“I’d love it.” Saylor shifted to stand, but Pippa waved at her.
“I’ve got this. I want to see that drawing,” Pippa said and headed for the pantry door in the kitchen. “I’ll show you where everything is later.”
“Thanks!” Saylor said, already locking in the basic shapes of Aspen and Rexy. She loved hearing the others chat easily as she drew. Joining the conversation off and on, Saylor relaxed with the friendly group. She hadn’t hung with girlfriends for a long time.
After an hour, Brooklyn suggested ordering pizza. “Want a loaded one with extra cheese?” she asked.
“Ooh! There’s nothing healthy about that. I’m in,” Pippa said, sipping the bright blue drink she’d concocted for everyone.
Saylor looked up in concern. “Do you… Do your daddies control what you eat?” Saylor asked.
“As a group, the guys view food as fuel for their activities. They have to maintain a high level of fitness to train and to meet anychallenges they might encounter. Daddy fixes sumptuous meals that happen to be good for me. He’s a good cook,” Giana said.
“Your job requires super powers too. You’re in amazing shape,” Brooklyn told her. “We’ll let you in on a secret, Saylor. We have decadent things when we’re together. Shhh!”
“I won’t tell,” Saylor assured them. “Let me pay. I’m the hostess.”
“No way. This is your inauguration in the group. It’s my turn this time,” Brooklyn said, pulling out her phone. “Salvatore’s or Luigi’s?”
“Luigi’s!” Pippa said.
“Thick or thin?” Brooklyn asked a minute later.
“Thick all the way,” Giana said, waggling her eyebrows expressively.
“You are so bad!” Aspen said, grinning. “Can I see the picture yet?”
Rexy had returned to the kitchen earlier, and Saylor sat sketching from memory. “When the pizza gets here?”
“That’s amazing. I’ll wait,” Aspen promised.
By the time they’d all helped themselves to the best tasting pizza in the world, Saylor was ready to reveal her work. She turned the pad around to show Aspen and held her breath. While she had confidence in her artwork, she never trusted that her audience would see it in the same way. Hopefully Aspen would enjoy it.
“Oh, my God!” Aspen cried and reached for the pad only to see the grease on her fingers. “Damn! Let me clean the pizza off my hands.”
“Potty mouth,” Giana called after her.
“I won’t tell if you won’t!” Aspen negotiated as she quickly washed her hands.
“Deal!” Giana agreed, taking another bite of her pizza. “That’s incredible, Saylor. Even with you as my teacher, I’d still produce stick figures.”
“Everyone has their own talents. I couldn’t carry someone out of a burning building. That takes strength and nerves of steel,” Saylor told Giana as Aspen dropped to the floor next to Saylor and accepted the sketchpad.
“Can I have this? I mean, I’m glad to pay you for it,” Aspen said quickly.
“No way you’ll pay for it. It took me a half hour. If you’d enjoy having the drawing, it’s yours. Here, let me sign it and it will be officially yours.” Saylor tore it carefully on the perforated line and signed the rough sketch. Not her best work, but she liked the image of Aspen and Rexy.
Aspen threw her arms around Saylor’s neck, giving her a big hug. “Thank you so much. I’ll treasure it forever. Just wait until Daddy sees it.” She set the paper down and took a picture of it. Saylor noticed she didn’t text it to him.
“Is it okay to text while they’re away?” Saylor asked quietly.
“We don’t. Just because they probably won’t have a signal. All the guys have had friends in the military get breakup texts while they’re deployed. Koa might get a partial signal that tells him he has a message, but he probably can’t see what I’ve written. While I wouldn’t send a goodbye text, I don’t want Koa worrying aboutwhat I’ve said. Koa told me as soon as we can freely exchange messages, he’ll be in touch,” Giana explained.
“Plus, what if a sound reveals their positions at the wrong time? That could be deadly. It’s best to wait. They’re busy,” Pippa said.
“I hadn’t thought of that. I hate to admit I would create a story in my head if I got a partial message. Maybe it’s human nature to expect the worst,” Saylor said.
Taking a deep breath, she looked around the group and decided to trust them. They’d already been so nice, accepting her without asking questions. “Kind of like today. I was in a bank during a robbery. Loud angry voices and sudden swarms of motion terrify me now.”
