Well, she’d get it all out of her system this summer. She only hoped Q could go back to being friends when it was over. Because it would end. There was no choice about it. She could picture her mother fainting then spending every evening in church, praying for her soul. Her entire extended family would find out within hours. She’d be ostracized at every family event, and even though nobody would say anything to her face, the whispers would be hard to ignore. It had happened to her cousin, Anthony, when he’d come out.
“Sabrina!” Q knocked on the bathroom door. “I’m sure you look gorgeous. It’s time to go.”
She tucked her hair behind her ears with a sigh then walked out of the bathroom.
Q ran her gaze over Sabrina’s outfit, looking like she was holding back a smile.
“What?” Sabrina peered down at herself. “You don’t like what I’m wearing?”
She bit her lip and her eyes gleamed with mischief. “No, the dress is fine.” She walked closer and brushed Sabrina’s hair off her shoulder then fingered the dress strap.
She shuddered. Q’s recent habit of touching her often – running her fingers across her lower back when she walked by or touching her cheek when she told her she was beautiful – was driving her to distraction. To her shame, she had run the batteries out in her purple friend yesterday.
“You look beautiful,” Q said as she tucked a lock of Sabrina’s hair behind her ear.
Sabrina rolled her eyes. There she goes again. “You ready?”
“Yes.”
She looked Q over and sighed. When was she going to get a new wardrobe? “Black shirt and jeans,” she mumbled. “What a surprise.”
Q arched a brow. “Jude doesn’t seem to mind.”
“He was probably picturing what was underneath.”
She chuckled and held open the front door. When Sabrina went past her, Q swatted her ass. She threw an indignant look over her shoulder. She could almost feel Q’s satisfied grin at her back all the way to the parked car.
“We’ll take mine,” Q said then pressed the unlock button on the key remote.
They drove in silence, Sabrina picking at her nails to relieve her nerves.
“What are you so nervous about, girly?” Q asked.
That you and Jude will convince me – by the unfair means of making me so horny I could probably come with one stroke – to let you do naughty things to my body. She gulped. “Nothing.”
Q put a hand on her knee and she jerked. A chuckle came from beside her. “You’re not scared, are you?”
Sabrina froze.
“Of the séance, of course,” she added.
She exhaled a breath. “A little,” she admitted, unsure whether she was answering about the séance or…other things. There was no doubt in her mind, Jude and Q had nefarious plans for her. Plans that made ghost hunting look like child’s play.
Q gave her knee a squeeze. “I’ll be with you. Through all of it.”
Sabrina smiled. Yes. This was Q. Just her Q. They always looked out for each other. That hadn’t changed. Not even after their drunken agreement to try being girlfriends for the summer.
They pulled up in front of Jude’s house and parked the car. The front porch light was a relief to see on the dark moonless night. No blown fuses for the séance would make things more relaxed for all of them. Sabrina grabbed her bag from the back seat and they walked to the door.
Jude was there, holding it open. She looked him over, appreciating his muscular body again, covered in a fitted black t-shirt. That gave her pause. The last two times she’d seen Jude, he’d been wearing a black shirt and jeans. He was tall, kinky, and liked heavy metal. He even had blue eyes. Q and Jude were the perfect pair. Sabrina’s heart sank. Yeah, maybe their little fling was only for the summer, but who wanted to be the third wheel? Maybe this wasn’t going to work after all.
“You coming, Jersey girl?” Jude slung an arm around her petite shoulders.
Oddly, she felt cozy there in the crook of his arm. She bit her lip and tightened her grip on her bag. No going back now.
After he dragged her inside, she spotted Q texting on her phone, a frustrated look on her face. “Q!” She scooted out from under Jude’s heavy arm, placed her equipment bag on the floor, and crossed the room. “Is that Nico again?” she demanded, peering over Q’s shoulder.
“Calm down.” She placed the phone back in her pocket. “I’m just clearing up a few things. Everything is fine.”
Sabrina glared. Q grinned. She almost stomped a foot. It wasn’t fair that Q was so difficult to intimidate.
