Hot Sauce (Suncoast Society #26)(21)

“I wanted to meet his friends and tell them in person, you know? I didn’t want to just post it on FetLife without having a chance for people to learn about it firsthand.”

The girl nodded. “I understand. I’m sure they’ll appreciate that. That’s very kind of you. A lot of relatives wouldn’t be so understanding or sensitive.”

She sighed. “My brother wouldn’t want me to be anything but.”

Walking inside, again she was startled. It wasn’t what she thought a “dungeon” would look like. Certainly not the lavish surroundings suggested by romance novels. The house lights were up, and there wasn’t a single naked person in sight. If it hadn’t been for the bondage furniture off to her left, she would have thought she’d walked into a American Legion hall or something.

The books she’d read were flat wrong.

Figures.

Maybe they were lying about happily-ever-afters being out there, too.

She must have looked lost, because a woman smiled and walked over to her. “Hi, I’m Tilly. You look a little overwhelmed.”

“I am.” They shook. “Vanessa.”

“Never been to a rope class before?”

“Never been to a dungeon before.”

“Ah. Come on over and have a seat. We were just talking. I’ll introduce you around.”

“Thanks.”

Vanessa got settled and after the intros, she dove in. “Look, I need to admit something. I’m not just here for the class.”

Tilly, who’d remained standing, said, “You’re not?”

“No. I’m here because my brother was supposed to be here. And…I’m sorry to say this, but Tony died. I wanted to tell everyone in person.”

That seemed to grab everyone’s attention in a way she hadn’t expected. The room literally fell silent, the few people who hadn’t been sitting at the table now gathering close around it, shock and grief plainly evident on their faces.

Tilly finally spoke. She looked gut-punched. “I…I don’t know what to say.” She sounded like she might be sick as she slowly shook her head in stunned disbelief. “I can’t believe Shay didn’t call someone. Is she okay? When did this happen? What happened?”

Vanessa was still lost at the earlier part of Tilly’s question. “Who?”

“Shay…you know. Shayla. His wife?”

Vanessa frowned. “Who? Tony was divorced, not married. And her name was Kelly.”

Now Tilly frowned and started to say something when the door to the office opened again and a man and woman walked in.

The gathered group seemed to let out a relieved sigh all at the same time, some of them even breaking out into laughter.

Tilly’s head swiveled to take in the newcomers, then swiveled back to her. Her tone changed, too, now sounding wary. “What’d you say your name was, again?”

“Vanessa. Vanessa Riddick.”

Tilly clapped a hand over her eyes. Another tone change, this time to apologetic. “Okay, for starters, let me profusely apologize in advance, because I’m an idiot. Secondly, I’m truly sorry for your loss. And third, who, exactly, was your brother again?”

The man and woman walked over. “What’s going on?” he asked.

Tilly still had her hand clapped over her eyes and blindly gestured toward him with her other, then back to Vanessa. “Tony, meet Vanessa Riddick, who was just about to tell us more about how her brother, Tony, died.”

She finally dropped the hand covering her eyes and looked at Vanessa. “And as I’m sure you just guessed, you can see where my confusion stemmed from. This is our dear friend, Tony, and his wife, Shay.”

Vanessa felt slightly horrified. “Oh, my god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to confuse you. I guess I should have told you my last name at the start. I wasn’t sure if anyone would know his real first name, much less his last name. He went by the name Basco on FetLife. Guess I should have called him that. Sorry.”

Now several of the people’s faces transformed from amused relief to grief again, including the two new arrivals.

“Basco died?” Tony asked. “Man, I’m so sorry.”

The woman with him clung to his arm and started tearing up, her gaze dropping to the floor.

Tilly’s expression turned somber. “Fuck.” She seemed to catch herself. “Sorry. Wow. I haven’t seen him in nearly a month. I’m really sorry. He was a nice guy.”

“What happened?” Tony asked.

This was the story she hadn’t wanted to tell but knew she had to. Despite her parents and her friends telling her she had nothing to feel guilty about, she still did. The people’s reaction quickly turned from relief to grief again as she told them about what happened, why she didn’t inform people sooner…

That she’d found out about his kinky side and wanted to personally meet the people who’d shared this side of his life with him.

Wanted to thank them for helping him enjoy and really live the past several years, for being there for him. To tell them her appreciation in person.

When she finished, more people had arrived, filled in with whispers by others on the fringes, and Vanessa realized she was sitting in the middle of over thirty people, including Jenny and her boyfriend, who’d slipped in toward the end of her telling it.