by Amy DeMeritt
“Our wife is pregnant, so yes, she’s going to have a child.” Eric, Madison’s dad exhales in frustration and rubs his face with his hand. “I know that each of you are going to be a mother to each other’s children. I just mean, will Kayla ever carry one?”
“Possibly, but it doesn’t make her any less a mother than the rest of us if she doesn’t.”
“Can I ask why the uncertainty? Is it a gender identity thing?” All of us snap our heads around to look at Debbie, Shannon’s mom. “What gender identity thing?”
“Well, you do seem to have a bit of a…”
“Whoa, stop right there. I am happy being a woman. Just because I don’t like wearing dresses doesn’t mean I don’t know what gender I am. Clothing doesn’t make a gender.”
“Then why don’t you want to get pregnant?” I stand up and lift my shirt, flexing my abs. “Do you have any idea how much money these are worth?”
“So, you choose vanity and selling your body over bringing a new life into the world?” Symone quickly stands up, nearly knocking me over in the process. “Ok, you know what? You need to back off! Obviously, Kayla was just joking to try to lighten the mood. Kayla loves children, and one day, when she is ready, she will get pregnant. But right now, she has career responsibilities. Right now, is not a good time for her and there is nothing wrong with that. Planning the time to have children is something every family has to do. And if the time is never right, for whatever reason, any one of us in this room would be more than happy to carry her blood-child for her.”
“Why would you, someone who is not her wife, carry her child? Don’t you think you are overstepping the bounds with that statement?”
“No, she’s not.” I take Symone’s hand and take a step closer to her. “Even my own sister would carry my child if I couldn’t.”
“Sit down, both of you. This conversation is over.” My mom walks in with a plated peanut butter and jam sandwich and a mug of warmed milk. She hands the mug to Symone, while asking, “Will you hold that for her while she eats?”
“Yeah, of course.” My mom smiles and we take our seats. After my mom hands Awenasa her sandwich, she says, “I’m going to go clean up from breakfast. Just holler if you need me.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie.”
The rest of the mothers and Shannon’s grandmother also get up, closely followed by the fathers mumbling something about finding out what the men are doing.
“Hey, where are your keys?”
Talia rushes in dressed in shorts and a tank top with a small purse slung over her shoulder. She’s dressed similar to how my wives dress. Sometimes, it really surprises me and takes me off-guard how different Talia is from Sara and I.
“I’ll get them.”
Madison hops up to get the keys for Talia, but quickly returns. She loops her arm through mine and kisses my cheek.
“Your sister is funny.”
“Why is that?”
“She told me to convince you to challenge her to a rematch so she can win more money out of you.” I laugh hard and shake my head. “I think I might be creating a monster by spoiling that brat so much.”
“Yeah, but it’s fun to watch.”
We mostly sit in silence while Awenasa eats, just waiting to see how she’s going to feel. She’s eating and drinking very slowly, but doesn’t appear to be struggling with nausea. She takes the last bite, and leans forward to place the plate on the coffee table.
“How’s the sandwich sitting?”
She swallows and takes a gulp of milk to wash it down, before she can answer.
“Good, so far. Hey…” Awenasa places a hand on Symone’s thigh and rubs it up and down for a moment, before resting it about mid-thigh. “Thanks for what you said before. Not just for defending Kayla, but for saying you would carry her child if she couldn’t.”
“You’re welcome. I really mean what I said. I would do anything for any of you.”
“I know.”
Awenasa places a hand on Symone’s cheek and gives her a soft kiss on the lips. She pulls back to look in Symone’s eyes and scan her face, before pressing her lips to Symone’s again, and engaging her in a real kiss.
The kiss lasts for a couple minutes, and both of them are breathing heavier than normal, with happy aroused smiles when they release each other.
“Holy shit. That really just happened.” All of us quickly look up to see Tonya and Jade standing next to the big oversized armchair with wide eyes. “So, what’s going on, girls?”
