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"Hey, I was thinking we could grab Chinese tonight. What do you think? Maybe we should get four of the ginger beef..." She keeps talking, and he keeps dodging, looking more and more alarmed. Finally, with a muffled shout, he grabs her under her arms and lifts her straight up, spinning and dropping her her back down. Path now clear, he gives me a strained wave, and continues his fast walk down the hall and straight into the bathroom. Cara drops to the carpeted hallway, snorting with laughter.
"Oh my god," she says, wiping tears from her eyes. "That's better than a cup of coffee. I just got my second wind."
Maya's snorting too. "I've heard about it, but I've never seen it. It's better than I imagined."
"Wait. What just happened?" I ask, staring at the bathroom door.
"That," Cara says between giggles, "is Jonas's version of the pee-pee dance. Only he doesn't need to pee-pee, if you know what I mean." She holds up two fingers and waves them.
A choked laugh escapes. "Are you telling me that my husband was desperate for the bathroom, and you were...what? Trying to make him..."
She snickers and stands, brushing her hands over the back of her skirt. "Declan said he'd pay my club’s liquor bill for a month if I managed to get Jonas to crap his pants. So far, I'm out of luck. I'm not holding out much hope, to be honest. Declan's been trying for years and gotten nowhere. Besides, it's too much fun to watch the battle."
I can't decide if this is horrible or hysterical. "This is a regular thing?"
"Regular," Maya mumbles, dissolving into laughter. What is the...oh. More poop humor. I press my fingers to my lips to hold in the laugh.
Cara doesn't try to stop herself. Answering me through her giggles. "Couple times a week at least. The man hyper focuses, and forgets the world exists. He doesn't notice anything, until it becomes urgent, if you know what I mean."
"You guys are awful," I murmur, watching as Jonas exits the bathroom. He walks with purpose straight past us, into Declan's office, and returns a minute later. He pointedly ignores Cara, gives Maya a smile, then wraps me in a hug. His body is stiff.
"We're going to meet for a little, then we'll go home. Cara's buying Chinese for everyone." He presses a kiss to the top of my head then disappears into Ransom's office.
Maya sighs, and presses her hand over her heart. "He's such a goner for you."
I smile, cheeks warm, letting the warm feeling that gives me radiate through my body and mingle with the tingles Jonas's touch always brings.
"Looks like she's pretty into him too." Cara frowns. "That sounds really weird to say to a married woman. Like, of course, she's into him. She married him. But I guess it's a unique situation."
"Unique is a good word for it."
"How are you doing with all that?" Cara asks sitting back in her chair.
"It's good."
She raises an eyebrow at me, and crosses her arms over her chest. "C'mon lady, spill. Are you two connecting? Do you feel like you can make this work? Where's your head at?"
I glance over at Ransom's closed door, then back at the two women focused completely on me. This is weird. I'm usually the one asking questions, being supportive. The world feels upside down right now.
"We're doing...okay, I guess. We just relaxed over the holidays."
"When we saw you guys, you seemed comfortable with each other, but not really like newlyweds. Not that I'm judging. I'm not. I was just making an observation. I mean, you've been married for less time than some people spend on their honeymoon. Never mind. I'm sorry."
Maya's nervous chatter settles me. "It's okay. I know exactly what you mean. And you're right. I know Jonas wants more. He's been very open about that."
"You don't?" Cara asks casually, but there's something just under that question that makes me sit up straighter. She's fishing, but I understand where she's coming from. She's been like a sister to these men for years. She cares about them deeply. Beneath her straightforward questions is a lot of worry.
"I've been a little hesitant."
"Why?" Maya asks softly. "I mean it's been a short time, so if you're not ready for intimacy with him, that makes total sense. But is it something else?"
I sigh and run my fingers through my hair, pulling it over my shoulder and separating it into three parts, absentmindedly braiding them together.
"I thought I was protecting myself," I murmur, running my fingers down the lumps of my braid.
"Protecting yourself from what?" Cara asks.
"Loving him," I say on an exhale. "I've been with men, but no one like Jonas. No one so...open. I guess for a while, I thought keeping my distance would protect me from making another mistake. I thought I loved Keith. I could picture a future with him. I let myself believe I could have the happy ending. At least the version I thought was attainable for me."
