Building the Nursery

by Amy DeMeritt

“Can you also grab something salty?” Shannon tickles Madison’s side for a moment, and stands up. “You should find a movie to watch. I’ll help Kayla.”

  Chapter Thirty

  We’ve been up nearly all night making love, talking, kissing, and basically just fighting falling asleep so we can be present with each other. So, we should be completely exhausted, but all of us are practically bouncing with energy. It’s not even eight in the morning on a Sunday, and we’re already awake and seeking out food in the kitchen.

  Our descent down the stairs was not very quiet, and as we’re moving around the kitchen gathering ingredients and utensils to cook, we’re aware of the fact that we’re being too loud, but every time we try to be quiet, we just laugh. I accidentally drop a frying pan, sending it clanging across the kitchen floor very loudly, causing Aura to bark once, and then I fall into a fit of loud laughter.

  Jaime wraps her arms around me from behind, and coos in my ear, in between quiet laughter, “You’re being so loud. You’re going to wake everyone up.”

  I laugh and turn in her arms. I grab her ass, and lift her up, having her wrap her legs around my waist. Jaime’s smile is absolutely mesmerizing.

  “You have been making your fair share of loudness throughout the night and this morning.” Jaime laughs and smacks my arm. “That was your fault.”

  “Oh, I believe you had five other women who had a part in making those wonderful sounds come out of you.”

  Jaime laughs and blushes bright red. She lays her head on my shoulder and squeezes me tightly.

  “What have you done to my life? You just keep taking my mediocre life and turning it into some wild and amazing adventure with so much happiness that I feel like I’m going to burst into a billion little shooting stars.”

  “You’re too amazing for mediocre.” Jaime lifts her head with a big smile and gives me a firm kiss on my lips. “Do you know how hard it is to look into those gorgeous blue eyes and not believe that? God, you make me feel like I’m a… I don’t know the word.”

  “A goddess?” Jaime looks over at Madison and smiles really big at her suggested adjective. “Yes, exactly. Do any of your feel betrayed or anything that I’ve felt like that all this time?” All of my wives smile and walk over to give her a kiss on the lips. Awenasa runs her fingers through Jaime’s hair, and says, “No, not at all.”

  “I’m starving. Are we going to cook now?”

  “You’ll have to let go of Jaime’s ass and set her down first.” I laugh a little, and squeeze Jaime’s ass, before I let her step down off of my waist. “I guess you can have your ass back, for now.”

  With an adorable giggle and a hop in her step, Jaime turns to help with meal preparations. I try really hard, but I know I’m still being too loud with my excitement and happiness. While we prepare the dough for cinnamon rolls, I attack my wives with kisses, dust their cheeks and noses with flour, and nibble on their necks and shoulders, making them laugh and equally giddy.

  I’m so distracting in my detours for intimacy that we need the entire hour of dough rising time to make other preparations for the giant breakfast hash we’re making to pair with the cinnamon rolls.

  Since Awenasa can’t have cinnamon, Shannon makes her a couple orange marmalade filled rolls, which look and smell amazing.

  Before we sit down to eat, Shannon makes us orange juice and ginger ale “cocktails” with lots of cherries, and Symone makes a pot of coffee. Symone blushes when she notices me watching her with a smile while she makes herself and Jaime a cup of coffee. The rest of us don’t really drink coffee much, but Symone and Jaime are accustomed to starting their day with a cup. Both of them take their coffee differently, and I love that they know how to make it just right for each other.

  Symone takes a sip of her coffee and while she breaks a small chunk off of her soft and gooey cinnamon roll, she clears her throat and looks at Awenasa.

  “How do we find out what our totems are? Do we have to do a special ritual or something?” Awenasa laughs a little at the anxious look on Symone’s face. She swallows her bite of food, takes a sip of juice and clears her throat. “It depends on what experience you want. If you want to discover it on your own, I can guide you through the process. If you just want me to tell you what I believe your totem is, we can do it right now while we share a meal. Or if you want it to have a little more of a ritualistic feeling, we can make a fire or go for a hike. It really depends on the journey you want to take to know yourself.”