“So what do we need for this séance?” Jude interrupted their stare-down. “Candles? Ouija board?” He smiled slyly. “Virgin sacrifice?”
“No, smart ass.” If they were going to make fun of her, she was going to get downright pissy. “Just a round or oval table will do.”
He nodded. “Dining room then.”
They started through the living room then Q sighed and whipped out her phone. It was vibrating. Sabrina growled. Q had no sense when it came to her ex. She should’ve told him off a long time ago then changed her phone number.
“Ugh,” Q grunted, staring at the screen. “He wants to stop by my photo shoot tomorrow. Hang on a sec. I just want to settle this before we start.”
“Q…” Sabrina started, revving up for a fight.
“I promise I’ll turn it off for the séance,” Q said, her hands up in a peaceful gesture. “Just get everything ready and I’ll be right back.” She was already dialing as she walked through the living room and outside.
Sabrina continued to glare in her direction several seconds after she’d gone.
Jude’s voice interrupted her soon-to-be violent thoughts. “I take it you don’t like this Nico guy.”
She watched Q’s slender shape pace back and forth in front of the screen door. “I don’t trust him for shit.”
He stiffened beside her. “Is he harassing her?”
“No. But he wants to get back together. Major asshole.” It was after they’d broken up that Q moved in with Sabrina. She’d seen first-hand the mess Nico had left behind. “Q is too nice to tell him to fuck off.” And she wouldn’t let Sabrina do it for her either.
“She doesn’t seem like the type to take shit.”
Sabrina turned-on Jude, putting a little bite in her voice she told him, “Q is the nicest person I’ve ever met. She would never hurt somebody’s feelings on purpose.” She turned back to face the porch. “She’s too nice. I tell her so all the time.”
“And you’re not?”
“I don’t have those concerns when it comes to people I don’t like.”
He chuckled. “You made that quite clear with your little threat last week.”
She looked up at him with narrowed eyes. “It’s still true.”
“I’m very intimidated,” he said, not sounding the least bit intimidated. “But you don’t have to worry about me hurting Q. I have no intentions of hurting either one of you. At least not in ways you don’t want me to.” A glint of humor hit his eyes.
“Huh?” Did he say hurt?
“You protect each other,” he continued, ignoring her bewilderment. “It’s sweet.”
She shrugged. “She’s one of my only friends. I don’t want to lose her.” She thought of their summer plan. Not many people could remain friends after trying something more. Was she doomed to lose her best friend?
No. Q had promised. They’d be friends, no matter what. “I won’t let anything get in the way of our friendship,” she muttered.
A strong hand came under her chin and lifted it. Warm blue eyes stared down at her. She sucked in a breath, letting his scent fill her. Masculine yet sweet. It made her want to wrap herself in it after a long day.
“You won’t lose her, Sabrina,” he said with a heart-stopping smile. “She’s very attached to you.”
Attached? That made her feel as warm and fuzzy as Jude stroking her cheek with his thumb did. Crushing on two people at the same tim
e? She squeezed her eyes shut. It was too much to handle.
Jude let her go and she opened her eyes. He’d stepped back, as if sensing her confusion. “So how did you two meet?”
She inhaled a deep breath, pulling herself together. “An art class at college. We have the same silly sense of humor.”
A wide smile crept onto her face when she remembered their very first conversation. They’d both ended up in the same PhotoShop class. Sabrina noticed Q swearing under her breath while learning how to make subtle changes to body parts. She had a knack for the program, which was how she turned out majoring in graphic design. So she offered Q some help. After looking at Q’s project, she burst into a laughing fit that left her almost crying. Q had managed to make the model’s nose look like a dick. When she insisted it had looked like that before she started the project, they both erupted into giggles and Sabrina knew she’d found a kindred spirit.
Sabrina cleared her head and looked up at Jude. “We clicked right away and have been inseparable ever since.”
He nodded. “You make an interesting pair.”
Pair? She opened her mouth to correct him but Q interrupted her.