We look between ourselves, and settle on Awenasa, not really sure how to answer. She smiles and shrugs a shoulder.
“I wanted to kiss her.” Tonya quirks an eyebrow and looks at Symone for a moment, before looking at me. “So, is this the first time and last time? What does this mean?”
Tonya and Jade sit in the oversized armchair together and wait for our answer. Awenasa, thankfully, takes the lead to answer again.
“Not the first, probably not the last, and we’re still trying to figure out what it means.” Tonya laughs and leans back, resting her arm around Jade’s shoulders. “That was a very politician like answer. Does anyone else know?”
“No.”
“Don’t you think that was kind of risky with all of your family just behind that wall? Especially if you don’t know what this means yet?” Awenasa smiles as she entwines her fingers with Symone’s. “We don’t have anything to hide. I’m not ashamed of kissing Symone and Jaime.”
“Man, what the fuck is Sara going to do?”
“What am I going to do about what?”
Sara and Keira come in from the foyer with their hands loaded with groceries. Sara looks around the room, and her eyes settle on Awenasa’s and Symone’s hands clasped together. Sara’s jaw tenses and she sets the groceries down, before walking into the room running her fingers through her hair. She takes a deep breath and sits down on the arm of the chair that Jade and Tonya are sitting in.
“What’s going on?”
I sit forward with my elbows on my knees and my hands clasped together. I look between my wives and at Jaime and Symone, before taking a deep breath and rubbing the back of my neck.
“Ok, please don’t freak out, but something happened between all of us and we’re trying to figure out what it means.”
“What happened? Did you have sex?” Sara is staring straight at Symone with a tense jaw and narrowed eyes. “No. My wives kissed Symone and Jaime this morning, and Awenasa kissed Symone again after she stood up for me.”
Sara breaks eye contact with Symone for the first time and looks at me with sympathy and dread, asking me what happened. I quickly explain the conversation with the parents, and when I finish, Sara actually smiles and shakes her head as she looks down and scratches the back of her head.
“I can’t say I’m surprised. But when you figure out what this really means, and what’s going to happen with your relationship, can the two of you handle it if it doesn’t go beyond this?”
“We’ll figure it out. This won’t hurt the squad.”
Sara’s jaw tenses as she stands up and walks over to us. She stops in front of Symone, who tenses and narrows her eyes, preparing for a blowout. Sara sits down on the edge of the coffee table in front of Symone, and rubs the back of her head.
“Symone, that’s not what I meant. We’re a family, all of us. You’ve been one of my best friends for years before you met my sister. Look, that shit you used to do with seducing women, a lot of times it was funny, and I know I used to encourage it, because a lot of times your target was a bitch who needed to be put in her place. But when you started targeting Kayla, I was pissed and scared, not just because you might hurt my sister, but it would hurt us. I didn’t want to lose my best friend. It took a long time for all of our friendships to get to a point that I didn’t have that constant fear. But this new development has made that fear return. God, Symone, I don’t want to see you get hurt and I don’t want to lose my best friend.�
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Symone leans forward and wraps her arms around Sara, holding her tightly for several moments.
“Thank you for not hating me. I promise, I didn’t try to make this happen. I didn’t pull any tricks. It just happened.”
“I know. You wouldn’t have been able to fool Kayla, and especially not Awenasa – she has that supernatural clairvoyant thing going on. Jaime, how are you doing?”
Sara stands up and sits on the other side of Jaime, leaning against the back of the couch, turned to face Jaime.
“I’m honestly a little in disbelief and trying to remain cautious so I don’t jump ahead and end up getting crushed.” Jaime is anxiously playing with the hem of her tee shirt, and looking at her lap. Sara takes her hand and Jaime slowly looks up and shakes her head. “I can’t lose what all of us have. I’ve never been happier and I’m honestly terrified I’m going to lose this – all of it.”
Emotion fills my chest and springs to my eyes. I swallow hard, and rub my hands over my face, trying desperately to push the emotions back under the surface, restricting them from appearing on my face.
