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He laughs. “Okay, she’s not a troublemaker. And I may have said that, but now that I’ve had more time to consider it, I’m thinking the two of you together seems like trouble.”
Man, I’ve missed him.
“How are we trouble?”
“I don’t know. That’s the tricky part. I can’t specifically name it.”
“Relax, Garrett. We’re just planning a simple night out to one of the back alleys downtown to meet a couple drug dealers and prostitutes to discuss the terms of our entrance into the underground world of sex clubs. No big deal.”
“You’re a cruel woman.”
I snort. “We’re taking a gymnastics class.”
“With prostitutes?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
I can hear the smile in his voice as he replies, “Have fun. And maybe, just maybe, you can do a gymnastics class with me sometime.”
“You want to learn gymnastics?” I ask skeptically.
“No. I want to watch you do gymnastics while on my body.”
“Ohh,” I mumble through a blush. Clearly, I didn’t catch on to that one quickly enough.
My stomach pitches and twists with need as I think about how long it’s been since Garrett’s been inside me. God, I want him. Why do I have to be such a complicated whore who wants to have her own life?
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Lauren.”
“Yeah. Tomorrow,” I repeat. “But maybe…”
“What?”
“Maybe I can call you tonight?”
“I look forward to it, baby.”
I pull the phone away from my ear as he disconnects and stand in the middle of my living room for a few long seconds.
Fat Frank swims wildly in the tank, uniquely attuned to my emotions like no fish should be.
“It’s okay, Frank,” I tell him, my heart still beating wildly.
I just didn’t expect that I’d feel this attached, this crazed about someone this quickly. I’ve been content to be on my own for the better part of my life.
No shame, no neediness—it’s just been.
And now, after a month of time with Garrett, I’m honest to God starting to not be able to picture my life without him in it anymore.
I don’t know if that’s good. Or bad.
What I do know is that it’s scary.
I don’t want to depend on someone, but the more I’m with him, the less I think I want to have no one to depend on at all.
Not to mention his profession being one of the most dangerous on the planet—but that’s a whole mental breakdown for another day.
For now, I need to get my act together, get in the car, and go pick up Holley.
“See ya, Fat Frank. I’ll be home in a while, okay?”
He wags his fishy tail before retreating to his castle, and I head to the door, ready to gymnastics it the hell up.
Holley jogs down the stairs, while Jake stands in the doorway of their impressively large house with Hadley in his arms. She’s a little cherub, and now that she’s starting to get older, she’s looking more and more like a real little person with a personality of her own.
Holley climbs in and shuts her door, waving frantically to the two of them as I put the car in drive and start to pull away.
“Does it bother you? Leaving the two of them?”
She snorts in a way I’m completely not expecting and then devolves into cackles. “No. No, it’s not hard at all.”
“What?” I laugh out of surprise, and she rolls her eyes.
“I mean, of course it is. I love them. But I am so excited to have a girls’ night out, I can’t stand myself. Even if it is a gymnastics class that you forced me into.”
Man. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t cancel.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’ll probably be missing them in five minutes, but I’m thrilled to get a little time when no one expects anything of me.” She glances at me and laughs. “I mean, you’re not planning to have me wipe your ass, are you?”
I shake my head. “Hadn’t planned on it.”
“See? That’s fantastic!”
I snicker. “You know, Holl, if you need to get out more, we can always do more stuff.”
“Thanks. I’d like that. Though, I’m starting to feel a little badly about how excited I seem. I mean, Hadley is the apple of my eye, you know?”
I nod as supportively as I can as she spirals into the mom-guilt pit of despair. “I know.”
“And Jake? Holy hell, he’s the best. So helpful and so hot and so—”
“Holley, it’s okay. I get it.”
“You do?”
“I do! Of course, I do!” I exclaim. “I mean, I don’t have a baby or a husband of my own, but I understand how demanding it is. You’re allowed to have moments for yourself. You need them.”
“You’re right. This is natural. Normal.”
I smile. “Completely.”
“Okay. Okay. I feel okay now. This is good. This is terrific. I might even get to enjoy a hamburger without someone latched on to my breast.”
I laugh. “Is Jake bothering you that much?”
