Like a Good Wife (Oahu Naval Officers Book 2)

by Drea Braddock

  She nods, adopting an innocent, doe-eyed expression. “Do you guys have anything you need to work out? We could change places.”

  Ka‘eo suddenly looks absolutely wolfish. “I could think of a few things we could address.” Norah bites her lip, looking a little flushed.

  I laugh at their complete inability to hide their plans. “Cool, we’ll take the paddle boards out. Don’t get too…heated. I don’t want to have to bail ya’ll out.” They both flip me off and we hop off the boat, still laughing. We paddle out a long way, not because I care about giving them time to make out, but because I enjoy Nalani’s company. I’m not sure what I did with my time before I met her. Anything I do on my own feels empty in comparison. We see some big sea turtles and the bay is quiet and peaceful. Once we paddle back, we have 45 minutes left before we need to return the boat to marina. We pull out the rest of the food and eat, laugh, and cuddle up until it’s time to go. I guide us back to the base thinking about how thankful I am that I buddied up with Norah on deployment, that our noisy housemates brought Ka‘eo into her life, and that I convinced Nalani to marry me. Life is good.

  When we get back home, Nalani and I shower off the sand and salt water and I do my best to show her how much I appreciate her. I hope she gets it.

  39

  Nalani

  Once a week, I pick Hazel up from school and bring her home with me for piano lessons. She’s an eager and attentive student although, like most 7-year-olds, I do have to redirect her attention quite a bit. She’s a sweetheart though. It was the option that makes the most sense, as Issa wouldn’t have to drive back and forth with Thomas and Millie in tow. Plus, I’m actually really enjoying teaching her and that little window of time each week that she calls “girl time” when I drive her to our apartment and then drive her home when we’re done. It does occur to me that, outside of playing chauffeur to a child, I don’t have any girl time in my life. For the first time in a long time, I want to remedy that. I want to extend my circle a little.

  Me: Do you want to do a girl hang?

  Norah: What does that involve?

  Me: I don’t actually know. I don’t really have girlfriends

  Norah: Hmm, how about pedicures?

  Me: Sure! Saturday morning-ish?

  Norah: Cool—I can make an appt and pick you up

  I’m skipping around the room, probably looking a bit crazed, when Ames walks in the door from work.

  “Should I ask what’s happening here?”

  I giggle. “I made a girl date with Norah!”

  “Nice!” He gives me a high five and we both pause, staring at our hands. “That was weird. We’re not really high fivers, I guess.”

  “Definitely not.” I agree.

  Ames grabs my butt instead and I yelp, leaping away from him. “Is that not better? I thought maybe we were…butt fivers. Cheek fivers? Neither of those work. I don’t know, Darlin', I’m struggling to find our thing.” He’s now chasing me around the apartment, trying to grab my butt again while I giggle and dodge away from him.

  “Maybe we don’t get to celebrate. Isn’t that sad? All because we can’t pull off a convincing high five. Or a butt five. Cheek five? Would it be a cheek five if it’s my five fingers connecting with your butt? Or does that not count?” He catches me easily, wrapping his arms around my waist and hauling me up in the air. I’m now laughing hysterically.

  “This is no laughing matter, Lani! What will we do when we accomplish awesome things? Air five like a couple of losers? Secret handshake? Maybe we should give up.”

  I’m gasping for air, giggling. “That does seem like the obvious answer, Ames.” I nod solemnly. “We should just give up. Stop trying completely.” He drops me on the bed and collapses next to me.

  “I don’t know if I’m suited for a life of not trying. I’m a doer at heart. You have good ideas, Lani, I’ll leave it to you. I’m confident you’ll figure something out.”

  “You are ridiculous, Ames Cabot. I like you.”

  Saturday morning Norah picks me up after breakfast and we go to her favorite nail place.

  “I wouldn’t have pegged you as someone with a favorite nail place, Norah. You are a woman of many layers.”

  “I am, thanks for noticing! I don’t really care one way or another about having my nails painted, but I do love the hot soak, scrub and massage part.”