“Sorry,” she said with a remorseful expression then looked at Sabrina and smiled. “Don’t pout, gorgeous. I’m done now.”
Q turned her phone to show Sabrina she’d shut it off. It frustrated her that Q didn’t even understand what Sabrina was upset about. She let Q protect her, fight her battles at times. Sabrina wanted to do the same for her once in a while. But she couldn’t force Q to look after her own heart. Sabrina would just have to be there to put it back together when it broke again.
She sighed. “Let’s just get started.”
The dining room was in a sad state of affairs. Similar to the rest of the unrepaired rooms, cracks ran the length of the dank and stained walls. A long sturdy-looking table sat in the middle of the room, three mismatched chairs around it. It wasn’t ideal, but it would do.
Sabrina pulled a sunny yellow table cloth from her bag and placed it on the table. It didn’t quite fit, but it was better than nothing. She searched for the sage bundle and lighter next.
“What’s with the florescent table cloth?” Q asked with a grimace.
She fumbled with the lighter before it lit, setting the sage aglow. “Spirits are attracted to bright colors.”
Jude coughed as she waved the smoking bundle. “Good thing I didn’t install smoke detectors yet.”
“It’ll protect us from any spirits who want to harm us,” she explained. After burning half the bundle she blew it out and placed it back in her bag. “And these candles,” she set three pink candles on the table, “will attract the good spirits because they like heat and light.”
“Should we put out a lava lamp too?” Q said with a smirk. “Maybe we’d channel some hippie ghosts.”
Jude laughed.
Sabrina bit back a chuckle in favor of a scowl. “I’ll do this alone if you’re not going to take this seriously.”
“No,” they both said in unison.
“Keep going,” Q urged. “We’re just being silly.”
“Sorry.” Jude cleared his throat, as if choking back another laugh. “We’ll behave.”
Q’s gaze snapped to his face. “I never promised that.”
He arched a brow. “Do you need a lesson in manners already?”
What the hell were they talking about? They stared each other down, Q’s eyes gleaming and Jude returning her saucy glare. He shifted his body to stand straighter.
“You did say you could teach me,” Q answered huskily.
He snorted. “I don’t think you’re ready to go there tonight, pet.”
“I don’t think you have any idea what I’m ready for,” she sassed back.
Jude inhaled a sharp breath and –
“Stop!” Sabrina shouted. There was enough sexual tension in the room to choke any ghost that attempted to make contact. “Take your raging hormones elsewhere! You’re messing with the energy of the room.” She turned on Q. “Let him make you his pet in the Closet O’Kink if that’s what you want. But leave so I can get started.”
It took a few seconds for Q to take her eyes off of Jude. “No. I’m not leaving you to contact the dead alone.”
Sabrina smirked. “Thought you didn’t believe in ghosts.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Jude answered for her. “We’re doing this together.” He took a seat at one end of the table. Q sat at the other end. They both looked at her expectantly.
Sparks of unbridled lust sizzled between them, even a table length apart. This was never going to work. “I’m serious,” Sabrina told them. “I need your full cooperation or it won’t work. Positive energy. Open-mindedness and….and…all that shit.” She waved her hand vaguely in the air. Well, she was no expert.
“We’re ready,” Q said.
Sabrina gave her a skeptical look.
“Sit down, little girl,” she said, sternly.
“Not until I know you’re –”
“Sit. Down.” Jude’s voice had her butt in the chair in an instant.
Damn it! She really wished that would stop happening. With a sigh, she held out her hands, one toward Jude, one toward Q. “Hold hands. It will help channel our energy.”
They each grasped a hand – Q’s soft and familiar, Jude’s rough and masculine. It felt…nice. It was too bad there wasn’t a fourth to complete the circle. Though she was a Gemini – sign of the twins. Maybe that would help.
She closed her eyes and exhaled a deep breath. “Oh spirits of the…um…house of Jude,” she winced at how amateur she sounded, “we humbly ask for your presence this evening.”
She paused. Silence.
The Idiots Guide to Holding a Séance said she might feel movement in the room before hearing a voice – a sign that a spirit wanted to be reached. She waited, listening, feeling with all her senses. Nothing.