Sara pulls Jaime into a hug, holding Jaime on her chest and rubs her hand over her head. Seeing Sara being the one comforting her, instead of me, nearly breaks me completely. I swallow hard, trying to push the lump in my throat down, but it just bounces back up as a small sound of emotion, as tears freely streak my cheeks. I quickly stand up, and kneel down in front of Jaime, pulling her out of Sara’s embrace and into mine. She tightly wraps her arms around me and cries in the crook of my neck.
“You’re not going to lose us, I promise. I love you and I can’t lose you. I need you in my life.”
“I love you too, all of you, more than I’ve ever loved anyone. God, I love you so much.”
Jaime trails fast wet kisses up the side of my neck and across my jawline, whispering, “I love you”, between kisses. As she presses her lips to my mine, I wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her forward, and she slips off of the couch to kneel on the floor with me, with her body pressed tightly to mine. I cup the back of her neck and she wraps a hand in my hair as our mouths begin to move together. It’s a wet kiss from our tears, and feels desperate and wild.
Even with the overwhelming emotions of fear and stress, the kiss feels incredible. It’s been months since I’ve kissed Jaime like this. I’ve missed this, a lot. Jaime’s fingers dig into my shoulder, causing me to release a small moan. I glide my hand down her back and grip her hip, pulling her in harder against me. I slide my hand under her shirt and palm over her side and up her back, making her inhale deeply and release a quiet moan. Electricity sparks between my legs, and Jaime must feel it too, because she releases a small sound with me, and our bodies gently rock and slide against each other as the kiss becomes more intense. This feels so damn good.
“Uh, Kayla.”
Sara shakes my shoulder, but I brush her hand off. She grabs me again, but I push her away again. Awenasa’s energy floods me as she gently places a hand on the back of my head. Jaime and I release a small whimpering gasp and pull apart. Awenasa smiles as she caresses our cheeks, before she kisses both of us on the lips. As her lips press against Jaime’s, Jaime wraps her hand around the back of Awenasa’s neck and engages her in a real kiss. It’s beautiful. Both of them are holding each other just below the jawline, while they share a slow passionate kiss.
Sara pushes my arm again to get my attention and nods behind me. I look over my shoulder, and my heart nearly stops.
“Shit.”
The entire family is standing just inside the room watching us. It’s a sea of disapproving, concerned, confused, and unsurprised faces, with one very angry disgusted face in the center – Shannon’s mom. I take a deep breath, and look back at Jaime and Awenasa, both of whom are still locked in a kiss. I loosely grip their shoulders, and tug them apart, holding them back as they try to move back in again. Both of them look at me dazed and breathing hard. Jaime’s eyes dart behind me and she releases a quiet surprised gasp and jumps. I stand up and help both of them off of the floor and back to their seats on the couch. I take a deep breath and turn to face the family.
“So, I twist things in my head, huh? I’m just a delusional old woman full of bitterness and control issues, huh? You are a real piece of work. All this time, you’ve been claiming they’re just friends, while all along, you’ve been messing around with them in secret, just like I said you were.”
“No, she wasn’t!” Shannon bursts out of her seat facing off with her mother. “Kayla has been completely loyal and never asked us to have Jaime and Symone! We did this! We kissed them. We fell in love with both of them and we kissed them. We changed our relationship with them, not Kayla. Kayla has done nothing wrong. She is the most perfect and pure thing in this world. Stop attacking my wife all the goddamn time! I’m sick of it! God, do you know how fucking hard she works for us? Can’t you see everything she does for us? Look at the life she has given all of us! Given you!”
“Being a millionaire doesn’t excuse her morality failures. She tricked all of you into this. She made all of you be in this family because she wants to sleep around with a bunch of women, while keeping all of you to herself.”
Madison suddenly stands up looking furious, like she’s going to punch Debbie in the face.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I started this family, not Kayla, so back off.”
“You’re all just protecting her so you can keep living like the rich and famous.”
