Page 60 of Challenged By You
Elle’s been quiet during this exchange. Finally, she declares, “I like him for both you and the kids.”
“Why do I sense a ‘but’ in there?” I exchange my phone for my mug of tepid tea and take a sip.
“The ‘but’ has to do with the fact I knew you before, during, and since the hurt caused by men. I’m always going to worry because I love you.”
A warmth steals through me. “The same goes both ways. You know that, don’t you, Elle?”
A flash of insecurity appears on her face that I’m uncertain was even there as she leans forward and presses a smacking kiss on my forehead. “I know. Now, you promised. Spill the beans.”
Thinking of the lingering ache between my thighs, I acknowledge, “Well, I’ll say one thing that’s consistent about him.”
“What’s that?”
“Jonas Rice likes to eat.” As Elle spills her drink all over her shirt while she’s laughing, I do my best-friend duty and get out of bed to get her a towel. And while I do, I wonder in amazement at how life has changed in just a few short weeks.
Chapter 22
Trina
“Inever knew they did this.” I’m bouncing next to Jonas as I push my new stroller through the entrance to the Bronx Zoo early the next week. “I can’t believe it’s free!” I exclaim.
“Every Wednesday for general admission,” he confirms. “I thought it might be something Annie and Chris would appreciate for a few hours before they got bored.”
“I want to keep it cool, but I can’t. I’ve always wanted to come here. I want to see the elephants!”
Annie squeals from the stroller below us. “Wellefants!” Chris just shifts, causing me to adjust my grip on the single push handle. I hum in satisfaction over the ease I can manipulate the double stroller. “Thank you again for convincing me to talk with your cousin. Are you sure I paid her enough? This stroller is a dream.” To prove my point, I swing the kids left and right, making them squeal in delight.
But Jonas has stopped dead in his tracks. “You’ve never been here?” he asks incredulously.
“Nope. Add it to the list of things you want to ask me about later,” I tell him breezily. “I refuse to let anything intrude on how excited I am.” I push the stroller straight ahead. “Though I will say I’m seriously debating whether or not to kiss you in public. I know your cousin said it had some wear and tear, but this stroller is still so much better than the one I was still fighting to have delivered. And just think, no assembly required.”
Jonas slings a friendly arm around my shoulders and barks out a laugh. “Every parent’s dream phrase, I imagine.”
“You have no idea,” I turn my head in for a quick hit of Jonas’s clean scent with hints of lime and cedar mixed in. I smile when I remember cleaning up in his bathroom and picking up the bottle of his cologne and indulging myself with the scent before I left the morning after we made love.
God, it seems so long ago, I ache for it now so much so that the public displays of affection I’d normally be more cautious about are becoming necessary.
We pass a family weighed down with a cooler and kids. I flick them a quick smile, easily returned. Then Jonas whispers in my ear, “I imagine we look the same way because you insisted on packing lunch.” He shifts the cooler on his shoulder carrying an assortment of drinks.
Primly, I remind him, “Your food budget for the month is getting close to the limit with the dinner you sprung for the other night, pal. Be glad I’m willing to share my PB&J.”
Laughing, Jonas tugs me close. “I stand corrected. Let’s find you some elephants, babe.”
A wave of melancholy washes over me as one of a million lectures from my mother rattles through my brain. Maybe I would have met Jonas at a different point in my life if I had made different choices, had done something different with my life. If…if…if…so many things come down to ifs. Shaking off the mood, I firmly put one foot in front of the other when the realization strikes me in the heart.
If life hadn’t forced me on this path, I wouldn’t be right where I’m supposed to be at this very moment.
With my children.
Working at Seduction.
And I never would have met Jonas, who’s showing me a little at a time it’s not only possible for me to succeed, there are people willing to help me along the way who don’t hold my circumstances against me, but are willing to support me.
Just because I can, I swirl the stroller in crazy directions. Annie and Chris cry out in glee. “Who wants to see some elephants?” I shout because the day calls for it.
Varying “Me!” and raised hands pop up from around the stroller.
Turning, I forget all my good intentions. Startling him, I grab Jonas’s shoulder and yank him toward me for a hard kiss.
