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“I just—” I caught sight of the paracord bracelet on the kitchen counter and searched for the right words. “Sex was always intimate, loving, with Levi. But he didn’t—I mean I didn’t—” I huffed and chuckled at my inability to talk about this stuff.
“You’re so cute.” She laughed. “You didn’t always come? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
I nodded. “It wasn’t always what I needed, so it didn’treally bother me. With Levi, I craved the intimacy more than the sex itself.”
“I can understand that. So it was different with Kyle?”
“Yeah, it was intimate but also like a challenge for him. Like he was competing with himself to see how many times he could make me—you know…”
“Come. That’s the verb you keep looking for.”
I rolled my eyes, ignoring her teasing. “At one point, I told him I couldn’t, um, do that again, and he literally called bullshit and proved me wrong.”
She threw her head back and laughed. When she straightened, her eyes were full of tears and her face was split in a grin. “I like this guy.”
“Yeah, me too.” Maybe a little too much. I had to remember he was leaving in two weeks.
“When Joe leaves for deployment next month, I want to visit. I’ll bring the kids so they can catch up too. We miss you guys.”
My heart lifted at the thought. I nodded. “Definitely. We would all love that.”
We talked for a few more minutes while I nursed my coffee, but before long, the front door swung open and my kids came barreling in.
“Auntie Em,” Callie cried when she saw Emily’s face on the screen. “Is Bridget around?”
Emily’s daughter was a couple of years younger than Callie, but the girls had always been thick as thieves.
“Sure is. Want to talk to her?”
“Yes!”
I walked away, knowing my conversation with Emily was officially done, and went in search of my mom. She was just stepping inside when I wandered out of the kitchen.
“How were they?”
“Oh, perfect. As usual.” She peered around me. “Heykiddos, come give me hugs. I need to get home and start packing.”
Both the kids scurried over and doled out hugs before running off again.
“Are you excited to see Aunt Helen?”
“I am.” A smile ghosted her face. “It’s been too long.”
My mom’s parents had died a few years after Callie was born, and her sister still lived in Florida, where she and my mom had grown up. I hadn’t seen her since Levi’s funeral almost two years ago.
“Is she still planning to come here for Thanksgiving?”
“Yeah, and it sounds like Rachel is coming too.”
“That’ll be nice.” My younger cousin was working on her master’s in psychology.
My mom’s sweet smile turned wicked then. “How was your date?”
My stomach knotted. I did not want to get into this with my mom. So I went for vague. “It was great.”
She opened her mouth, ready to pester me, I was sure, but Callie entered the great room just then, still holding my phone, so I didn’t have to elaborate. “Thanks for watching the kids for me.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie.”