I storm across the room and walk out, pushing through the family. I grab a bottle of whiskey and two tumbler glasses from the kitchen. I push through the family again and sit on the floor in front of the coffee table, in view of everyone.
While I pour two glasses, I ask Debbie, “Do you know why I don’t like to drink?”
“No.”
“For one, I hate the taste. But mainly, it’s because I just can’t keep my mouth shut when I drink. Things just freely spill out, even things I don’t want anyone to know. Sit down. You’re going to have a drink with me and we’re going get to know each other better.”
“I’m not sitting…”
“You have two choices here, Debbie. You can take this opportunity to basically interrogate me under the effects of what is essentially a ‘truth-serum’ for me. Or, you can get the fuck out of my house.”
“No, Kayla, you don’t have to do this.” Shannon kneels down next to me with tears in her eyes, and tries to take the glass of whiskey from my hand. I shake my head and kiss her lips. “I’d do anything for you, you know that. Your mom needs to learn how to trust me so she can stop driving you crazy.”
“This isn’t right. Family shouldn’t do this to each other.” Shannon is crying now and wraps her arms around me. “Your mom doesn’t see me as family. If she did, she’d let me into her heart. This is all I have left to try to win her over.”
“I accept.” Shannon pulls back looking horrified. “You are seriously going to make her do this? Isn’t her offer to put herself through this enough proof that we’re being truthful?”
“No. She’s an actress. She can say anything.”
Shannon starts to object again, but I press my lips to hers, cutting her off. Debbie takes a seat across from me, and everyone else awkwardly finds a place to sit, moving in closer together, to watch this disgusting interrogation.
I pass Debbie a glass of whiskey, raise my glass, and say, “Cheers”, before quickly emptying about three shots worth of burning hot firewater down my throat.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Ok, here are the rules. You cannot ask me anything personal about anyone else. If you make me reveal something that someone has told me in confidence, your ass will be back on a plane today. You also cannot pose scenarios or your own presumptions. You need to ask very direct questions. I may get side tracked, and you may have to ask the question more than once, but that doesn’t mean I’m dodging it. It’s just the effects of the alcohol. Got it?”
> “Understood.”
“Good. Now, drink.”
Debbie gives me a dirty look, and takes a few sips of whiskey. I pour myself another glass and take another gulp, instantly feeling it in my head.
“Ok, ask your first question.”
“How did you end up as a family?”
“Everyone already knows this, but whatever. Madison asked me if we could have a threesome with a girl we met at a party. At the time, I was still waiting to know if Awenasa was ever going to give me a real relationship. So, as long as Awenasa was ok with it, I was happy to give Madison what she wanted. In my mind, if both of them could be ok with a scenario like that, then it gave me hope that I could still have Awenasa one day without having to choose between them because I was in love with both of them. Sam showed up that weekend on our campus, and things happened with the four of us. After I was hospitalized, we met Shannon and Madison and I developed feelings for her, while Madison was also developing feelings for Sam. After being in the hospital for a week, Madison decided she wanted to try to make a family work with Sam and Shannon.”
“Awenasa knew you were going to have a threesome before you had one?”
“Yes, I sent her a text to ask if anything would change between us if I allowed it to happen.”
“What if she had said, no?” I smile and shake my head. “You may not pose scenarios. Only ask me questions about what really happened.”
“Fine. Did you ask to be with Sam when she showed up?” I shake my head and take another sip of whiskey. “No.”
“Why did Madison want Sam to join?”
“That’s something personal about Madison, not me. Move on.” Debbie purses her lips in frustration and squints her eyes for a moment. “Why were you kissing Jaime?”
My head suddenly gets woozy. I grab my head and rest it on the edge of the coffee table.
“Feeling guilty for being caught red handed?” I look up at Debbie and laugh a little. “You really think you caught me doing something I shouldn’t be when my wives were sitting right next me?” Debbie scowls at me and my head spins again. “Why do people say that – ‘I caught you red handed’? Where does that come from?”