It was a game to her; another dare she couldn’t refuse. But if she thought she could play this game better than us, better than me, she was sorely mistaken.

Although I was impressed at how seriously she seemed to be taking this task of writing out her limits. She kept her laptop open, occasionally typing something and scrolling through search results. She remained focused for hours until she finally finished and sent the end result to the group chat.

I opened the list, swiftly scrolling through. I’d have to take the time to study it properly, but not here, not when Jess had just gotten out her vibrator and clearly intended to put it to use.

Such a naughty girl, thinking she could hide her pleasure from us.

I would have paid cold hard cash to hear the noises she made when she came, one hand pressed against the windowpane as she obeyed my instructions. The way her lips kept parting, gasping for air, her entire body shaking from the intensity — I was rock hard the entire time. I wanted to feel her shake like that. I wanted to pin her down in that pretty pink bedroom, cover her mouth so her parents couldn’t hear her moan my name, and pound her into the mattress.

That night was the appetizer. I was starving for the main course.

I usually started my day far earlier than the rest of the house, but we were all on slightly different schedules. Vincent worked night shifts on Thursdays, Fridays, and the weekend, so he was usually asleep during daylight hours. Jason’s sleep was always fucked up, so there was no telling when he’d be awake, and Manson would gladly sleep until noon if we let him. But I was awake at the first crack of dawn, which gave me enough time to sit out on the porch with a cigarette and black coffee.

I liked those predawn hours, when the eastern sky was slowly growing brighter and mist lay in a soft white blanket over the ground. Sound was muted, the air was still crisp and slightly cool. The world felt like it was sleeping, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

However, I wasn’t the only early riser that morning. The garage door was open, and I glimpsed Jason’s blue hair as he moved around the cars. He’d probably been awake all night.

The past few days had flown by faster than a blink, but that’s what working from dawn until dusk will do to you. Since Manson had been preoccupied dealing with insurance to get the cars fixed, I’d picked up the slack in the shop, with Vincent taking his days off to help too. We were all on edge, but it wasn’t only because our day-to-day stressors had piled up.