Chapter 14: An Uncanny Night

“You alright?” Phinn asked, rolling off Leighton’s back.

“I…I think so,” the stunned young woman answered. “Uh, thanks.”

“That’s not what I expected to run into,” Phinn said, standing up to brush off his clothes before offering the redhead a hand. “Did you recognize the vehicle? I think it was an SUV. Dark-colored.”

“No, I barely saw it. Those lights blinded me for a second.”

“The driver probably went straight to his brights,” Phinn speculated, picking up his flashlight to check that it still worked. It did, as did Leighton’s.

The junior investigator spent the next fifteen minutes studying the several hundred yards of dead-end road, as did the more experienced nature lover. They didn’t find any obvious tracks, footprints, or discarded trash this time. The abundance of small and medium-sized rocks looked to be the only difference from other trail and road sections. Based on Leighton’s comments about teens loitering at the shed, Phinn discerned that they likely found the rocks to throw around. Picking one up, he nodded as it appeared to be the perfect shape for throwing.

"Nothing," Phinn announced once they finished. "Is there any other reason for a car to be down this old road besides the shed?"

“Not that I can think of.”

“Hmm, I didn’t hear the engine turn on. What I suspect happened is that the driver either heard us talking or saw our flashlight beams. So they started the SUV and waited until we reached the corner. Then, the driver floored it. It’s unclear if we were meant to be hurt or merely frightened.”

“That sounds about right,” Leighton agreed.

“A third theory is that the person you chased is also the driver. They might have already been ahead of us on the trail, heading to their vehicle, and decided to distract us. Whoever you chased made quite a racket to be heard in the woods.”

“Why? Who would park a vehicle way out here?”

“That’s the key question. Now, let’s see this childhood shed of yours.”

The full moon cast a soft glow over the crumbling structure, which stood near the forest at the end of the dusty road. Once nestled in a small clearing, an overgrowth of wild grass and weeds now encircled the shed, leaving it almost hidden unless one stood directly before it. Its wooden slats looked weathered and rotting, with several planks missing. The corrugated metal roof had long turned into a patchwork of rust and jagged holes. The latter allowed slivers of moonlight to pierce the darkness within. A pair of double doors that had once kept the equipment safe from nature and thieves had long since fallen into disrepair. One door appeared to be entirely gone, while the other hung lopsidedly on a single hinge, creaking with every moderate night breeze.

“This used to hold farm equipment? Out here?” Phinn double-checked, glancing around at the thick forest.

“The fields were about another half a mile down the trail. I believe this was mostly an overflow storage area. The soil was played out by the time I was a kid, and nobody made an effort to fix it. I guess the fields were never that productive and are hard to reach without properly maintained roads,” Leighton explained.

“Nor did anyone probably have the money required,” Phinn speculated, using his bobbing beam to enter the shed.

As they stepped over the threshold, the floorboards groaned a protest beneath their feet. A quick scan revealed that many of the floorboards were missing, having been ripped up over the years for unknown reasons. Before focusing on the room’s details, Phineas gave a rough estimate of the shed’s size: possibly thirty feet wide by thirty feet long.

“Eww! It’s even worse than the last time I was in here,” Leighton commented, looking at a pile of filthy clothes in a rear corner. “I guess that was five years ago, maybe.”

Nodding, the seasoned sleuth scanned the shed’s contents slowly. The large, single room appeared to be separated into three sections these days. The front areas on each side of the door seemed to be where visitors congregated. A couple of small tables and a tree trunk sat amongst various seats. The most common type of seat looked to be old folding camping chairs. With an easy lift, Phinn pulled one up that had lain sideways. The aluminum frames looked dented, along with small tears in the webbed material. Their style and material screamed the 1980s.

On the other side of the door, around the tree trunk, were three wooden planks set up as benches, although one had been knocked over. All around both seating areas lay broken bottles, cigarette butts, and what Phinn thought looked like a broken bong.

The rear corner, where Leighton saw the dirty clothes, also contained a mix of other discarded trash—hole-filled blankets, food wrappers, containers, paper cups, napkins, plates, and beer and soda cans. At least the various woodland critters seemed to have eaten any leftover food. However, the stench of stale sweat and urine grew stronger the deeper they ventured inside. Gagging repeatedly, Leighton needed to step toward the doorway to stop.

“I don’t remember that being there,” the redhead said from the entryway.

