “You can find out almost anything at the click of a button.”
Syd shrugged. “She must know what she’s doing, because no one’s figured it out yet.”
I smirked. Or she knew someone who knew what they were doing and who owed her a serious favor after he had some bad Asian food and pooped his pants one day on the way to class and she saved his ass—in more ways than one. He didn’t want that story getting out, and I wasn’t above blackmail to get what I wanted.
“Some of the girls at Mom to Mom think she’s a psych professor at Easton,” Courtney said.
I frowned. “That seems unlikely.”
“Why?” Syd asked, taking another sip of her caramel coffee, totally messing up the cute little heart they’d made in the foam. She didn’t care. She didn’t appreciate foam art.
“Because I know all of the psychology department professors. Their reactions to my thesis included a lot of choking and red faces—and that was after I changed the name from In Search of Schlong. I honestly question whether any of them have even had intercourse.”
Courtney and Syd both laughed. “Well, if it’s not them? Who then?” Syd asked.
I took another drink of water, trying to come up with a plausible theory. “It could be anyone,” I said, lifting a shoulder. “Maybe it’s a doctor, or a therapist. Maybe it’s not even someone in town.”
“Mistress A has made references to the Winchester area,” Syd pointed out. “Most people think she’s local.”
I held back the sigh I wanted to heave. She was right. I’d slipped up in a couple of my first few posts, but I hadn’t thought anyone had really caught on; I was still annoyed with myself for letting it happen. I’d changed the posts since, but the damage was already done. I’d been trying to draw attention away from Winchester and Colorado ever since. “Still, the internet is a big place. It could be a teenage kid, or a ninety-year-old woman on the other side of the world for all we know.”
Syd shuddered. “That would be weird. Both of them.”
I nodded in agreement.
“And the grandma thing makes me think of her dick mitten post.”
Courtney and I both shuddered, and then laughed.
“Whoever it is has way too much knowledge to be a kid.” Syd’s logical mind was getting the best of her. There was a mystery to solve and she was like a dog with a bone when it came to things that needed answers. It was the law student in her, and it concerned me.
“Maybe,” I said. “Kids know a lot these days, though.”
Syd’s expression was dubious. “I’m pretty sure they still don’t know how to tie bondage knots.”
My brows shot up. “Umm, how do you know anything about that?”
Color immediately pinked on Syd’s cheeks. “I read the blog post,” she mumbled.
I grinned. “Uh huh.” I would have pushed and teased her more if we were alone, but she’d already gotten mad at the reverse cowgirl comment. I wasn’t going to keep going and make it monumentally awkward. Courtney’s lips were turned up in amusement, and she didn’t seem fazed.
“Seriously,” Syd said, trying to get away from the subject of her personal sexual preferences. “The blog’s been up for over two months now. Do you think we’ll ever find out who Mistress A is?”
I ran a finger back and forth over the top of my coffee sleeve. “I doubt it. The person has no reason to reveal their identity.”
Syd’s brows bunched together, a determined look blanketing her features. “Maybe someone needs to give them one.”
Tips and Tits: The Word from Mistress A
My Penis is the Wrong Size…Now What?
Look, I’m not going to be the one who lies and tells you size isn’t important. It is. And girth is just as important as length, maybe even more so to some people. But being well-endowed in that area can also make dudes way lazy. Regardless of your size, you’ve got to know how to use it. A dude with a tiny weenie who understands passion, foreplay, and making a woman feel desired will be FAR more memorable than some guy with a ten-incher who swings it around with all the precision of a baby elephant playing with his trunk. Bonus points if you know how to keep things fresh, exciting, and talk dirty…and if you have a working knowledge of adult toys. If you’re intimately acquainted with the “over eighteen” section of your local sex toy store, or even the online version, you will hit a girl’s list of favorite lovers, guaranteed. Big or small, keeping things exciting matters. Asking a woman if you’re going to get sex tonight is completely different from looking at her like you want to rip her clothes off, and then doing just that. And this advice extends to women as well. Just because guys are easy to please, doesn’t mean you can do a little tug and blow, and then lay there motionless while he does his thing. There are countless ways to make sex more interesting and enjoyable for everyone…dudes included. Find a partner you can lose your inhibitions with and try new things. If you do, you’ll never be dissatisfied.