  “I like the way you think. A good foot massage sounds perfect right about now.”

  We pick out colors while our chairs are being set up. Norah chooses a surprising shade of bright pink. She notices my reactions and shrugs one freckled shoulder.

  “What? I like pink. If I’m going to get my nails painted, they might as well be pretty!”

  I can’t argue with that logic. I decide to go that route as well and pick a peachy-pink that works with my skin tone. We sink into the deep, cushioned chairs, slipping our feet into the bubbling heated water. Norah sighs.

  “That’s the shit right there!”

  Norah doesn’t do girl talk like anyone I’ve ever met. There’s no giggling, but there are sailor swears and diving in deep. She doesn’t do delicate tiptoeing around topics, Norah barrels her way through everything with gusto. I both like her and am super intimidated by her.

  “What are we even supposed to talk about? I spend way too much time around guys who try, and fail, to shock me with their juvenile antics. Do we small talk or can I jump straight to the juicy stuff?”

  “What juicy stuff are you looking for?”

  “Listen, I’ve shared a room with Cabot. We’re tight. But it was also easy to forget he’s a man because I don’t think of him that way and he never had a lady during the duration of our friendship. Now I feel like it’s my duty to ask: what’s he like?”

  “When?”

  “Don’t be dense, Nalani. I know what he’s like as a person! How’s the sex? What’s he like?”

  “Oh!” I blush, my face feeling like the blazing surface of the sun. “Um…”

  “Here, I can make you uncomfortable first since I’m married to your cousin! You’ve seen Ka‘eo, he’s a fucking giant. All tall and wide and muscles on muscles. And that is, 100%, an indication of what he’s like everywhere.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively and I bark out a surprised laugh. “He’s big and strong and soooo good. At everything. There are things that man has done to me that I didn’t even know were possible.”

  Our nail technicians are openly gaping at us, but Norah waves at them dismissively. “I have no shame, ladies. You can’t make me feel embarrassed that my husband is a sexy beast and making love with him is like being part of creating a masterpiece. Oh, I’ve gotta remember that one. K will think sex masterpiece is hilarious!” She actually gets out her phone and makes a note. We’re all laughing now, the nail techs not even pretending not to be listening while they work on our toenails. “Ok, I’ve given you a little dirt, you go!”

  Her blunt delivery and lack of shame makes me feel more comfortable. What do I have to be embarrassed about?

  “Ames naked is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. My husband is so gorgeous it’s ridiculous. And it’s not just that he knows how to use what he’s got, Norah. He’s…everything.” I’m gushing, but I can’t help it. If we’re going to talk about this, I have to be genuine. “I’ve never been with someone who is so giving and attentive and fun. He makes me feel comfortable and seen.”

  “That’s the dream right there. Is there anything that Ames isn’t good at?”

  I know she’s just being rhetorical, but I answer anyway. “Talking about his feelings.”

  “Oh, shit. I forgot that Ames is basically me with a dick. That sucks. Poor Issa has had quite the time helping me figure out what I’m feeling over the past year! To-do lists and setting goals I can handle! Feelings? Not so much.”

  “He’s definitely the same way. Most of the time we talk things through. He helps me weigh my options and make decisions without becoming overwhelmed and I help him slow down and feel thi
ngs instead of rushing through them to the next task. It works really well, except for when the feelings in question are about us. I don’t want to have to talk him through what he feels for me. I have a difficult enough time doing that for myself. I know he needs to figure things out, whatever they are, but in that particular case I don’t want to be the one to be the sounding board. However he gets there, I want to know and be told without having to put in the work beforehand. Is that awful?”

  Norah has a look of intense concentration. “I don’t think so. But what would he need to work through that you don’t want to help him with?”

  Shit! We were speaking plainly, and this is something that’s been weighing on me. I forgot that Norah thinks we fell in love and got married over the course of a weekend. What am I going to do now?

