Sin for Love Read Online Free Page A

where we could sit in overstuffed chairs and sip on our fancy coffee while we caught up.
    Looking up from her cup, Raegan said, “So how’s life?”
    I bit my lip. Today was going to be an emotional day as it was.  I didn’t need to have Raegan overanalyze my decision to go out on a date with Reese.
    “Uh oh, what happened?  Tell me all about it.”
    “It’s not a big deal.  And don’t read more into it than there is, because there isn’t anything, but I met a guy last night.”
    “You meet guys every night, Tess.”
    “Yea, I know, Rae.” I sighed. “The thing is that I agreed to go out on a date with him.”
    “WHAT?”
    “Shhhhhh!  I know, I know. I shouldn’t have, but he was just so… I don’t know how to explain it, Rae. He had me panting like a fucking dog without even touching me.”
    “How long has it been since you’ve dated anyone?”  Great, this was exactly why I hadn’t wanted to tell her.
    “You know as well as I do that I haven’t dated anyone since Brady. I’m happy this way. I don’t have to hide who I am or what I like from anyone. I don’t have to worry about someone judging my fucking kinks. I get what I need, and they get what they need. And then we each go on our merry way and nobody gets hurt.”
    She held up her coffee like she was making a toast. “Here is to you finding someone someday who loves you for your fucking kinks!”  Then she clinked her cup to mine, which was still sitting on the table, and took a sip.
    “Raegan, if you tell anyone in the family about this, I will tell Mom that you were the one who spilled grape juice on the couch when we were eleven.”
    Her eyes went wide “You wouldn’t!”
    “Hell yes I would.”
    After we had finished our coffee, we walked outside and hailed a cab.  On the way to visit Ruby, we stopped and picked up a bunch of Butterfingers. They had been her favorite and we all ate them every year.  Everyone else was already there when we arrived, and after a short walk across the grass, we joined them.
    It was a beautiful day.  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the birds were still singing their morning song.  Mom and Dad had brought fresh flowers.  My sister Emily, her husband Kurt, and their daughter Abigail were there as well.  Abigail was running around in her cute dress, chasing butterflies.
    After I handed out the candy bars to everyone, I placed the last one on top of the headstone and said, “Happy birthday, Ruby.  I love you, sweetie.”
    Every year after we visited Ruby, the whole family went to the local junior high school to talk to the teens about violent acts and how to stay safe.  We told Ruby’s story, and though it tore me apart, I knew that if we could save one person from her fate it was worth the pain.
    We had finished the assembly and were standing outside of the school.  “Do you really have to go back to New York tomorrow?” I asked Raegan.
    “Yeah. I have a meeting I can’t miss the next day. I hope I can get some sleep on the plane.”
    “I hate it when you aren’t here.”
    “I know, Tess. I miss you too,” she said while pulling me into a tight hug.  “I’m here now. Let’s make the most out of it, okay?”
    “You bet your sweet ass that we are going to,” I said, and we climbed into a cab to go back to my apartment.
    Raegan and I were sitting on the floor in front of my couch.  After finishing a bottle of wine, we pushed the coffee table off to the side and I pulled our memory box out from under my bed.  This was the only night each year that we opened it.  An hour and another bottle of wine later, we were surrounded by pictures, trinkets, and memories.
    “Hey, Tess, I found your favorite lipstick.  God, I can’t believe you used to wear this horrific color!  It’s like Barbie fucked a bottle of Pepto Bismol and they had a baby!”
    I snatched the tube away from her, took the lid off, and twisted the lipstick up to carefully apply it to my lips.  “Do you remember