Free What Caroline Wants by Amanda Abbott

into this carton of joy”—she shook the ice cream—“and cry our eyes out until there’s nothing left. But when it’s all said and done, we’ll be best friends again. That’s how all this works.” She set the ice cream in the freezer and shut the door. “And if that doesn’t do the trick, I’ll just bring over burgers and brownies for lunch tomorrow, and we’ll try it again.”
    Caroline chuckled as she pulled out a stool. “There’s no need to keep plying me with treats. This will work. I just needed…some time to process everything. It had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me.”
    “ Puh-leeze . I should have known better than to let it get that far, so I’m going to be the first one to apologize.” Piper sat down, immediately plucking out the to-go chopsticks, tearing the wrappers off, and handing a set to Caroline. “I should never have shared so much with you in the first place. That was rule break number one. I’ve been on a sexual odyssey for years. I’ve coped with my fair share of guilt and self-loathing along the road, but during our chat I boiled all that hand-wringing and self-doubt down to nothing. I made it sound like it was so easy! Like everyone could do it! And if they didn’t choose to step over society’s sexual line in the sand, they were stupid for not trying. That was so wrong of me. This is a serious topic, and I should’ve treated it as such. I hope you accept my sincerest of apologies.”
    Caroline popped the cover off her sushi and contemplated Piper’s words. “Piper, I’m a grown woman who can think for herself, and it doesn’t matter how you spun your story the other night. You could’ve said unicorns and rainbows sprang out of your hoo-ha every time you had sex and I still should’ve shown restraint. I acted like a child who wanted a piece of candy immediately and would have had a tantrum if I didn’t get a piece. It was totally my fault.”
    “Hoo-ha?” Piper chortled. “I think we’re well beyond hoo-has and straight on to vaginas. Or, at the very least, we can call them what they are— divine pleasure centers . And you acted appropriately. You’re not to blame. We were drunker than skunks, and we got there very quickly. I should’ve kept my big, fat mouth shut. You’re not me, and I’m not you. What we want, and how we prefer sex, is an extremely personal choice, and it’s not up for discussion after this. I purged, you listened, and now we leave it alone. My preference would be that we pretend that night never happened. It was a wine-induced hallucination and nothing more. I wish I had one of those memory-erasing things like they had in Men In Black . If I had one, I’d use it.” She mocked holding something in her fist and aimed at Caroline’s head. “ Poof . Now it’s gone, and we go back to our normal, blissful selves.”
    Piper was one of a kind.
    Caroline took a bite of sushi, and while she ate, she thought about agreeing with Piper and just letting the discussion go, never to be brought up again. That would be the easiest. But the warring feelings inside her thrummed against her chest, the truth needing to get out one way or another.
    If she couldn’t trust Piper with this, who could she talk to?
    But instead of saying anything, she got up and went to the cupboard and took out two water glasses, setting them on the island, and then headed to the fridge. Over her shoulder, she asked, “Do you want regular water or seltzer? I also have soda or juice.”
    “Regular water is fine. Just make sure there’s no alcohol in it.” Piper snorted. “No need for a repeat performance of what got us here in the first place. I’m not mentally ready for round two yet.”
    “Me neither. Water coming up, the wine stays put.” Caroline pulled a ready pitcher of filtered water out of the fridge and poured them each a glass. She handed Piper hers and took a sip of her own before she sat back down on her stool and picked up her chopsticks,