Inn on the Edge Read Online Free PDF

eyes. “It says to begin the game by taking the napkin off the bread
basket.”
    “Go ahead.”
    I did so, revealing a deck of cards nestled beside a small
pile of whole-wheat rolls. Rolls! Fresh from the oven! My hand hovered over the
nearest one. My mouth watered, my nose twitched.
    “Don’t do it,” said Josh.
    Giving him an exaggerated sigh, I picked up the top card. I
ran my finger over the ornate raised scrollwork, then turned it over. “Card number
one. It says we start the game by serving each other one ladle of soup. Fine.
We can do that.” I leaned over the table, deciding which covered dish was most
likely to hold soup. I chose the deepest one, a tureen, and took the lid off.
“Yum. Tomato bisque.”
    I served Josh, then he carefully filled my bowl. “Now we’re
supposed to draw the next card,” I said, hoping we’d actually get to eat the soup.
    Josh took a turn, reading aloud. “Take turns sharing the
details of a favorite sexual memory. One memory for one swallow of soup. No
more, no less.”
    “Okay,” I said. “An explicit memory?”
    “It doesn’t say. Just a detailed memory. But probably yes.”
    “You go first, then.”
    Josh picked up his spoon, dipped it slowly in the soup,
stirred. Steam rose in a delicate vine, then dissipated. He held the spoon to
his lips. “Here’s a memory. We did it… Um, we had sex—this is so weird,
Angie—at your uncle’s house when they were on their trip to Europe. On their
living room couch. Remember?”
    “I do!”
    “It was so cold we kept our jackets on. Butts to the wind but
with our coats on!” He laughed, then slurped loudly at the soup.
    I smiled at the memory. “We were such kids.”
    “ You were a kid. I was a suave ladies’ man. We can
have water, right?”
    “A ladies’ man? No. You weren’t.” I waved my spoon in his
direction. “The card doesn’t say anything about water. Have some.”
    He drank, regarding me over the rim with his eyes. “Your
turn. Go for it.”
    I thought for a moment. “Okay. I’m remembering the first
time we had sex. The very first time.”
    “I’m interested. Go on.”
    “I was so worried! Terrified, in fact.”
    “Really? Terrified of what? Of me? Of sex? Of getting
pregnant?”
    “No.” I held my spoonful of soup at my lips, poised and
ready for my first taste. “None of that. I, um… I’d just gotten over my period!
I was afraid you’d see the spots on my underwear! But you didn’t.” I swallowed
my mouthful of soup. “Delicious. Absolutely delicious. I want more.”
    “I know. Me too. The guy must be some sort of perverse
genius. Making us want it more by withholding it!” He paused. Drummed his
fingers on the table. “Do you know what? I did see those spots. I just didn’t
let on. It’s my turn again?”
    “I knew it!” I watched those long fingers, wishing they were
touching me and not the table. I shivered. “Yep. Your turn.”
    Josh filled his spoon, then waited for a drip to plop back
into his bowl. “I’m going with our first time also. I was nervous too—I was
sure you’d think my dick was ugly because of the way it…um…kind of leans to the
left. But you didn’t think it was ugly.” He ate another spoonful of bisque. “Or
maybe you did. What spice is that? Thyme?”
    “No! Your dick is adorable!” I refilled my spoon. “It’s
thyme, you’re right. Thyme and another spice I can’t place.” I looked at the
forbidden platters of food. And those chocolates. “I’m so hungry I can hardly
stand it! This is pure torture!”
    “Maybe that’s the point? Stomach hunger and sexual hunger,
combining to make us go crazy?”
    “Maybe. Probably.”
    He shook his head. “Well, it’s working. Quick! Before I
perish! On to your next memory!”
    I laughed. “Okay. It’s a good one. The time we were camping
in the Olympic National Forest. Remember? All those trees? It rained almost the
entire time? We couldn’t get the campfire to light? Well, it was like