Page 14 of Desire

“Hey, you, what are you up to today?” I ask as I pull away from the lab where the bloodsuckers took five vials of blood. Because I waited a few weeks, the doctor said they needed a pregnancy test run before I could get my Depo shot. Inconvenient? Absolutely, but I understand the necessity. Thankfully, it was negative, and I got my current shot so there will be no little Tallos. At least not in the immediate future that is because I want his children someday. Just not now.

“Not much. I was thinking you’d probably need clothes that were easier to get on and off after your surgery. Do you want to come pick me up? We can go see what we can find,” she replies.

“That sounds like a plan if we add a trip to our favorite Mexican restaurant. I’m jonesing for some queso,” I say.

“You’re on! I need a margarita or three after dealing with Rayne’s nonsense this morning.”

“You can fill me in when I get there. I should be there in a few minutes, just finished giving the local vampires their fix.” She giggles and tells me she’ll be waiting.

Smiling, I continue my trek toward her house. When I get there, she’s waiting outside, her purse slung over her shoulder. She hurries over to my vehicle and climbs in, then buckles up. Once I back out, she lets out a huge sigh. “I swear, sometimes I wonder what in the hell runs through Rayne’s head.”

Giggling, I glance at her and ask, “What’s my brother done now?” Because no matter what, I gotta have my sister’s back. It’s part of the sisterhood creed.

“He’s decided that we need to add onto the house for ‘future kids we might have’! I mean, really? Hadley is a handful and I’m busy with my business. Where would I fit in a baby and all that having a newborn entails?”

I take a deep breath because for my sister, Billie, this is still a sensitive topic. None of us were aware of Hadley’s existence until Rayne hired a private investigator. Our former manager, the one who took over when Jacey and Rayne separated, kept her pregnancy hidden from us and had her believing that Rayne had moved on. A lot of mistakes were made on both of their parts, but they’re together again and we have the cutest niece in the world in our lives, so since it affected the two of them more than me, I forgave and moved on. Billie is sometimes a little bit salty, but that’s part of her personality and it doesn’t impact how she treats Hadley, so I figure when Rayne’s had enough, he’ll put her in her place.

“Jacey, you have all of us now, remember?” I gently say. “You know good and well that Rayne will likely be up your ass the whole pregnancy anyhow, plus you have the three of us girls and all of our folks. You’re not alone any longer, sweetie.” I reach over and squeeze her hand.

“I still feel so horrible about all of that,” she murmurs, wiping her finger under her eye to catch what appears to be a stray tear.

“I think it all had to play out the way it did, Jace. Neither of you were in a good place and while the situation wasn’t ideal, if Jameson hadn’t stopped you that day you came to tell Rayne, none of it would’ve happened. At least he supported Hadley on Rayne’s behalf, right?” I remind her.

“He did and she’s got a great start on a college fund or a whatever-you-wanna-do fund when she’s old enough, you know? But I kept our parents away and heaven knows how much they now dote on her. Do you think she’d be upset to get a baby brother or sister?”

“The way she is with her dolly? Are you kidding me? I think you have a built-in helper, although she’ll probably try to be bossy as fuck,” I tease. Hadley is a little spitfire; she has the best and worst of both of her parents and if they aren’t careful, she could become a tyrant. However, they both parent her with a lot of love and definitive boundaries, so she may be opinionated and bossy, but she’s usually sweet about it.

She starts giggling then says, “As long as she doesn’t think a baby is like Annabelle. Have you seen how she carries her sometimes?”

My laughter joins with hers and soon, we’re both laughing so hard I can feel the tears coursing down my face. “She’s such a special little princess, isn’t she?” I ask. As much as I love and adore my niece, a thought crosses my mind that it would likely be that much more if I had a child of my own. I push that away because I’ve waited forever to be with Sebastian and would like him to myself for just a little bit longer.

We pull into the parking lot of a big box store that’s a town over and park. Once we get out of my car and lock it up, we head inside, both of us grabbing a cart. Two hours later we’re checking out and I’ve got more clothes than anything, although Jacey convinced me to grab some personal care products as well. True to his word, Sebastian had a bidet put in each bathroom and he scoured Amazon looking for things that would help me be ‘more independent’ while both arms were bandaged. “I think the dresses will be the best thing,” Jacey says as we load my car. “Even if you only have your fingers to use initially, you can still dress yourself. Granted, Sebastian may have to put your bra and panties on, but that could be fun,” she teases, wiggling her eyebrows at me.

“You’re a nut,” I reply, closing the trunk. Grabbing the carts, I push one into the other then take them over to the cart corral. It galls me that so many leave their carts anywhere except where there’s a dedicated spot. I get it if someone is alone and possibly older, but most folks are able-bodied enough to take the damn things back as far as I’m concerned.

“Time for some queso,” Jacey announces once I’m back inside the car and buckled up. I grin at her before I start the car.

“Was there ever any doubt? I’ve worked up a hunger, my friend,” I reply as I navigate out of the parking lot.

We talk about my upcoming surgery as I drive toward the restaurant. It’s become a favorite of mine since we moved here, and I know I eat there at least once a week if not more. Sebastian just shakes his head when he asks what I want to eat. It’s not that neither of us like to cook or anything, but on the days when I’m at the studio and he’s doing his promotional thing that he does, it’s easier to grab something. Once we’re inside and have our drinks, chips, salsa, and queso in front of us, she looks at me and states, “Okay, spill all the details.”

“What details?” I question, trying to rescue one of my chips that broke off in the queso.

“You. Sebastian. How all of that’s going. I feel like I never really see you these days,” she mumbles around her own queso-covered chip.

I know my grin is wide because I feel as though my cheeks are going to split wide open. “It’s beyond my wildest expectations, Jace,” I admit. Taking a sip of my soda, I continue. “It’s as though once he decided we were going to be a couple, we’re moving at warp speed or something. I’m not complaining because he’s the man I’ve wanted since I was twenty, but I worry that some people will think it’s too fast.”

“If you know, you know though, Justine,” she advises. “Plus, I suspect with him taking care of you after your surgery, it’ll solidify your relationship even further. There’s an intimacy that goes beyond the physical stuff if that makes sense and I suspect you’ll get the benefit of that.”

I nod because I’ve seen those moments with my parents and know that’s what I’ve always wanted for myself. “I think you’re right and honestly, as long as Sebastian and I are okay with how ‘fast’ things are moving, who the fuck cares what anyone else says or thinks!”

“That’s the spirit,” she states just as the waitress brings our order. We never look at the menu, opting for the same thing—a double batch of Texas fajitas nachos. “Thank you,” she tells Cory, our waitress, who grins at us and shakes her head. She’s used to us by now and could probably put the order in when we walk through the door; coming to our table is merely a formality because our drinks do change up depending on who’s driving that particular day.

“I’ll be back with refills,” Cory says. While Jacey is enjoying her frosty frozen margarita since she’s a passenger, I’m sucking down my diet soda like it’s water thanks to the spiciness that is the queso.

“Thanks, Cory,” I reply, grabbing my silverware so we can start splitting up the good stuff. We never used to do it until it dawned on me that we both tend to gravitate toward the shrimp and steak.

We tuck into our late lunch and she fills me in on a few of the upcoming events she’s working on. “You know, while you’re healing up, if you get bored, I could always use your expertise,” she tells me.

---