Page 20 of Awakening
After we got cleaned up, we joined Yanna to eat, and now seemed as good a time as any to ask what I was dying to know.
“So…” I say, pushing a piece of waffle around my plate like it’s the conversation itself, “Can I ask something kind of personal?”
Ajaih raises her eyebrows without looking up from her coffee. “I mean, you can ask. Whether or not we answer depends on how personal it is,” sassy, like I hadn’t put her through the mattress hours earlier.
Layanna, across from me in a loose cream robe and gold anklet, smiles like she already knows where this is going. “Let me guess, it’s about us?”
“Us?” I blink. “Like, me and Ajaih?”
“Not just you two,” she says gently, “The whole... configuration.”
I nod slowly, “Yeah. I mean, I want to understand the dynamics between you two because this weekend’s been... different, fulfilling, and I have to be honest, I’m not letting up on you, Ajaih. And I’m sitting here wondering how this can work and everyone be happy.”
Ajaih finally set her mug down, eyes trained on me. “You’re not letting up, huh? Lucky for you, I’m not letting up on you either, and happiness is what we make it. We make the rules because we are the only ones who have to be in the skin we’re in. How we define that is based on thelove and respect we carry deeply for one another and always show through our actions, being vulnerable, transparent, and honest.”
Love.
Her use of the word makes my heart pound against my chest because I’ve used it often in my thoughts when thinking of her.
Layanna leans forward, her voice soft, bringing me back to the conversation at hand. “But to answer what you’re really asking, Caleb and I are married; we also have a relationship with Dr. Evans and his wife, Dana. It may seem like a lot, but we’re not one big sexual free-for-all; it’s not like that, all the time,” they giggle.
Getting quiet to take in the info I’d asked for, “See, that’s the kind of clarity I was hoping for.”
“And me?” Ajaih says, leaning back, “I’m somewhere between connection and curiosity. They’ve given me room to figure out what I want.”
Layanna nods, “We all love Ajaih in our own way, but encouraging her to explore? That was intentional. She’s not a possession, she’s a person figuring out her edges.”
Taking in everything they were saying, I asked, more careful now, “Was last night... stepping on toes?”
Ajaih’s lips twitch. “If it was, the toes liked it.”
Layanna laughs into her glass again, “We knew about you, Maverick. We discussed you. Dana said, and I quote, “If he makes her blush, let her have fun, let her explore. We’ll always love her, but we may not be her forever, and she deserves to be open for it when it lands at her feet.”
Blinking, “Wait, y’all had a group conference about me like I was a brunch item?”
“More like a cocktail,” Ajaih says, “Limited edition.Spicy. Goes down easier than expected.” She winked as she licked her lips, causing my body to heat slightly.
I shake my head at her silliness, trying not to laugh. “Okay, wow. That’s both flattering and deeply objectifying.”
Layanna smiles, “Welcome to the life of a dragon.”
“I thought that was a myth.”
“Not if you’re lucky,” Ajaih replies with a giggle.
Ajaih reaches for more bacon. “The point is, it was your honesty and your timing, Mav. I wasn’t trying to be claimed, I was trying to be seen, and you? You didn’t flinch.”
I nod, my voice lower, rougher now, “You looked at me like you’d been holding your breath for years.”
She meets my eyes, “Maybe I was.”
We sit with that for a moment, the playful edge softening into something tangible.
Layanna raises her glass again. “To freedom. To desire. And to not accidentally calling anyone ‘Daddy’ unless you mean it.”
I raise my glass to meet hers, “To clear boundaries and delicious intentions.”
Ajaih grins, lifting her mug. “And to whoever invented room service waffles. Because I’m pretty sure this whole conversation would’ve been harder on an empty stomach.”
