Page 69 of Jagged

"Okay." He glanced over at the others. "I think I know."

"You probably do."

"When do you wanna go?"

"Um…maybe tomorrow?"

"'Kay." He grinned and ran his fingers through his hair. "This I know about."

"I know you do. Shh." I chuckled and shrugged. "Too well."

"Listen, I been through some shit. You've been through some shit. Let's take care of some shit." He grabbed me in a rough hug and smooched the top of my head. "C'mon. Let's put on a show for these kids and our hotties."

"Oh my god, stop that now." I laughed and joined him in the roughhousing that hopefully wouldn't cost me my teeth.

Clem and Tati seemed to bond that day, and I enjoyed seeing how animatedly they spoke to each other. Clem didn't act shy or appear to have any difficulty socializing with my two closest friends. I still worried about Frankie and thought I might keep them apart for as long as possible.

After an hour's worth of skating, and a lot more eating, I snatched the energy drink that Wyatt handed me then headed back to benches. Clem took my hand before I even sat, while Tati told her a story about something. I understood names of cities like Lisboa or Porto, but that's about it. Wyatt sat on the bench behind Tati and wrapped her up in a hug.

Without skipping a beat, they both slid back into English with our quartet united again.

"Mom loves Lisbon, and apparently so does my kid. So, there's that…" said Tati.

"I enjoyed it there as well, though the beaches and the historic places tickled my fancy much more," said Clem. "I would live there again."

"When are you taking me on a trip, babe?" asked Wyatt as he handed Tatiana a lemonade.

I offered Clem a bottle of water and she smiled when she accepted it. "Thanks."

"End of summer." She smooched his cheek. "When we go pick up Reagan. And thank you for the icy drink."

"Righteous," he said, pumping his fist along with it. "I'm down for that. And you're welcome."

"You better be." Tatiana grinned and nipped his cheek.

"Would you travel, Jagger?" asked Clem, her attention on me. "To somewhere far?"

"Um…probably not alone. But yeah, I would try it," I answered. "I haven't traveled anywhere much unless work took me there which is always in Washington State."

"If I took you somewhere, would you?" she reiterated her question with the change now.

I nodded my response. "Yeah. With someone who knows their way around like you do, I would."

She smiled at me and gave my hand a squeeze.

"You ladies up for a show and maybe dinner after?" asked Wyatt.

"Wait—" interrupted Tati. "No one respond until we have clarity." She turned to him now, her eyes narrowed. "What kind of show?"

Wyatt burst out laughing, lifting his hands in surrender. "An innocent one! C'mon. What do you take me for?"

"An entertainment con artist." She pointed her index finger at the end of his nose. "Last time you took me to a show, it was Drag Queen Story Hour. Don't get me wrong, I'm up for drag any time, but there were thirty kids at our feet listening to a dramatic narration of The Twinkling Unicorn of Westingham."

We all cracked up at that, and Clem tried to hide the depth of her amusement with her hand over her mouth.

"Twinkling Uni—what? That's not even a thing." Wyatt poked her forehead. "This show is a punk pop tribute in the park down the street. C'mon!" He laughed, waving his arms dramatically. "I'll buy everyone dinner after."

"Oh. Great. Now you're dating three queer ladies at once?" Tatiana huffed and puffed. "What even is this situation?"

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