  “Uh…well…” think, Nalani, think! “Everything happened so fast, for us. We had all that build up, between meetings and then the bubble weekend. Ames didn’t want to be apart again and he’s very persuasive, I got swept up right along with him. But even though we got married, we’re still finding our way in the relationship, the same way anyone would. We’ve only been together a few months. He’s very affectionate and supportive. He takes care of me and makes me feel desirable. But he doesn’t talk about feelings. I don’t really know how he feels about me. He’s always taking care of me, but is that just who he is or are there deeper feelings behind that? Like, is it deep friendship? Is there affection? Is it more? It’s the one place in my life where I feel truly insecure, and I don’t want to have to ask him.”

  Norah is gentle and the change is unexpected, bringing tears to my eyes. “He’s never said he loves you?” I shake my head, unable to speak. She bites her lip. “That is unconventional and I can totally see how that would fuck with your head. You shouldn’t have to walk him through his feelings to find out if he loves you. Nobody wants to drag that out of their partner. Do you love him?”

  “I don’t know. So I guess that’s a no, but I’m unsure.”

  “Fuck. That’s hard. I wish I knew what to tell you! I feel like I’m failing you as a friend right now!”

  “You’re not! It’s a relief to talk about it, actually. I’ve had it bottled up and it’s been making me crazy. But, please Norah, promise me you won’t say anything to him? I’ve never been in love before, and I feel really cautious about going there now because of the contract.”

  My stomach drops and Norah swivels her head to stare at me. Shit!

  “Come again?” Norah has gone from sweet and animated to deadly still. Contrary to what I’d like to do, I don’t think I can pretend that she mis-heard me.

  “Shit, shit, shit! I wasn’t supposed to say anything. We agreed. It’s Rule #1!”

  “There are rules?! Explain yourself, Nalani Cabot.”

  “Ames and I have an…arrangement. We are literally friends with benefits. Navy benefits. Well, and sex. But the marriage part came about because of the Navy benefits, not the sex.”

  “I don’t understand anything that we’re talking about right now. Please talk to me like I’m an idiot, I’m very confused.”

  “The bubble was real. The whole weekend was fun and romantic, and I think I was high on the sex and being pursued and wanted by someone like Ames. I told him about the breast cancer stuff early on and before the weekend was out, he asked me to marry him. He said he wanted to treat it like dating, while living together, but if we were married then I would have good insurance.”

  “So, Cabot invited you up to his hotel room, romanced you, then proposed to you that way he could take care of you?”

  “Essentially, yes.”

  “If that’s not the weirdest, most fucking Ames thing I’ve ever heard in my life! Then what are the two of you?”

  “I don’t know!” I drop my head into my hands, groaning. “This would be infinitely easier if it was only a business arrangement! We are definitely good friends. The sex is unbelievable. In fact, the physical part of things is the easiest part. I don’t even have to think about it, it feels like he was made for me and I was made for him.” Norah gives me a knowing look. “BUT this whole thing has an expiration date. Ames has been the same from day one. He’s been funny, caring, attentive, affectionate and none of that has changed. I don’t think his feelings for me have changed since the bubble because his behavior hasn’t changed, his actions haven’t changed. I don’t know if I can even let myself consider falling for him when he seems to simply care for me and we both agreed we can walk away, free and clear, come November.”

  “It’s going to take me a bit to wrap my head around this, but your secret is safe with me. I won’t even tell Ka‘eo. We don’t need him crashing his giant body around, trying to fix things or being pissed at Ames.”

  I smile at the mental picture. K has the build to be like a bull in a china shop. We move over to the drying tables to set our toenail polish. The massage was awesome, and my feet look pretty, but the real girl date prize was the conversation. There’s a relief in sharing our secret. It strikes me that, for maybe the first time in my life, I have a close girlfriend. I’m elated. And I’m scared. What happens to this relationship when the year is up? Am I going to lose him and the friendships he brought into my life? I could end up being more alone than I’ve ever been.