Phinn silently nodded as he stepped closer toward the other rear corner of the shed. His client had been referring to piles of straw and hay that lay on the floor. The detective’s brown eyes narrowed at what appeared to be an indentation in the straw: the possible shape of a human body.

"Hmm, you're better in this area. Does that straw and hay look fairly fresh?"

“It doesn’t look to have been here too long, or it would be dirtier,” Leighton commented, venturing back into the shed. “What’s that?”

Phinn raised his flashlight to match the beam of Leighton's. An old, broken shelf resided near the corner. What looked like a paper towel or napkin sat on one of the remaining shelves with something placed in its center. Stepping gingerly across the straw and hay, Phinn moved close enough to gather an idea of the contents.

“It looks like meat.”

“Like from a dead animal?” Leighton questioned.

"No, it's been cooked. Might be ground beef or steak," Phinn relayed as he walked up to prod the meat with his finger. "It's also thawing."

“Thawing? There’s frozen meat in here?”

“We should go,” Phinn announced abruptly, turning around.

“What, why?”

“We need to leave now,” Phinn insisted, grabbing the redhead’s elbow and leading out of the shed. Immediately, he scanned the nearby trees and brush for any signs of movement. He even directed Leighton to do the same.

“Would you please tell me what’s wrong?”

“Look, why would cooked meat be left out thawing in a place like this?” Phinn challenged, leaning over to pick an item off the ground. “Either to feed something or for bait.”

“Bait?”

“Yes, as in we might have walked right into a trap not meant for us,” Phinn said, satisfied with their surroundings and what he found.

“What trap? Who would set up a trap?” Leighton asked, following him down the dirt road.

“I might have guessed Frank prior to seeing that SUV. Now, I don’t know,” the junior investigator admitted. “Whatever that meat is intended for in there, I don’t want to be caught in any crossfire. Being shot at once is enough for me this week.”

“Shot at? We might get shot at?” Leighton challenged, suddenly searching the woods all around them as they reached the intersection.

“Somebody is hunting out here. We found the tree stand and now the bait,” Phinn explained. “There are too many variables and unknowns. We need to either come back better prepared or return during daylight. Somebody has to be watching the shed if that’s bait. Maybe we’ll find a camera or two tomorrow.”

“I thought you were known for taking risks?”

“Only if the odds are in my favor slightly, or I have ****. Also, I really don’t like these woods,” Phinn clarified. “And I still haven’t worked out a connection between everything going on, if there are any. However, we never believe in coincidences, especially not in a sparsely populated rural area like this.”

“Hold on. You think JP might be connected to this werewolf thing, abandoned car, and the ****?”

“We’ve seen far stranger things. Hopefully, Jake discovered why he sneaks into the barn every night,” Phinn replied. “Let’s not forget that Flamand might have tapped your aunt’s phone.”

Leaving Leighton confused, they walked in silence for the next twenty minutes, with only occasional comments about the foliage they passed. Phinn asked if she'd seen anything out of place, and the annual visitor said she hadn't.

Out of nowhere, a howl pierced the night’s air.

“What was that?!”

“Shhh! Turn off your light,” the occasional detective of supernatural occurrences hissed.

With only the moonlight guiding them, the pair continued to walk down the trail, but at a slower pace. Approximately five minutes after the first howl, a second filled the night. This cry sounded closer.

“I bet he’s coming the way we’re going,” Phinn whispered. Glancing around, he directed Leighton to find a break in the bushes or trees where they could enter without causing an obvious disturbance. “Preferably one with a path or trail we can use to get away.”

“Um, I’ll try,” she responded, immediately surveying the sides of the trail in the dim light.

While Leighton searched, Phinn unzipped his backpack to pull out his mini binoculars. Despite the poor lighting, he still raised them to stare down the trail ahead to the west. Mumbling about adding night vision goggles to the list after the badly needed taser, Phinn squinted as a third howl reached them after roughly another five minutes.

“Hurry!” the teen gumshoe hissed.

“Back! We need to go back. I’m pretty sure I saw a possible sign of a path when we walked past.”

"Pretty sure?" Phinn repeated while still watching the trail long-distance. "Fine. Go!"

Nearly four minutes passed before Phinn heard his name called. Nearly simultaneously, he spotted movement with his binoculars. Turning around, he rushed to meet Leighton.

“Here. We can enter through here,” she pointed to the narrowest opening in the brush.

“Good. I think I saw that–”

A fourth howl rang out.