  “I don’t want your food to get cold. Maybe we could sit by the fire afterwards?” Awenasa nods and squeezes Symone’s hand before picking up her fork. “Ok, we’ll do that.”

  “You already know what it is, don’t you?”

  “I do.” Symone bites her lip nervously. “How long have you known?”

  “For a long time. Would you like me to just tell you now?” Symone shakes her head and takes another sip of coffee. “No, you need to eat. I’ll wait.”

  Awenasa smiles in a patient way, and waits before taking a bite of food. Symone picks at her cinnamon roll and looks up biting her lip again. Awenasa’s smile widens, and Symone laughs in a cute shy way.

  “Have you told anyone else?”

  “No, I wouldn’t do that without you knowing first. Your totem is something very personal and sacred.”

  Symone smiles and pops a piece of cinnamon roll in her mouth. Symone holds Awenasa’s eyes in an intensely intimate way for a few moments, before Awenasa lifts her fork and starts eating.

  I’m really surprised that Jaime and Symone haven’t asked Awenasa sooner about finding out what their totems are. Keira, Jade, and Tonya asked her a long time ago. Even Candi, Carmen, and Whitney have sat with Awenasa to discover their totems.

  “Why aren’t you eating?” Madison nudges me in the arm, startling me. “Oh, sorry. This whole adorable shy totem flirting between Awenasa and Symone was distracting me.”

  “It was adorable.” Madison grins at Symone, who laughs a little and leans across the table to kiss Madison’s lips. “I have a confession.” Madison smiles really big and sits forward resting her chin on her upturned hand. “We’re listening.”

  “I’ve been borrowing books from your library in the office.” Madison lifts her head off her hand and licks her lips with a smile. “I was expecting a sexual confession, but this sounds even more intriguing. Which books did you borrow?”

  “Remember that book you were obsessed with in your fall semester last year? It was the one you used as the basis for your final paper in that class on the psychology of a child’s gender identity. I snuck that book into my suitcase when we started the tour for the TV show.”

  “Seriously?” Madison is smiling so big that her cheeks are glowing. “What did you think about it?”

  “The book was amazing. I had no idea that a child’s mind thinks so complexly about gender identity.”

  “What other books did you borrow?”

  “That super thick Eleanor Roosevelt biography that Sam is sometimes curled up with on the couch.” Sam scoffs and leans forward to smack Symone’s arm with a laugh. “I thought I had lost that! I was going crazy looking for it for two weeks. I thought Kayla hid it from me when it just reappeared. What else did you read?”

  “A book about the Trail of Tears that had me crying for hours. A book about Cherokee medicine. Oh, and a really interesting memoir written by a female swordfish boat captain.”

  “Why did you borrow the books in secret? You know we would have let you read them.” Symone smiles and looks down at her plate for a moment. “I wanted to learn more about the things that are important to all of you, but I thought if you knew I was doing it, you’d think it was a seduction tactic or something.”

  “That was really sweet you did that. I wish we had known though. It would have been nice discussing the books with you.” Symone smiles at Madison and shrugs a shoulder. “We can still discuss them. I did want to ask if I could read your paper you did on that book. Kayla was really proud o
f you and talked about it for days after she read it.” Madison smiles really big and bumps her shoulder against mine. “Ok, you can read it later.”

  “How come you didn’t borrow any of my books? You lost interest in me when you fell for my wives, didn’t you?” Symone laughs hard and leans across the table to kiss me. “No, baby, I didn’t lose interest in you. I get to spend more time with you than I get to spend with the others, so we get to talk more about the things that interest you.”

  “What about Jaime? Did you sneak any of her books?” Symone smiles and looks over at Jaime, who has an adorable curious smile and a quirked eyebrow, waiting for Symone’s answer. “Well, the same argument kind of applies. Jaime also mostly reads fiction. I didn’t borrow any of your books, because they’re in your bedroom and that felt like a big invasion of your privacy to go snooping in your room. But, I did buy a copy of a book I noticed you reading multiple times. I figured it must be one of your favorites, so I decided to read it to see why you like it so much.”