  40

  Ames

  We ended up deciding to bring the weight rack home and setting it up in our carport. Now it’s easier for Nalani to work out with me. This also means that K comes over here a few times a week, and that’s cool. Now that Nalani is weight training with me, Norah likes to come over too. We work out, the four of us, sometimes they stay for dinner, but not always. Tonight we’re finishing up leg day, giving Ka‘eo shit about the fact that his quads are bigger than Nalani. Dude’s a beast. My girl’s definitely getting stronger though and it makes it more fun doing it with friends.

  K and Norah head back home and we go upstairs to get cleaned up and make dinner. I’m rifling through the fridge, pulling out the ingredients for some pasta, when Nalani marches out, her jaw set in frustration. It takes a lot to make her angry and I have to wonder what I’ve done. She doesn’t tend to let regular, little things get to her; it has to be me. But her work with her therapist has really been showing lately. It’s a big step for her and I love seeing her come into her own.

  She stands there, clenching her teeth and her fists rhythmically. I’ve come to know this routine, even though it doesn’t happen that often. She’s psyching herself up to confront me. I let her be, continuing to work on dinner until she’s ready. I don’t mind waiting. I’d pretty much do anything for her and I’m so proud of her for working on talking to me when she’s upset.

  “Ames!” She says, trying to sound forceful.

  “Yes, Darlin'?”

  “Do you know where the washer and dryer are?”

  “Is this a trick question?”

  “Just answer.”

  “Yes, Lani. They’re down in the carport. Why?”

  “I wanted to make sure. For some reason, no matter how many times I mention it, you like to leave your gross, smelly workout clothes hanging in the bathroom. Why? Do you like for me to have to shower with that sweaty stench locked in there with me?”

  I try not to smile. She’s really cute when she gets worked up.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. I do forget. Is there something we can do to make that a little easier? A system of some kind?”

  She fixes her gaze on a distant spot, giving it serious consideration as I’m shredding zucchini and browning turkey sausage. “Well, if you wouldn’t feel too self-conscious, you could leave your shorts and shirt in the carport before you come up.”

  “Your plan is for me to strip down to my underwear before I come upstairs?”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “If it makes it easier for you, I will gladly leave the majority of my sweaty clothes down with the washing machine before I come up. What will you do with your clothes?”

  “Um,
I guess I’ll take them down to the wash after I shower.”

  “Good idea. Then would you mind taking my boxers down with your stuff, that way they’re not left in here to bother you?”

  She smiles at me, all of her frustration gone. “That’s a great plan. Thanks. I hate being frustrated with you.”

  “Me too. Sorry I’m frustrating.” I’m still thinking about how far she’s come, dealing with problems she has with me, being willing to talk through them, as I finish throwing the sauce together. I’ve never been with someone so keen to work on the relationship with me. It makes me more confident that I won’t be blindsided in the future with Nalani as my partner.

  We eat dinner and while Nalani is washing the dishes I go down to the carport and start a load of laundry: our workout clothes. It’s the least I can do after she was brave enough to confront me over it. I’m feeling a little chilly while loading everything up, but it’s probably only the fact that it’s winter. When it’s basically in the 80’s year-round, a ten-degree difference can feel like a lot more. I start the washer and go back upstairs, pulling on a hooded sweatshirt before joining my girl on the couch. After a few minutes I get up again and grab some socks. Nalani gives me a funny look but doesn’t say anything. We’re watching a show, it’s not even very late, but my head starts to feel a little fuzzy and the next thing I know Nalani is whispering to me, telling me I should get into the bed instead of sleeping on the couch.

  My body is hurting a little as I get up. I didn’t think I went that hard during the workout, but K was there, I might have overdone it trying to keep up with him. It wouldn’t be the first time. We can get a little competitive and he’s a beast. I climb into bed, leaving on my hoodie and socks, curling up on my side. Nalani covers me with the sheet and an extra blanket and then spoons me from behind, wrapping her arm around my side and weaving her fingers through mine. I’m shivering some, but I feel warmer with her next to me and I fall into a troubled sleep.