I shut my books and closed my laptop with a sigh. I left the library, pulling my heavy wool coat tighter around me as I made my way to my car. I’d been trying to work for hours. One of my projects for a psych class was on gender roles and how they affected relationships. I’d been doing research all day. My mind had spent most of the time wandering, however. I had several more blog post ideas I’d jotted down during what should have been my study time, and a solid knot in my stomach from my coffee shop girl date with Syd and Courtney earlier in the week.
Syd’s threat about giving Mistress A a reason to step forward had been haunting me for days. Her life revolved around learning to recognize fact from fiction, and figuring out holes in people’s stories. She was going to make one hell of an attorney. If anyone could find their man, or in this case, woman, it would be Syd. Frankly, I was surprised she hadn’t listed me as her number one suspect. Maybe she had, and she simply hadn’t informed me of it yet. She often kept things close to the chest until she had proof.
I wasn’t looking forward to seeing her at CARE in fifteen minutes. I usually loved my time volunteering and my time with Syd, but being under her discretionary examination was not something I cared to participate in at the moment. Which kind of pissed me off because I’d never felt the need to keep anything from Syd before. She was my best friend. I never censored myself…why was I doing it with her over Mistress A? It’s not like I thought she’d tell anyone. She was getting a degree in keeping confidences, and she’d always kept mine. She was also the least judgmental person I knew. It was silly to think she’d do anything I didn’t want her to with the information. She wouldn’t even tell Jax if I asked her not to. The knot in my stomach untwisted a bit, but it didn’t go away. That bothered me. I wanted to tell her, but decided I’d keep it to myself until I could analyze why I didn’t want anyone—even the most important person in my world—to know about my secret. In the meantime, I needed to practice my poker face for any time Syd was in the room and Mistress A became a topic of conversation.
I pulled into the parking lot of CARE and went inside the red brick building. CARE was located in a former house that had been converted to rooms for families who needed a place to stay while their loved ones were in the hospital. They had recently started a renovation project to add on to the house and m
ake more space for residents.
There was a need for places like CARE. I’d gotten involved because Syd’s mom had cancer when Syd was young. Syd and her dad had spent a lot of time in facilities like CARE. Syd said it helped give her some stability, and made the treatments and health crisis with her mom easier to bear. Thankfully, her mom had beaten the cancer and been in remission for years. But not all stories have a happy ending, and it’s important to have a support network. Charlie had worked as the CARE executive director for years, and I loved the guy like my own dad. He was working in his office and I stopped, leaning against the doorway and wiggling my fingers in a little wave. “Hey, Charlie. How’s your day?”
He looked up from the stack of papers on his desk; his computer monitor reflected in his eyeglasses. “Pretty good. It would be better if I didn’t have to get this grant paperwork done. How about you?”
I tipped my head in acknowledgment. “It would be better if I didn’t have so much research to do.”
“Being responsible is rough.”
I nodded my head in empathy. “Adulting is hard.”
Charlie laughed and gestured to his right. “Syd’s in the kitchen.”
“Thanks!”
I stopped in the hallway to put my black coat, red gloves, matching scarf, and bag in a locker, then wandered into the kitchen. Syd was helping a group of kids make cookies. Peanut butter cookies with chocolate kisses on top were her favorite to bake. The kids loved pressing the chocolate into the cookies when they were fresh from the oven.
“Hi, guys!” I greeted them as I sat at the counter across from Syd.
A chorus of “Brynn” rang out in various voices and decibel levels. Kids created an intense level of noise, especially when I’d spent my whole day in a library.
“Hey!” Maci said, putting her little hands on her hips. She was one of my favorite kids, and she’d been at CARE with her parents for several months. Her brother had been in a car accident and was now in physical therapy, recovering from spinal injuries. “I’m not a guy!”
Chasing Brynn (A Tempting Novel Book 2) Page 2