“Oh, gawd! That’s close!” Leighton whispered.

Pushing through the brush sideways, they continued for almost fifteen feet until an opening under a large tree provided extra space. Risking a quick flash with her light, Leighton found a very narrow path that led northwest.

“Switch lights with me,” Phinn said, taking the larger lantern-style flashlight. Then, he handed an object to the redhead. “Use this if you have to.”

“Where did you get this?”

“Weren’t you paying attention when we left the shed? I picked it up right in front of you,” Phinn pointed out before turning to move back in the direction they came from.

“What are you doing?”

“I’ll be back in a few seconds. Just get ready to run.”

With Leighton muttering questions and complaints behind him, Phinn pushed through the brush until he stood at its very edge. Positioning his head just enough, he watched a trail section of about ten feet to the west. The glimmer of moonlight provided enough of a difference that he felt confident about not missing the howling man’s approach.

Suddenly, Phinn had to fight off a shiver as a fifth animalistic howl sounded almost in front of him. Wrapping his fingers tighter around the flashlight’s handle until they hurt, Phinn braced for action. Everything needed to work perfectly with what he planned to do.

A head covered with hair, even around most of the face, entered Phinn’s sightline. Sharp white teeth and yellow eyes appeared within only a few feet of the waiting teen. Only after getting a solid look did Phinn move.

"Hey, Wolfman!" the daredevil detective shouted, causing the strange beast-man's head to swing in his direction.

At that moment, Phinn turned on the high-powered flashlight so that its beam shone straight into those yellow eyes. Then, as Jake's werewolf threw up his hands in shock, Phinn hurled one of the rocks he'd picked up outside the shed point-blank into its face.

A sharp cry rang out.

So, Phinn whipped a second rock into the face again before shutting off his flashlight and dashing back into the brush. Ignoring the sharp hits to his face from the prickly bush, raced away from the thing he’d provoked. Bursting into the small opening, he spotted a disbelieving Leighton.

“What did you do?!”

“Tested a theory. Now, run!” Phinn yelled, turning on his flashlight to light Leighton’s way.

---

Whoa, what happened? Jake asked, waking up to a weird feeling.

He first noticed his body's general grogginess. Opening his eyes, Jake immediately closed them as bright light sent sharp pain to his brain through his eyes. Next, he realized his brain felt lethargic as he struggled to recall where he’d been before waking up. Attempting to lift his head, the teen stopped as he felt even more lightheaded. A quick check told him his arms felt almost too heavy to lift.

Fuck. I better not have another concussion, the football player thought. Fairly sure that he'd never experienced one from playing, Jake did suffer several concussions over the years, thanks to his investigations.

Lying on his back, with his eyes remaining closed, Jake’s befuddled mind went over past symptoms and how he felt. No, this isn’t a concussion. It’s something else.

Taking several long moments that might have stretched into minutes, the confused teen braced himself for another effort to open his eyes. This time, the pain from the intense light hurt less. However, with blurred vision, his attempt to stare at the circling light above him led to what felt like a bout of vertigo.

Another few minutes passed as the ill teen sought to keep from vomiting under the circumstances. Another eye-opening attempt brought additional lights: a tiny red one off to his side, along with another white light that seemed to flash occasionally.

Oh, shit! Have aliens **** me?! Am I on an examination table? Are they going to probe my body?

Jake attempted to clear his blurry vision by blinking several times. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to make a difference. Nor did his mouth work properly as he tried to talk. Instead, it felt dry and rough.

Only then did Jake notice the pleasurable feeling further down his body. Lifting his head, he saw a mane of dark hair surrounding his groin. In the center of that hairy creature, a mouth surrounded his cock, while the longest tongue he'd ever felt snaked its way around his member several times.

“Ar youish aleens?” Jake questioned with his cotton mouth. Swirling his tongue a few times to wet his mouth, he spoke again. “Uh, are you space aliens? Um, just…I hope you’re a female…I don’t swing that other way.”

A cackle off to his side sent shivers down the teen’s body.

However, the tongue snaked out again, feeling as if it had split into two directions. Jake didn’t even twitch as the brown-haired alien ducked its head down to clamp its lips around his dick. The rapture from this epic blowjob felt so exquisite that Jake didn’t really know what happened, nor what burst of pleasure came from what or where.

All he truly felt came from the wet, warm mouth enveloping his sensitive head while the freaky alien hummed a loud and happy "Hmmm!" around his shaft. After singing its song, the alien flipped on its suction superpower as a powerful vacuum of air began to suck at his cock.

