Page 7 of The Beginning
Before Shayna moved to Savannah, I visited her as much as possible, even though Jason hated it. Several years ago, Shayna and I met online through mutual friends and immediately connected. We met in an online group discussing romance books. We started discussing what genres we both enjoyed. After chatting with each other, we found we had so much in common and instantly became great friends.
It's crazy because of our connection and attraction to each other. We have some serious chemistry going on. Her husband knows but doesn’t really say anything. We playfully flirt with each other and joke around, but we don’t do anything further because she is married, and up until a few weeks ago, I was with Jason.
Jason hated it when we were playful around each other. I finally stopped bringing Shayna around with Jason. I would only visit her when Jason was at work or doing god knows what.
I’m still not sure if her flirtations are real or just playful. I doubt they are real, seeing as she has such an amazing family.
We’ve both read romance books about polyamorous relationships and also open marriages, but we’ve never discussed it with each other, only limiting it to discussing the dynamics of the books. I sometimes want to ask, just to feel out the situation, but I always chicken out. And when I get the nerve to hint about it, here comes Camden. That’s when I really bottle it up. Don’t get me wrong, Camden is hot just like Shayna, and we’ve joked around about things as well, but that’s all it’s ever been,jokes.
We’re standing around the kitchen island when the front door opens. Our eyes immediately lock, knowing what’s coming next, and a smile spreads across Shayna’s face as a smirk graces mine. “Babe, I’m home.” Camden’s deep voice booms from the entryway.
“In the kitchen, Cam,” she yells, and I give a little chuckle before I lift my glass and take a large drink. We three always have fun together. Our banter and sarcasm always lead to us in tears from laughing so hard. His keys hit the table by the front door with a light clunk and his footfalls are heavy against the hardwood floor as he comes toward us.
As soon as he rounds the corner and sees me, he smiles but then playfully rolls his eyes. “Hey, Lex. I guess I’ve lost mywife for good now that you’re here. I won’t get to spend one minute alone with her,” he says as he wraps his arms around Shayna’s waist. He knows that I will be staying with them for the foreseeable future. I know he’s joking because this is how it’s always been. I never take offense because that’s just who Cam is. Shayna smacks his arm playfully.
“Oh, don’t be jealous that she likes me more and she only tolerates you,” I tease back, giving Shayna a little wink. He mocks a gasp at my words, holding his hand to his heart before a laugh rumbles through his chest.
“That’s messed up, Lexi. I know it’s true, but you didn’t have to say it,” he growls while playfully glaring at me until a smile adorns his handsome face. He gives me a little wink this time then directs his attention back to his wife. “Hey, baby. I missed you,” he says softly. I take a sip of my wine and glance away to give them a moment to themselves.
Seeing them together like this always makes butterflies flutter in my chest. It’s so nice seeing such a man like Camden going soft whenever he’s around her. Camden is what I would call a man’s man. I’ve seen him angry, like when the roofers left a mess outside of the house on the weekend and let water rain down on the couches through the sunroof while replacing the roof. I thought for sure we would be bailing him out of jail.
I sometimes wish Jason and I could have had what they have. They always seem so happy and good together. It’s what a real marriage should look like. In most instances, other people in my position would be jealous, seeing as I’m single now and they have what most people, including myself, would want. But I’m not. I really am overjoyed for them.
“I missed you too, babe,” she says leaning into him. He then focuses his attention on me.
“It’s been too long, Lexi. I’m really glad you’re here,” he says to me and Shayna smiles. I can tell he wants to say something more but holds back.
“Thanks for letting me stay with you guys. I promise I will be out of your hair as soon as I can find a place.”
“Nonsense. You will stay here as long as you need. You’re family. You know that,” he says and kisses Shayna’s neck again.
“Yeah, but I don’t want to intrude either–” I start to repeat what I’ve already said to Shayna before I’m interrupted again.
“I’ve already told you, you are not intruding. We love having you here. And you’re going to relax and stay as long as necessary. You have your own room and the boys love having you around,” Shayna repeats as Camden nods his head.
I hold my hands up as a sign of surrender. “Fine. Alright. We'll take it one day at a time.”
I hear the front door open and slam shut as the sound of footsteps quicken toward the kitchen.
Shayna leans back and kisses Cam on the cheek. “The boys have been waiting for you to come home,” she says quietly just as Darian and Landon come barreling into the kitchen.
“Dad,” they yell in unison as Camden releases Shayna and turns, opening his arms for his sons to hug him. As the boys begin rambling off all of their stories from the past week, Shayna and I grab our glasses and head into the living room.
“How about I order pizza for dinner?” Camden says to Shayna as we walk out of the kitchen.
Shayna looks back at him and smiles. “Sounds good. Then you and the boys can go play some Playstation while Lexi and I go find a movie to watch.” They both smile at each other, and the boys start chattering away again as we head to find something to watch.
CHAPTER 4
Shayna
Friday evening
“I’ll clean everything up since you guys bought dinner,” Lexi says as she stands, grabbing the plates from the coffee table. I’m leaning against Camden, tucked under his arm.
“I can help–” I start to say and move to get up but Lexi interrupts me.
“You guys relax,” she says, shaking her head. “I got this. Let me do this, please.”