  “You noticed I have a favorite book?” Jaime looks genuinely touched and surprised. “What else have you noticed?”

  Symone traces her fingertip around the rim of her coffee mug, watching her finger’s progress for a moment, before meeting Jaime’s eyes with a loving smile.

  “Many things. When you sleep, you make cute purring sounds and snuggle in closer to whoever you’re lying on.” Jaime smiles and her creamy lightly tanned cheeks blush pink. “Your favorite spot on the couch and the deck-bench is right in the corner, unless you’re snuggling on someone. When you eat, you have this adorable habit of immediately wiping your mouth with a napkin after every bite, even though you don’t have anything on your mouth.” Jaime laughs and blushes brighter. “Oh, and you always lick your lips and then rub them together after taking a drink.”

  “That’s so cute – Symone is crazy in love with Jaime.”

  Sam’s comment makes Jaime blush brighter and laugh a little. Symone smiles really big and leans in to kiss Jaime. They kiss for a few moments, and as Symone releases her, Jaime says, “I love you too.” Symone pinches Jaime’s chin and winks with a cute grin as she leans back in her chair. “I know.”

  Madison nudges me in the arm again and giggles. I laugh and wrap my arms around her as I attack her with kisses and gentle bites on her arm and neck. She laughs and squirms in my arms.

  “You said you were starving and you’ve hardly touched your food.” I envelop her bottom lip with mine, sucking it firmly, before I release her. “I’m starving, but I’m distracted and still a little in shock that all of this is happening.”

  “You honestly didn’t think this would ever happen?” Symone looks a little hurt and guarded. I rub the back of my neck and lean back in my chair. “I don’t know. I could tell things were changing, like both of you were getting closer to my wives. I could tell all of you love each other. I guess I just tried not to think about it too much.”

  “Why not? Didn’t you want to be with us? Would you have never brought up the conversation if one of your wives hadn’t slipped up first, even though you could tell they probably wanted this too?”

  “No, I don’t know, possibly, but I just don’t know. I don’t like ‘what if’ scenarios.”

  “Symone…” Madison reaches out and takes Symone’s hand in both of hers. “Kayla has a very hard time asking for things she wants. She prefers to show what she wants through her actions. We’ve been able to tell for a while how Kayla feels about both of you. But, the rest of us just weren’t there yet. All of us had to feel the same way in order to make that decision. This wasn’t even supposed to happen. The five of us got married. We’re not supposed to be in love with anyone else. Kayla is probably the most loyal person any of us will ever meet. It’s not in her nature to ask for something that would challenge her loyalty and the trust others have in her. That doesn’t mean it was easy for her. We could see how hard it was for her having to limit her expressions of love with both of you.”

  “So, all of you have talked about this before? Sam didn’t just come out of left-field and kiss me?” Madison laughs a little, while glancing at Sam for a moment. “No, that was pretty much out of left-field. But so was my invitation to both of you to enter the bedroom while Kayla was naked. We like seeing Kayla happy and sharing her love. It’s beautiful to watch. For me personally, it’s also a turn on. I guess that’s what happened when I invited you into the room. After all of us kissed, we had to own up to our own feelings. We had discussed before that we love both of you and feel like you are a part of our family, but we were holding back. We didn’t realize that we are actually in love with you, till that morning.”

  “Even you? You didn’t realize your feelings till that moment?” Symone directs the question to Awenasa, who smiles and shakes her head. “I was not confused about my feelings. I was just hesitant to explore them. Like Madison said, this wasn’t supposed to happen. When the girls allowed Kayla to have me, without having to choose, a deal was made that no one else was allowed into the family. If someone fell in love again, they had to choose between that person and the family.”

  Symone looks down and pulls her hand free from Madison. She clears her throat and stands up, looking very upset.

  “Ok.”

