Page 38 of Between the Paragraphs

“Good find on this place,” I tell her, more than wanting to change the subject.

She laughs. “Okay, okay, change the subject so we don’t have to talk about your sex life for now,” she says. She leads me into the house. “And, yes, I did amazing. I’m in love with this house already. I’m more than willing to pack my bags and move here permanently.”

“We both make good money, but properties like this are out of our price range beyond a weekend or two a year,” I tell her.

“I’ll keep dreaming. Someday it will come true,” she assures me.

“I have zero doubts about it. There will be a time we have the world at our fingertips because we’re powerful, smart, talented, and amazing.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” she says.

She then leads me to my room where I quickly change into my swimwear. It takes no time to put some things together and then make our way to the beach. As soon as we’re sitting in the sun with the sound of waves hitting the shore, and drinks in our hands, the last of my worries drift away. No more guilt and no more stress. That’s what this is all about.

One thing that’s essential on our girl weekends is to put our phones away. We can check them right before bed, but often we don’t even do this, because we don’t want to take a chance that something might come up to cause us stress, or make us think about work. This is a stress free zone.

This weekend it might be harder than normal for me to ignore my phone knowing that Mason’s most likely texted me. I should’ve sent him a message letting him know about our hands-off policy with electronics on getaways. I might pay for this later. But some things are more important, and Nikki and I have vowed that no matter who we’re with or what we’re doing in life, we’re still going to make time for each other.

Friendships fade because people don’t nourish them. Just as plants need watering and fed, so do our souls, and our relationships most certainly do. I think at least half of marriages could be saved with following this policy. We might live in a house with a person, but they can become a stranger if we don’t take the time to know them, to see how they’ve changed, and to cultivate the relationship. This is so much easier said than done as we get sucked into our own worlds.

We’re on our second drink when Nikki brings up Bentz. I’m a little surprised. He’s so not her usual type. I’ve always had a bit of a thing for athletes. The amount of training, dedication, time, and raw talent impresses me. Nikki’s always been far more into brainiacs.

“Bentz is a lot smarter than a person might initially see,” she tells me with her eyes twinkling. “We had fun last night. It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed talking to someone so much. Normally, the first few days of meeting a man are great, but then their true colors come out and I realize how boring they truly are. Bentz can hold a conversation better than most people I know.”

“I’m shocked,” I admit. “I’m happy for you as well.”

“Don’t get too excited. We’ll see how long it will last. I’m just saying this might be our first girl weekend together I miss my phone,” she admits.

I laugh. “I was thinking the same thing. I forgot to tell Mason about our no phone policy. I’m not sure how he’s going to handle it.”

Nikki’s eyes widen. “You might want to send him a quick text tonight so he doesn’t think you’ve left him.”

I shake my head. “Honestly, if our relationship is that weak, then I should know now, shouldn’t I?”

She frowns at me. “I don’t know. That seems a lot like playing games.”

I shake my head. “I swear it’s not playing games. But Mason and I both have busy lives. If we’re so fragile we can’t take a couple of days of no communication I’d rather know now. You know how slammed I get at times where I can’t get on the phone. I’ve had men who couldn’t handle this in the past. I think Mason’s tough enough for it.”

“Did you forget to tell him about the no-phone policy, or was this on purpose?”

I look at her for a moment. “I honestly can’t answer that,” I admit. “I want to think I simply forgot, but maybe a part of me is testing our relationship. I hate that I’m doing it.”

“You’ve been burned. It’s natural,” she says. “Don’t beat yourself up over it.” She then smiles. “Besides the weekend blackout, how are things going?”

A real smile crosses my lips. “Better than expected. He’s charming, confident, and seriously screwing with my normally controlled emotions. I think it’s in a good way, though.”

“Anyone who can mess with your emotions gets a few bonus points in my book,” Nikki says.

“Maybe,” I tell her. “I can admit I’m serious about him which scares me. Every other relationship I thought was serious didn’t work out. I have a feeling this man could break my heart unlike anyone else. I’m constantly thinking about him which isn’t usual at all. Normally when I’m in work mode, I’m fully in work mode.”

“I wouldn’t analyze it too much. As long as you’re happy, that’s what counts. Sometimes we think about the future far too much. It’s better for us to stay in the present sometimes.”

“I can agree with that,” I tell her. We clink our glasses together.

“How about the sex?” she asks.

I give her a big grin. “It’s honestly the best I’ve ever had. The man has all of the right parts, fingers, tongue . . . and he isn’t lacking at all if you know what I mean.” I waggle my eyebrows suggestively.

“I most certainly know what you mean,” she says with a giggle.

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