Free An Indecent Longing by Stephanie Julian Page B

have pushed. She knew her sister lived under a different type of microscope than Dorrie, and though she handled it well, there were things she just couldn’t fight.
    “I’m sorry, Ris. So what am I supposed to wear tonight?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean, Ben asked me out on a date tonight and I don’t know what to wear.”
    It took a second but Risa started to laugh. “Well, you’re just full of surprises. Did you sleep with him?”
    “No.” She almost told Risa about her dream but figured she didn’t want to complicate things. “He’s nice.”
    “Does that mean you can’t sleep with him?”
    The dry tone of Risa’s question made Dorrie sigh. “No, it means he was a gentleman.”
    “Doesn’t mean he can’t screw your brains out?”
    “Ris.”
    “Hey, I’m just saying. If you like him, let him take you to bed. Work out some of that stress.”
    “Sure, okay. But before that, what the hell am I supposed to wear tonight?”
    The more she thought about it, the more she began to stress about it.
    “Stop worrying. I can practically hear you grinding your teeth through the phone. Just video call me when you’re getting ready and I’ll talk you through it. Do you know where he’s taking you?”
    She had no idea where they were going, which was a huge stress trigger for her to begin with. Throw in the fact that she liked this guy and she wanted to hyperventilate.
    “No. Shit, I should’ve asked. What if I’m supposed to wear jeans and I show up in a dress? Or the other way around? Do you think—”
    “Whoa, slow down. Jesus, you would think you’ve never been on a date and I know that’s not true.”
    Technically it wasn’t true. She’d been on a few true dates with men but, if she were honest, not in years. Every man she’d been out with in the past few years had been either a colleague accompanying her to a function or… Well, damn. Maybe she hadn’t been on any real dates since college.
    And she didn’t count the two men she’d slept with in the past three years. Those had been short-term affairs with only one goal in mind. Sex.
    “Dorrie? Hey, where’d you go?”
    “I’m here. Just freaking out about the fact that I can’t remember the last time I was on a real date.”
    “What do you mean, a real date?”
    “I mean a date where a guy asks me out, picks me up, and takes me somewhere.”
    “What about that doctor from Maryland?”
    “I asked him to go with me to that dinner.”
    “And that other guy? The one from Chester?”
    “Hookup.”
    “Seriously?”
    “Yes. And he wasn’t all that good.”
    “You never told me that.”
    “Am I supposed to tell you everything?”
    “Well, yeah. Of course.”
    Dorrie laughed. “And when was the last time you got laid?”
    “Way too long ago.” Risa’s dry tone held a note of sadness. “But you know that.”
    “We’re pitiful.”
    “No.” Risa’s sigh rang loud and clear through the phone. “Okay, maybe a little. But there’s hope. You have an actual date tonight.”
    “And what if I shouldn’t?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean, what if Dad doesn’t—”
    “Stop. Right there.” The command in Risa’s voice made Dorrie’s teeth snap together. “We agreed. He’s not allowed to dictate decisions like this. It’s the only way we’ll have a normal life.”
    “I don’t seem to be having much of a normal life anyway. And neither do you.”
    “Then consider this your first step.” Unsurprisingly, Risa didn’t include herself in that statement. “Go out tonight. Have a good time. Get laid if that’s what you want to do. Don’t stress for a night.”
    “You know that won’t happen. The stressing part.” And probably not the getting laid part either, although Ben had seemed interested.
    And what about Ian?
    He didn’t want her and the sooner she learned to live with that, the better.
    “I know. At least try not to stress, okay?”
    “I’ll try. Hey, I’m at the office, I gotta go. I’ll let you