Mari beamed proudly.

“Matty brings out the best in me."

Sam actually deflated a little, glanced at me sideways, and sighed.

“Yeah, I know." But her moment of ennui passed quickly, and she sat up straight. "What happened then?"

I already knew where this story was going, so I focused on my plate, wolfed up the rest of the food, and started doing the dishes. Mari kept going and going Like a little chatterbox in the background.

I was in the middle of cleaning the non-stick pan when Sam slammed the table and exclaimed, “He did NOT!"

I turned around in surprise, alert for trouble, but Mari was just laughing like a hyena.

“Total accident! I mean, he'd managed to pull all the way out and slam it right back in so many times, I figured he had it down cold. But something must've gone wrong... or very, very right... because he just went all the way up my ass on the first try.”

“No Lube or anything?"

“Nuh-uh. Just boom, pop, ungh, and the next thing I knew he'd collapsed on top of me and he was balls deep up my butt!" Mari was crying she was laughing so hard.

“Good lord, girlfriend. First the deep-throating, and now this? You've got a body built for sex."

Belle jerked her head around and looked at me. I was staring straight at Belle, too, but only for a second before both of our attentions returned to Mari, who had immediately stopped Laughing.

But only for a moment. She grinned, thrust her chin out, and said proudly, “Apparently I do. Matty said the same thing. I take it as quite the compliment."

“It is," Sam enthused with a smile, but it was a weak smile, and even from across the kitchen I could see the pained look on her face. "I used to think I was this sex goddess, but over the last couple of months you've put me to shame."

Mari suddenly looked very maternal, and she reached out to put her hand on top of Sam's forearm. "Hey, don't be like that. You ARE a sex goddess. You're my idol when it comes to this stuff, don't you know that?"

Sam frowned.

“What? Your idol?"

"You've always been so confident, so poised, so in charge and in command. You have no idea how many times I've wished I could be more like you," Mari stated seriously before taking a long, deep breath.

“You ARE a sex goddess, and I'm sorry if I upset you in any way just now. I know you're competitive, but I never meant to make you feel bad."

“No, it's not you. I really am happy for you. My mood right now has nothing to do with you or Belle or anything. I'm fine."

“Samantha... Mother said gently, her tone and expression telling me she knew a lot more about what was going on than anyone else in the room.

“It's fine. Really. I'm fine," Sam waved dismissively before turning around in her seat. "Hey, Matty, ready to go?"

I blinked. "Where are we going?”

“To get you some cardio."

Belle snorted.