Page 46 of The Run Home
Two weeks had passed,during which Boon snuck into my bed most nights of the week, sometimes for more of the hate-fucking I loved so much and sometimes for something that was just as intense but softer and deeper. I tried not to read too much into any of it. Boon had plenty of women in his time as a major league baseball player. I was one of many. I simply enjoyed the orgasms and didn’t wish for more.
Today we met at Lydia’s little house for our HAGS meeting. My stomach was unsettled, probably because it was almost that time of the month for me. There were quite a few things I loved about getting older—the confidence, the perspective, the bank account from having a steady job—but the one I didn’t particularly care for was the wonky periods.
Every time I was late or early, it reminded me that soon I wouldn’t have a cycle anymore, which then reminded me of my failure to reproduce. There for a few years when I’d been married, I’d wanted nothing more than to have a baby. All the tests and perfunctory sex and peeing on sticks had consumed mylife. Not being able to get pregnant had been one of the three strikes in our marriage that had led to divorce.
With no prospects of husbands or babies on the horizon, I’d done a lot of self-reflecting the last ten years and was finally okay with how my life had turned out. There was more to life than having kids, and I was living life to the fullest according to my own desires.
“Not having any chips and guac?” Lydia asked me, the group of us sitting around Lydia’s tiny dining table, snacks and drinks liberally distributed.
Us HAGS knew how to eat. We didn’t show up with a veggie tray. We had everything savory and sweet that made us moan when we slipped it into our mouths. Life was short: eat the good food.
My stomach flipped just looking at the green goo. “No, thanks. My stomach’s being weird.”
Lydia wrinkled her nose. “I’m so glad I don’t get food aversions every month like you do. If anything, my hormones require I eat everything in sight.”
“Same,” Rosemary groaned. “I love my body, but I must say, it certainly doesn’t metabolize the same amount of calories that it used to in my twenties.”
“And not to be a downer, but wait ’til you’re pushing forty.” I made a face that made them all laugh.
Lydia scoffed. “Please. As the only one getting action, I think your body is just fine.”
At the silence following her statement, her eyes went wide and her head snapped in my direction. The color drained from her face. She mouthedI’m sorry.
“What?” Hattie snapped. “You’re getting action, Shae?”
Fifi leaned over the table, a hungry look on her face that had nothing to do with the food between us. “You better spill right now.”
I dropped my head for a second and then took a deep breath. It was fine. Honestly, I shouldn’t have been keeping a secret from my friends, nor was it fair to expect Lydia to keep my secret too. I reached over and squeezed her hand to show her I wasn’t mad.
“So, I wasn’t going to say anything because I thought it was just a onetime thing, but it’s become a bit of a habit now.”
“Get to the good stuff,” Rosemary snapped.
I bit back a laugh. “Boon and I are fucking.”
Hattie shrieked and slapped both hands over her mouth. Fifi clapped, then stood and bowed, like I’d become some sort of sex queen in her eyes.
Rosemary just shook her head. “Damn, girl. I’m trying real hard not to be jealous.”
“Is he hung like a horse?” Hattie whispered from behind her hands, eyes wide.
That did make me laugh. I felt my cheeks growing hot. I nodded, unable to speak. Hattie shrieked again, standing up next to Fifi. The two of them danced around like idiots. God, I loved my friends.
Rosemary finally laughed. “You know we’re living vicariously through you, right? You gotta spill the details.”
So, I did. I told them about the first night and how that had somehow extended into almost every night since. They were all wide-eyed and giddy by the time I got done. I wished I could have joined them, but I felt exhausted.
“Damnnn…” Fifi breathed. “So you got to use those jumbo condoms we all bought to tell the universe we’re ready for the big D? I can’t believe it worked!”
I nodded, though Boon mostly brought his own condoms with him.
“You don’t seem that happy about this turn of events?” Hattie observed, turning it into a question.
I put a hand on my stomach. “I’m just not feeling well. I think I’m getting my period. That or some stomach bug.”
Rosemary frowned. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”
The girls gasped and I grimaced. “No! We used condoms. And besides, I can’t get pregnant.”