As his blue eyes sought to roll back into his head, Jake stared at the mess of hair on his lap. What’s that show or movie with that goth Wednesday girl? Didn’t she have a hairball cousin named It?

Suddenly, the cocksucker reached up to toss the hair over its shoulder.

“Hooly shudge! You no alien, you a gurl!” Jake exclaimed through his dry mouth.

The now-revealed girl moaned around his cock. She seemed to savor the taste of his cock as she worshipped it. Jake felt her tongue running along the underside of his shaft as she slowly bobbed her head up and down, taking a few inches of him into her mouth at a time before pulling back while sucking harder. Several times, Jake squealed in delight and surprise as his head nudged against her throat as she took him farther than any other woman had before.

Seeking to show his appreciation for her efforts, the teen attempted several times to reach down to pat the woman’s hair. This was usually the point in a blowjob at which he liked to tangle his hands in the girl’s hair. However, his hands always seemed just to miss her head, almost as if they passed right through the woman. Confused, Jake felt her pull back until only the crown rested in her mouth.

No fucking way! Is she…Is a ghost blowing me?!

With that wild, crazy idea popping into his head, Jake's other head also popped unexpectedly. The little Magnum babymakers raced up his rod until they blasted into the sucking mouth. His hips bucked five, six, or seven times—Jake couldn't keep track in his strange state of mind–as each volley sent forth a fresh wad of cum down in the ghost's belly.

At least ghost girls swallow.

Absolutely spent, Jake barely felt his spectral lover slip his cock out of her mouth enough to swipe the last glob off his tip with her otherworldly tongue. With that final move, the athletic teen journeyed off to meet the Sandman.

“Skraatitch!!!”

The shout snapped Jake from his slumber. Taking a few moments to recall his whereabouts, which he didn’t actually know, Jake watched as the ghost slid into a straddling position above his lap. That’s when the teen gasped in awe.

“Woohoo! You’re a ghost goddess!” he praised as a killer body filled his eyes.

Gawd, those have to be 34Ds or 36Ds…No, they're DDs! Well, duh, of course, a ghost goddess would have perfect tits. Isn’t that part of the deal for being dead and agreeing to haunt? Ohhhh…FUUCCCKKKK!!

As the tightest, most perfect pussy took in his cock, Jake sensed a second presence slowly morph into view beside him. Appearing like a horror movie killer from off-screen, the woman’s aura screamed that Jake should be frightened of her. Yet, she also turned him on.

“You’ll just have to wait your turn, honey. This goddess deserves what she wants,” Jake informed the newcomer.

Then, he turned to stare at the faceless phantom in awe with the biggest, dopiest grin of his life.

---

The next morning, Phinn walked out the back door and onto the patio. Spotting Leighton and Paisley at their usual table, he headed in their direction. It didn’t take a detective to figure out that they were in the middle of talking about him. Paisley freely admitted as much before he could even sit down.

“I’m never, ever going anywhere with you.”

“That’s fine with me. I wouldn’t want to take you anywhere. OWW!” Phinn squealed before rubbing his shoulder. “Another punch? Seriously?”

“That’s only your second,” Leighton stated.

“You also slapped me first last night,” Phinn pointed out.

“You’re the genius who decided to provoke a possibly ****-addled crazy person!” Leighton exclaimed.

“Well, at least you didn’t call him a werewolf,” the smartass sleuth replied. “And keep your voice down. We don’t want anyone overhearing.”

“You’re just damn lucky we got away from that guy. If not, you’d be hurting far worse,” Leighton warned. “Don’t you ever put me in danger like that again.”

“Please. I was relatively certain we weren’t in any danger.”

“Relatively certain?!”

“Sure. I’d say ninety percent certain…at least.”

“Argh!” Leighton groaned.

“Hey, I had the utmost faith in your ability to lead us out of there. I usually don’t trust too many people at that level,” Phinn pointed out.

“Why would you go and attack that man, or whatever he is?” Paisley challenged, chiming in.

“He claimed it was to disprove once and for all that it was a werewolf, wolfman, or some other creature,” Leighton relayed.

"Correct. Any type of beast or creature would've followed and been able to track us. Instead, the guy got lost within minutes," Phinn recounted. "I tested a theory, and I'm pleased with the results."