She tried again. “Benevolent spirits, if you are present, give us a sign.” The book said to let the energy run through her body, fluid like water, with no expectations, no boundaries. So she thought of water – flowing streams of energy and love and peace and…other good stuff that would bring the spirits forth. But the only thing she could feel was the sudden urge to pee.
Discouraged, she sighed and opened her eyes. Q and Jude both had theirs shut, and to her surprise, seemed focused on the event. A devilish thought came to mind.
Pushing back a grin, she slipped on a mask of sincerity. “Huh. I’m not getting any – whoa!” She gasped and squeezed Q and Jude’s hands.
Q’s eyes popped open. “What?”
“Did you feel that?”
“Feel what?” Jude asked, brows raised.
She shook her head, doing her best to look confused. “I don’t know. Energy or – shit!” She gasped and squeezed their hands tight.
“What!” Q shouted, sounding concerned.
“Shh!” Sabrina made her hands tremble against theirs, fighting hard not to giggle.
Q looked down at her hands. “Are you okay?”
“Oh my god! I can feel her.” She shook harder and added a little panic to her voice. “It’s Grace. I can’t believe it worked. She’s….” She crinkled her brow as if in concentration. “She’s…wailing. So much guilt.”
She peeked at her audience. Jude’s forehead creased and his lips pursed, making his chin dimple. They were buying it. Damn she was good. Those acting classes were really paying off.
Then her mask slipped. A little smile tugged at her lips before she could stop it. Q caught it and narrowed her eyes. Shit.
“Sabrina Romano!” she said, pulling her hand out of Sabrina’s grip. “Are you fucking with us?”
That was all Sabrina could take. A big burst of laughter came tumbling out of her mouth. Jude released her hand with a growl, but she couldn’t stop laughing. It went on and on until tears streamed down her face and her sides ached. Q’s disapproving frown slowed her down.
“I’m sorry
,” she panted. “I just couldn’t resist. Did you see Jude’s face?” The chuckles faded and she wiped her eyes. “It was so adorable.”
Jude rubbed his hand over his mouth. Holding back a smile? Then he sat back in his chair, straight-faced again. Neither of them looked too pleased with her joke.
Q looked at Jude. “I think she deserves to be spanked.”
“What?” Sabrina almost shrieked.
“At the very least,” Jude agreed.
Somehow, none of it seemed funny anymore. She looked back and forth between the two. Q’s expression, she recognized. She was about to get all “little girl this and little girl that” on her.
“You’ve been asking for this, little girl,” she said.
Sabrina rolled her eyes. “You guys are joking, right? You’re not really gonna…” She couldn’t even say the words.
Q arched a brow. “Did you agree to try this for the summer, Sabrina?”
There was that. “Well, yeah, but…” She was trapped – and not just by some stupid drunken agreement. Jude sat on her left, looking much larger tonight than usual, and Q on her right, wearing her Bossy Pants face.
“Aw, hell.” She jumped up from her chair and booked it.
About three steps into her rush for the door, she was caught. A few seconds later, she found herself pinned, face down, bent over the table, Jude’s heavy body holding her down.
A harsh whisper tickled her ear. “Your safeword is ‘ghost’. Say it and we stop. No other word will work. Say yes if you understand.”
She blurted without thinking, “Yes.”
“What do you say if you want us to stop?” Jude asked again.
“Ghost.”
“Good girl.”
The small praise made her heart leap. Was she really going to do this? Let Q and Jude dominate her? Q made sense, in a way. They’d had this strange dynamic for a while now. She looked up at Jude from the corner of her eye. His Bossy Pants face was worse than Q’s. But at least Sabrina had known Q for more than five minutes.
She wiggled a little, testing his hold. Her arms were free and gripping the table cloth tight in her fists. One large male hand spanned her lower back, pressing down firmly but not painfully. The other hand was wrapped around the back of her neck. She could turn her head side to side, but couldn’t lift up. Though all her limbs were free, it still felt pretty damn confining.
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