Oh, right. Shit. Avery was a chef… who they’d invited over for pizza. In their heads, it had seemed like a good idea to invite her over to a good old-fashioned girls’ night/date planning dinner, but was DiGiorno going to be good enough for her?
“Uh, right.” Rae glanced nervously at Domi, looking as though she was having similar thoughts. At least they were all dressed the same. Rae had on a pair of leggings and an oversized shirt, while Domi and Avery were both in yoga pants and t-shirts. Avery’s had the Marquis restaurant logo on it, and her hair was up in its usual ponytail. Seeing their expressions, Avery looked uncertain.
“It’s a good wine,” she said as if she was trying to reassure them.
“I’m sure it is, I just… I just realized we’re serving a chef frozen pizza.” Domi gave her a lopsided grin, hoping she took it in good fun. Thankfully, Avery laughed, leaning her hip against the counter, and some of the tension leaked away from the room.
“Trust me, I’m no food snob,” Avery said, grinning. “Half the stuff I make for myself at home is microwavable. Cooking for other people all the time doesn’t really leave me in the mood to cook for myself.”
“Well, next time you come over, we’ll cook a real dinner for you,” Rae said, pulling the wine key out of their junk draw with a flourish. She cut the foil and peeled it off with practiced movements before starting to screw the opener into the cork. It had been a while since they’d had wine that didn’t come with a screw cap, but some skills were never forgotten.
Avery’s expression brightened at the idea. “That would be wonderful.”
That seemed to break the ice, and by the time they sat down to the pizza and wine, it almost felt as though Avery had always been part of their little group. She clicked with them in a way neither Morgan nor Samantha had.
“So, did you ever talk to Olivia about becoming a member of Stronghold?” Domi asked. Olivia was the manager of Marquis—the upstairs kinky part—and also the instructor for the new submissives class. A badass both on the streets and in the sheets, she was the kind of Domme nobody wanted to tick off. She was also incredibly protective of ‘her’ subs, which included almost every submissive to walk through a Stronghold or Marquis’ door, and not just her actual submissive and boyfriend, Luke.
Avery made a face, looking down at her pizza.
“No,” she sighed, taking a big bite of pizza and chewing as though it was comforting. Heck, it might be. Pizza was one of Domi’s comfort foods. She wasn’t sure why not talking to Olivia would get this kind of reaction. “I uh… well, Nick and I have been flirting a lot more, then this weekend… he kissed me, and…” She was turning beet red as she spoke, but she didn’t look entirely happy about the situation. “It was hot, and he’s very take-charge, but… I don’t think he’s kinky.”
“Is kinky a requirement?” Rae asked, glancing at Domi. Rae hadn’t completely sworn off the idea of a vanilla guy, though she’d prefer to find a kinky one, especially once she’d figured out where to look. Which was how they’d ended up at Stronghold in the first place. Domi hadn’t wanted a guy—at all—but now she couldn’t imagine herself with someone who wasn’t at least a little into the same things.
She didn’t need wild, kinky sex every time, but she couldn’t imagine giving it up entirely now.
“Maybe?” Avery shrugged. “It’s been so long since I’ve even had sex, I don’t know if I care.”
Ouch. Domi knew how that felt.
“So, your dry spell may be affecting your judgment,” she teased. “Maybe you should come to Stronghold with us and get laid before making a decision.”
“I don’t know when I’d have the time,” Avery said ruefully. “Marquis has only been open a few months, and I’m needed Wednesday through Sunday. Even though I can get the occasional Sunday night off, Friday or Saturday would be impossible, and by the time the restaurant closes, it’s way too late for me to go out.”
“What if you asked for the time off, super far in advance?” Rae asked. “Maybe on a Thursday night or something. And we could go to Marquis instead of Stronghold and watch a show. That way, you won’t have to travel, and it might give you a better idea about whether you want to hold out for someone kinky.”
Hope lit Avery’s eyes, but she still looked conflicted.
“I’m kinda smelly at the end of a shift…”
“We won’t care,” Domi reassured her. “We can just spritz you with body spray or something.”
They all laughed.
“Okay,” Avery said happily. “I’ll see if I can get a night off sometime soon. It might not be for a few weeks.”
“No problem. We’ll make it work. The reservations usually fill up several weeks in advance, anyway.” Rae grinned at her, then changed her focus to Domi, as they were all finishing up their dinners. “So… Domi. Where are you and Mitch going on Tuesday? Has he said?”
“No.” Domi glanced down at her phone. “I texted him to ask. He said it’s a surprise, but to dress casually and so I can move.”
Rae and Avery blinked, nonplussed. Clearly, they had as little clue as Domi did what Mitch might be thinking.
“Casual and so you can move? What does that mean?” Avery asked. Since she only knew what Domi and Rae had told her about Mitch, she had the least to go on.
“Knowing Mitch, it’ll be something memorable.” Rae picked up her glass of wine, which was only half-finished, and got to her feet. Domi and Avery followed suit.
Trying on clothes right after eating pizza might not be the best idea… but hey, he was the one who told her casual. Domi was going to take him at his word.
“Rock
