AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I did. I came here to hide from my divorce and the first day I was here, Justin showed up on Smokey, bareback.” They laughed. “We had sex the next day.”
“Right, so we’re both whores.”
“Exactly. What about Annie, screwing Steve up against my cottage and getting pregnant the first day they met? She’s worse than we are. At least I knew Justin when I was a kid.”
“We’d better not remind her,” Katrina said, snickering. “She’s ready to kill Steve.”
“Justin has had his moments. You’re pretty lucky with Dave, Kat. He’s done nothing bad.”
“He really hasn’t.” She took a deep breath. “It’s been so easy. I guess it was too good to be true.”
Maggie took Katrina’s hand when she realized her friend was fighting to stay in control.
“Aw, you’re grieving, Kat. It’s okay. You’re worried and scared.” Maggie slid her arm around her friend, and Katrina leaned over, able to take a deep breath, the tears retreating. “I’ll stay with you as long as you need me.”
“Thank you, Mags. We won’t be alone because of you and Justin.”
Lying back on the blanket with the gentle breeze coming off the water, they could fall asleep. Half an hour later, the same boat made his return trip, the wake larger this time, waves splashing on the shore.
Maggie sat up, stretching her arms over her head. Katrina was curled up on her side, snoring softly. She got a book out to read at the same time a memory of a similar afternoon back in Florida, about ten years before, came to mind. Katrina, Annie, Claudia, and Maggie passed out on the beach after lying to their parents, saying they were sleeping at each other’s houses when the truth was, they had stayed up all night drinking with a group of guys from school.
Today, all three friends were pregnant, and she bet Annie was napping somewhere, too. No one cared where Claudia was, especially Maggie. Claudia was the friend who had an affair with Maggie’s soon-to-be husband, Russ.
“What are you dreaming about?” Katrina asked, yawning. She struggled to sit up, that basketball under her shirt feeling like it was weighted to the ground.
“Us sleeping under the sky like this reminded me of the night of the vodka fest at the beach.”
“Oh no,” she said, sputtering and laughing out loud. “I never told you this, but I lost my virginity that night.”
“What? No way. You told me Kyle was your first?”
The women laughed, the happy sound echoing across the water. “No, Kyle wasyourfirst,” Katrina replied.
“Anyway, I remembered that Annie and Claudia were there. How can you experience something like that and not be bonded for life?”
“The three of us are for certain,” Katrina said. “Claudia has something wrong with her. Some undiagnosed personality disorder.”
“Definitely borderline personality disorder,” Maggie said, lying back down and closing her eyes. “I don’t miss her at all. And I’m over Russ completely. I never want to see either of them again, but I’m not suffering because of them. It’s a process. I still have trust issues, though, because I’m jealous of Justin. I hate it that I’m that way.”
“We are definitely our own worst enemies,” Katrina said.
Maggie sat up again. “I need to pee so I guess it’s time to head back to the cottage. I’d go in the bushes but I’m afraid I’d fall over.”
Helping each other stand up, they acknowledged that being pregnant at the same time would further cement their bond.
“I changed my mind. I’m going to call Annie and tell her about the baby when we get back to the cottage.”
“I’m glad,” Maggie replied. “She might have some wisdom for you. She’s working on her master’s, soon to be a licensed social worker.”
“I completely forgot about that!”
They packed up and got Brulee into the boat, then pushed it off the beach and climbed in.
“I can’t wait to bring the babies here,” Maggie said, starting the motor. “I might have Justin build us a pergola and an outhouse.”
“Maggie, how fun. I can’t wait.”
“I’ll ask him about it.”