"Wait until Jake hears this. I bet he's going to be freaking out about a pissed-off werewolf," Leighton noted. The two cousins shared a look before rolling their eyes.

“Speaking of Jake, have you seen him yet this morning?” Phinn inquired, surveying the patio and the surrounding area within sight. After a negative from both young women, he added, “I don’t think he slept in his bed last night.”

“Eww! I don’t want to know who he slept with,” the ice queen screeched.

“Why do you think that?” the redhead queried.

“When we returned late last night, his door was cracked just a sliver. I assumed he was sleeping, and I was exhausted, so I went to bed. This morning, the door appeared to be in the same position, with his sheets a mess.”

“So? Does Jake make his bed every morning?” Paisley asked sarcastically.

"He does. It's an annoying pet peeve of his. I mean, why bother? You're going to mess it up again later," Phinn complained before catching himself. "Whatever. However, yesterday morning, we were in a hurry, and he didn't have time to make his bed. A fact which I heard about when we left our rooms and again while biking to a telephone," Phinn recounted.

“Did you ask Marie? Maybe he woke up early, had breakfast, and went to take care of an errand,” Leighton suggested.

“I already asked,” Phinn responded. Once again, he scanned the empty patio and the surrounding area. “Where is everyone today?”

“Aunt Vonnie is over by the greenhouse. Without a gardener, she’s attempting to handle all the plants herself,” Paisley informed him.

"I offered to help, but she convinced Benji to give her a hand," Leighton revealed. "Hazel's picking weeds by the pond while AD and Troy went for a morning walk. Cat's taking a risk by going on a horse ride. Said she needed to clear her head."

“I assume that Portia and Karter are sleeping in. She usually does,” the pale blonde added.

“What about Flamand?” Phinn inquired.

“He should be leaving any moment. He made a loud announcement that he needed to meditate this morning, so all ‘sessions’ are canceled. It sounded like he’s going to the gazebo,” Leighton relayed.

Phinn shuddered as he recalled what they’d seen at the gazebo two days ago. As he did so, his client added that Selene had gone into Lumlow, according to Marie. The brainy detective began to wonder if his partner had seen something suspicious and decided to follow one of the guests without waking him.

“Phinn!”

That guess quickly evaporated as a waving Jake hurried across the grass from the direction of the barn. After another shout of his name, Phinn noticed that his partner wore the same clothes from the day before and looked disheveled. The accomplished athlete also staggered as he neared the group. Then, he shocked all of them by clutching his best friend's arm while dropping a bombshell.

“Phinn! I…I think I had sex with a ghost!”

“Ha!” Paisley barked a laugh while clapping her hands once. She also gave her cousin an "I told you so" look, whose jaw had dropped.

“What are you talking about?” Phinn asked.

“I know it sounds crazy…I know that! But last night, I woke up in this dream-like state to find this goddess blowing me.”

“Oh. My. Gawd! I’m so out of here,” Paisley declared, standing up until Leighton yanked her arm to **** her to sit back down. “But he reeks, Leigh!”

“Are you sure you just didn’t have a weird dream? It’s been known to happen with you,” Phinn pointed out, staying remarkably patient for him.

“That was my first thought before I worried that aliens had **** me,” Jake responded.

“Holy…Where’s Aunt Vonnie? She’d totally love this crap,” Paisley remarked.

“Shut up,” her cousin ordered.

Phinn finally removed his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Don’t be like that! I swear, Phinn, it felt like I was under a spell. Or maybe I got possessed! Do you have any ancestors haunting this place?”

“No!”

“Alright, but I did sense or see a second presence at my side at times,” Jake recalled. “Oh, fuck! I better not have had my first threesome and forgotten about it.”

“I’m sure that didn’t happen,” Phinn reassured his best friend.

“I hope not! That would be the worst.”

Taking a deep breath and a long pause, the sleuth who hadn't lost his marbles gathered his thoughts and his interrogation approach. First, he inquired about where Jake had slept the previous night.

“The stables. I didn’t know that until I woke up this morning. I thought I was in some ghost world, like limbo or something, as I heard loud beasts snorting and growling. I guess that might have been just the horses,” Jake admitted, now that he had a moment to consider the facts.

“Okay, let’s go further back to your stakeout. Did you follow Flamand to the barn?” Phinn responded, attempting to keep the conversation in reality.

