Page 103 of Just Enough

Jared laughed. “Prepare yourself. It gets harder every year.” Katie smacked his arm. “Make that every second.” She pinched him this time, and it had us all laughing.

“You’ll have to come to see us once we get settled in and bring my little butterball, Jeffy.”

Katie laughed. “I will.”

Jared nudged her shoulder and looked at us. “They should make Jeff a playmate.”

I straightened my spine as I sat on the stool and made no move whatsoever to look back to see Benjamin’s reaction to his words because I was too busy sputtering. “Oh no, no, no. We’ve just gotten together.”

Katie just grinned that grin of hers, and now I understood Benjamin a little better when it came to her. “You’ve known each other forever though.”

“Leave her alone,” Benjamin told them, and I finally turned my head to see his elbow propped up on the bar counter with his cheek resting against his knuckles as he watched me. Just like that, I had another surreal moment where I couldn’t believe I was the object of his affections.

And because of that, I couldn’t wait to go home with him tonight.

I was ready for a life spent beside him.

“I want to go home,” I blurted rather breathlessly.

Benjamin’s eyes lit up, and he pushed his elbow off the bar. “Emily, we were just kidding. Don’t go,” Katie said, laughing lightly.

I turned around and shook my head with a smile. “No... It’s not that. I just…”

Katie arched an eyebrow. “Oh, I see. Shoo, then. I’ll see you when I see you.”

I surprised her with a hug. “You know I love you?” I asked her.

She sighed, then hugged me back. “You’re not gonna be forever away, we’ll survive. Go and make babies with yo man.” I leaned back and met her eyes. “I mean, go practice making babies.”

_______

Benjamin

I wasn’t sure if Emily and I ever talked about having kids throughout our friendship. We managed to talk about everything under the moon except kids. Even though I never brought it up, kids had always been something I wanted in my future. But for the first time, I wasn’t sure how Emily felt about them. She adored Katie’s baby, but never once had she talked about wanting to have some of her own one day.

She was quiet as I drove us back to the apartment. I felt the heat of her gaze on me the entire time.

As curious as I was about if she wanted kids, I knew there was something even more important to talk about. Emily wasn’t completely honest about the reason why she’d never been drunk before. I didn’t even think she was honest with herself. It wasn’t that she was afraid of getting drunk around the wrong people which probably played a big part of it though. It almost looked like she hadn’t wanted to drink at Crash’s at all.

Two shots and that was it. And there was a vulnerability in her eyes that I wanted to wipe away, but I didn’t understand what was wrong. Over the years, she’d tried many times to get me to drink with her, and she seemed genuine. Her reaction tonight wasn’t one of excitement but reluctance.

“Did Katie scare you with the baby talk tonight?” Emily broke the silence with her question.

“How is making babies with you in any way terrifying?” I met her eyes long enough for her to see that I meant it before I refocused my attention back on the road. I pulled into the parking lot.

“Do you want kids?” she carefully asked as I turned off the truck.

“I do.” I watched her unbuckle. “What about you?”

She leaned back. “I do,” she answered. “But not tonight or next month.”

I smirked as I climbed out of the truck. I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close as we went up the steps to our apartment. We didn’t speak any more until we were inside the apartment. The moment we stepped through the door, Emily started undressing, throwing a bra in one direction and tore out of her jeans as she walked and flopped down on the couch. “Being an adult has its perks. It’s so fun to strip down to your undies when you get home.”

I chuckled as I walked over to the fridge, took out a wine cooler for Emily and a beer for me. Before our plans at Crash’s came to be, I had made plans to get her drunk tonight, but now I was all about unwinding my girl and finding out what she was so hung up on when it came to drinking.

And just as the thought hit me, I figured it out.

Her dad. He was an alcoholic her entire life until now. Her take on drinking was probably drastically different from anyone else’s even if she didn’t admit it or acknowledge it.

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