Spice by Seressia Glass Read Free Book Online Page B

she stirred a vat of the soup of the day. As usual, she had her platinum blonde locks artfully piled atop her head beneath a bright teal bandana, her pink Sugar and Spice T-shirt tucked into turquoise capris. White ankle socks and turquoise sneakers completed the look. On anyone else, the outfit would have been just shy of ridiculous. But Siobhan’s hourglass figure and retro-chic style made the look work for her. Siobhan could even make an apron look like high fashion.
    â€œYou keep snarking on me and I’m not going to tell you anything,” Nadia complained as she headed to the sink to wash her hands. She had cakes and pies to make to complement Siobhan’s lunch menu. Jas had already created and decorated batches of cupcakes, and multiple loaves of bread were cooling on the racks.
    â€œCome on, Nadia, you know you want to dish. Besides, why would you deny your best friend the opportunity to live vicariously through you?”
    â€œBecause my best friend should be out getting her own.”
    Siobhan waved her hand in dismissal. “Whatever. Today is about you.” She waggled her perfectly arched brows. “So how good was it? Did Professor Sex live up to his name?”
    Nadia took a quick look around the kitchen, but they miraculously had it to themselves. She moved closer to her partner and gave in to the grin that she’d suppressed all morning. “Hell yeah, he did. At one point, I think I heard angels singing!”
    Siobhan squealed like a teen spotting her boy band crush. “Ooh, let me call the girls!”
    Within moments they had Audie and Vanessa on a conference call. “About damn time,” Audie exclaimed. “I stayed up past my bedtime to hear this news!”
    â€œHow was your date, Nadia?” Vanessa asked, the voice of reason and decorum as always.
    Nadia couldn’t contain herself any longer. These were her friends, and they’d bonded over sharing their laundry, dirty or otherwise. She couldn’t hold out on them. “Guys, it was the most amazing time,” she gushed as she gave them the PG-13 version of her night. “It was so good that I’m wondering if it was really that good or is it just because I broke my drought?”
    Audie laughed. “Sounds to me like you need another round to be sure. Maybe three or four. That’s how I make up my mind about whether or not I like a guy.”
    Siobhan shook her head. “Audie, are you at home?”
    The silence was answer enough. Nadia sighed. “Audie, remember how you promised to decide that you like the guy
before
you sleep with him?”
    â€œI do not recall making that promise.”
    â€œThere were witnesses,” Vanessa said. “And it was at last Tuesday’s Bitch Talk.”
    â€œWell . . .”
    Nadia leaned closer to the phone. “Do you remember saying that if you broke your promise, I could withhold your dessert?”
    An audible intake of breath. “You wouldn’t.”
    â€œConsider yourself cut off, babe.” Siobhan’s no-nonsense mother voice cut off any argument. They’d long ago decided that they’d have each other’s backs and keep each other on the mostly straight and narrow, and that meant breaking out the tough-love bitch slap whenever necessary. Audie had a problem with falling into bed first and asking questions later. No matter how safe she was, Nadia and the others still worried about where Audie was headed if she didn’t get to the root of her sex issues.
    â€œAs for you,” Siobhan added, turning back to Nadia, “it’s been one date. One toe-curling date, which means it’s way the hell too early to worry about anything. Just take it one step at a time.”
    One step at a time. She could do that. That was how she’d been living her life for the last few years. One day at a time, always moving forward and away from the ugliness of the past. Kane had heard her sexual