  “Wait, Symone…” I stand up, and she shakes her head and takes a step towards the backdoor. “No, its fine. I get it. If someone hadn’t slipped, you would have chosen to just let us go, because you have to be loyal to the rules and not your heart. I get it.”

  “Symone, sit down.” Awenasa speaks with a firmness, but there is love and compassion in her tone. Symone hesitates, and looks at Awenasa, unsure what to do. “Please, sit.”

  Taking a deep breath, Symone sits, but remains perched on the edge of her chair and ready to bolt out of here at any moment.

  “I was not uncertain about my feelings for you and Jaime, and I could tell how my wives felt, but because we are married and that deal had been made, this had to be left to manifest itself the way it did. Discussing it could have swayed the decision. Had we discussed this and tried to consciously decide to invite both of you into our family, our egos may have forced us to make a painful decision against it. Discussing it may have caused an unnecessary fight and tension. I know you could feel it – that all of us were drawing closer to both of you. Didn’t you feel like it was inevitable?”

  Symone’s full lips curl into a small smile and she shrugs her shoulder.

  “Yeah, I could tell something was changing, especially when all of you came back from California, after Kayla finished filming her movie. Things were very different after we were apart for two months. What if none of you had slipped though? What if all of you were as strong as Kayla and able to resist how you feel? Would you have talked about it then?”

  “I don’t like ‘what ifs’, at all. Why can’t we just be happy and accept things for how they happened?”

  “Kayla, I am happy. I just…” Sam leans forward and clears her throat. “Don’t. Seriously, it’s not worth it. I used to always ask those kinds of questions and it almost killed Kayla once. We try to live presently, not in the past, and we only pose positive hypotheticals for the future.”

  “Why are you always almost dying? You really need to knock it off.” I smile and grab my cinnamon roll, tearing off a small bite. “I do my best every day to remain here with all of you for as long as possible.”

  Symone looks in my eyes for a moment, like she’s in deep thought. Without another word, she just gives me a small smile and picks up her fork to keep eating.

  While we eat, Madison gets the conversation focused on something less emotionally charged, and we talk about our upcoming trip to California for one of our big convention center choreography camps. This is going to be a huge event and last all day and night. Aside from having merchandise tables for mine and the dance squad’s branded products, the dance apparel company Jaime and I have, W&G Apparel, will also have a booth at the event.

  We also sold
space for a few food vendors and some local dance studios to set up a booth to try to recruit new students. Sara also booked a talent agency to be on site for students to seek representation to line up dance jobs. Sara wants our students to have more to do between their sessions, so they’re not bored, but she was very selective about who she allowed to be on the premises so we won’t have any real competitors to our own brand there. Having the booths also helps to lower our cost for hosting the event and increases our revenue. It worked out really well in Florida.

  After we finish eating, my wives send Jaime and I outside to get the firepit ready, while they clean up. I take Aura outside with us so she can run around and get some air, and I laugh as she leaps off of the deck like an excited kid and starts chasing a butterfly.

  “Hey, can I ask you something?” Jaime looks up at me from grabbing a chunk of wood off of the firewood stack against the back of the house. “You can ask me anything, Kayla.” She straightens up and dusts her hands off, facing me and giving me her full attention. “Are you and Symone really ok with being together like this or are you just sucking it up so you can be with us?”

  Jaime laughs a little and wraps her arms around my neck. She kisses my lips and brushes a hand through my hair.

  “I promise, I’m not just bearing with her so I can be with you and your wives. Symone is not the same person she used to be. I still think it would have been hard to just be with Symone when my heart was torn between all of you. I felt like I was already in a relationship with all of you. If Symone and I were having sex, but we weren’t having sex with all of you, I think it would have felt like we were being shunned or something. It would have been less painful to find someone outside of all of this to be with and continue as we were with all of you. And before you ask, no, I definitely do not want anyone outside of this family. This is what I want and have wanted since the first couple weeks I knew you and your wives. I’ve been in love with all of you for a very long time.”