“He never appeared. No, I’m sure,” Jake insisted, catching his partner’s dubious expression. “I waited a full hour past his usual swim time. Then…I…it’s hard to remember…But I heard a noise in the barn. Yeah, that’s what happened,” Jake struggled to recall. “The next thing I remember is waking in the stables with the gorgeous ghost.”

“Hold on. We’ll get to that part in a moment,” Phinn assured, as his partner clearly wanted to discuss that part. “When you went to check on the barn, did you walk through the stables?”

“Huh…I must have. That’s the way I went to my stakeout spot.”

“Do you think somebody hit you over the head?” Leighton asked.

“No, I vividly remember deciding I didn’t have a concussion,” Jake replied before describing all his symptoms.

Nodding, Phinn took a moment to go over his explanation. Then, he leaned over to whisper a request into Leighton’s ear. She immediately went into the house.

“Okay, buddy, describe this ghost and what she did,” Phinn instructed, opening up the floodgates to Paisley’s intense dismay.

Jake described in excruciating detail the gorgeous ghost's large breasts, dark hair, exquisite blowjob, and sensational cowgirl ride. However, when pressed on the details about the ghost's face, he couldn't recall.

“My vision was blurry, and my memory is hazy. The lighting was also extremely bright. There was a light swinging around in a circle above her head, to go along with occasional white flashes and this creepy red light.”

“Hang on. Flashes and a red light. Do you think it might have been a phone or a camera?” Phinn questioned.

“Why would a ghost have those?”

“Fair point,” Phinn replied, shrugging. “Tell me why you think you screwed a ghost, not a real woman.”

Jake described how his ability to touch the ghost seemed to come and go. He moaned about not being able to touch her breasts at times while also grinning madly as he recalled sucking on her hard nipples.

"Seriously, Phinn, she did things…I've never felt before," Jake gushed as Leighton returned. "I mean, not only that. She was also one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. And her tits…wow!"

“Can I please go now?”

“No,” Leighton responded to her cousin.

“Alright, you mentioned a second presence. What can you tell me about that? Was it a man or a woman?”

“Definitely a woman,” Jake stated, winking at his partner. “But there was something…unsettling about her, like she was hot and scary at the same time. Sort of like a witch.”

“You find green skin sexy?” Paisley asked, scoffing at the North High dreamboat.

“Not like from The Wizard of Oz! She was pale, very pale…with a dark aura around her,” Jake recalled. “Maybe she wasn’t a witch but an enchantress or one of the succubus things.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” the ice queen challenged, earning a **** nod from her cousin.

While rubbing his forehead, Phinn held up his other hand.

“Let me take a whack at this one. Jake is describing a woman who is both sexy and scary. Does that possibly sound like anyone we know around here?”

“Selene!”

“Bingo,” Phinn said, nodding at Leighton.

“Selene? No way. That bitch is frightening,” Jake declared. “You know what, I’m almost positive that I didn’t have a threesome last night. Whew!”

Phinn held out his hand, and Leighton placed a mini-pen flashlight in it. Standing up, he leaned over his sitting friend to point the light in his eyes.

“As I expected, your pupils are dilated. Jake, you were **** last night.”

“****? No way!”

“Do you remember a prick while walking through the stables? You might have thought it was a bug bite,” Phinn suggested.

“Or someone covering your mouth?” Leighton added.

“I couldn’t have been ****. What about the ghost I had sex with?”

“As for you mysterious ghost-...” Phinn trailed off as the exterior door to the ballroom opened.

Jean-Paul walked out with a polite greeting before heading across the grass field behind the house.

“As for you mysterious ghost,” Phinn repeated once Flamand was out of earshot. “I suspect, based on the dark hair and large breasts, that you had sex with Portia.”

Surprisingly, Paisley reacted first by snapping her fingers. “That’s the other smell wafting off you. It’s Portia’s perfume.”

“Holy shit! I fucked Portia Savoy?! Wow, no wonder it was awesome!”

“Awesome? You were assaulted, Magnum,” Paisley proclaimed.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I was not assaulted. No way!” Jake insisted. “I definitely liked…No, I totally loved it. Too bad I can’t remember everything. Portia’s smoking hot.”

“Don’t worry. Based on Portia’s behavior, I’m sure you’ll get another opportunity,” Phinn replied.

“Phineas! How dare you?” Leighton admonished.

“What? I’m not slut shaming her. It’s just that Portia has–”

BANG

A split second after the gunshot startled the table, Jean-Paul Flamand dropped to the ground in a heap.

---

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