Chapter 6: The Morning After
Dawn came through the floor-to-ceiling glass like a slow bleed of gold, painting the city in soft pastels. Ashley surfaced from a sleep so deep it felt like drowning, and the first thing she registered was the smell. Sex and sweat and the faint chemical tang of latex, all braided into the sheets beneath her and the air around her. She blinked against the light, her eyes gritty, and a slow inventory of her body began whether she wanted it or not.
Her jaw ached. A deep, bone-tired ache that made her clench and unclench her teeth just to confirm she still could. Her thighs were sticky and raw in places she did not want to inspect too closely. Between her legs there was a soreness that was almost luxurious, a deep satisfied throb that made her smile against the pillow. She turned her head and felt something crusted on her cheek, flaking against the fabric. Cum. Dried and cracked like a second skin.
She laughed, a low raspy sound that scraped her throat raw.
The night came back in fragments. The blindfold, the reveal. Bodie's grin. Cass's mouth between her legs. Drew's cock sliding past her lips. Benny and Lucca filling her from both ends, that brutal stretch she had begged for. Reid, patient Reid, who had drawn orgasms out of her like water from a stone. And the finale, all of them standing around her, painting her face, her throat working as she held every drop in her mouth for the camera.
She rolled onto her back, wincing pleasantly, and her gaze caught the nightstand.
A piece of hotel stationery lay there, folded once. She reached for it, her arm protesting at the shoulder, and unfolded it. The handwriting was Teresa's, confident and slanted, a little loopy at the edges where the wine had done its work.
Happy birthday, you greedy little slut. Same time next year?
Ashley snorted, a genuine laugh that made her stomach clench. She pressed the note to her chest for a moment, the good soreness in her body singing, and then she dropped it back onto the nightstand. She lay there staring at the ceiling, a foolish grin splitting her face, and let herself feel the weight of the moment. Thirty-one. And her friends had thrown her the kind of party most people only whispered about in the dark.
The shift of weight beside her made her turn her head.
Bodie stirred, his broad chest rising and falling as he surfaced from sleep. His hair was a disaster of dark tangles, and his eyes cracked open slowly, hazy and unguarded. A smile tugged at his mouth when he saw her awake.
"Morning, birthday girl."
"Morning," she said, her voice still wrecked.
He shifted closer, one heavy arm draping across her stomach and pulling her into the warmth of his body. She went willingly, sighing as his chest pressed against her shoulder blade and his mouth found the nape of her neck. His lips moved against her skin, leaving a trail of sleepy, unthinking kisses.
"You were something else last night," he murmured, his voice rumbling through his chest and into her back.
"I was something," she agreed. "Not entirely sure what."
He laughed, a low husked sound. His hand traced lazy circles across her belly, his fingers calloused and warm. "I have some ideas. Greedy. Insatiable. Absolutely fucking magnificent."
Ashley turned in his arms to face him, and his hand slid from her belly to her hip, cupping the curve of it with a casual possessiveness. His eyes were still soft with sleep, but there was a gleam in them, a knowing amusement that made her arch an eyebrow.
"What?"
Bodie's grin widened. He hesitated for just a beat, and she caught something flicker across his face. A calculation. A decision. Then he reached for his phone on the nightstand, unlocked it with a swipe, and turned the screen toward her.
Ashley blinked at the screen. A group chat. The thread was heavy with notifications, dozens of them stacking the preview pane. She squinted at the top of the screen, and her stomach dropped pleasantly.
The video. Teresa's video.
"You mean she actually," Ashley started, and then she was scrambling to sit up, clutching the sheet to her chest though there was no one to hide from. She grabbed the phone from Bodie's hand and stared at the chat.
Names. Dozens of little bubbles and reactions. Thumbs up and flame emojis and laughing faces. Shawn had commented "unreal." Marisol had posted a string of crying-laughing emojis. There were replies to replies, a thread spinning off in a dozen directions, and at the center of it all, a video attachment marked with a play button and a timestamp from two in the morning.
"That's," Ashley managed, her voice cracking. "That's everyone?"
Bodie propped himself up on one elbow, watching her with an expression she could not quite read. Amused, yes. But something softer underneath. "Teresa posted it to the group about an hour after we finished. You were still out cold. She filmed you for the whole thing. Doesn't show anyone's faces, just the action. She edited it down, kept the narrative, her voiceover on top. It's not, I mean, it's not subtle."
Ashley stared at the screen. Her thumb hovered over the play button. The room was quiet except for the distant hiss of the city below.
"She sent it to everybody," she said slowly.
"Everybody in the group," he confirmed. "About forty people. Give or take."
She let out a breath, part laugh, part groan, and flopped back against the pillows. The phone dangled from her fingers. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard Simone's voice from last night, teasing about the video being a gift for her. And Teresa, always Teresa, with the camera in her hand, narrating like a sportscaster.
"It's already circulating," Bodie said, and his voice was gentle, careful. "I mean it's not public, it's not going on the internet. But it's out there. Among our friends. By tonight, I figure everyone in our circle will have seen it."
Ashley stared at the ceiling. A slow flush crept up her chest, climbing her neck and painting her cheeks. It was not shame. She searched herself for shame, poked at the edges of it, and found nothing but a wild, electric heat. The memory of the night, the raw unfiltered mess of it, was already immortalized. Their friends would watch her take all six of them. They would watch her swallow.
"Oh my god," she whispered, but she was smiling. The smile spread, unstoppable, until she was biting her lip against it.
Bodie's hand found her chin and turned her face toward him. His eyes were warm, crinkled at the corners. "You okay with it?"
Ashley thought about it. Really thought about it. The note on the nightstand. The ache in her jaw and between her legs. The video in her friends' phones, already spreading through the group like wildfire. She laughed, a full-throated sound that startled even her.
"Yeah," she said. "I really am."
His smile softened. His thumb traced her lower lip, and she parted her mouth for him, taking the pad of his finger between her teeth and nipping it lightly. The soreness in her jaw sang, and she did not care.
"I bet I look ridiculous," she said, her voice dropping low.
Bodie's grin turned wolfish. "You look like a queen holding court. Trust me. I watched it twice before I fell asleep."
She shoved his shoulder, and he laughed, catching her hand and pressing a kiss to her palm. The morning light was warm on both of them, golden and clean, washing the night away. But the night was still there, in her skin, in her blood, in the message thread already filling with new responses.
Ashley glanced at his phone one more time. Another notification had arrived. A message from Teresa, sent minutes ago.
Best birthday ever. You earned every drop. Love you, you filthy animal.
Ashley typed back a single line before handing the phone to Bodie: Same time next year. I'll be ready.