Page 103 of Jagged Little Pieces

“Of course.”

Austen’s far more interesting than the woman I expected all these years. She’s a cowgirl and a nerd. She has very fixed tastes yet is open to trying new things. Never did I imagine my redheaded rich girl would be okay with naming our kid after my childhood hero.

I’m still cracking up about how I’ll have a son named Raphael when we head downstairs to find Goose and Coco making out in the family room. They peel themselves apart and try to act casual.

“There’s a lot of horniness in the air today,” I tell Goose as I wrap an arm around Austen.

While Goose gives me an amused eye roll, Austen and Coco speak quietly off to the side. I hear Austen’s voice break as she whispers to her friend.

“You look happy,” I tell Goose as my gaze keeps watch over Austen.

“We hashed things out. I might have assumed too much shit about what she wanted. Now, we’re just enjoying ourselves. Is that alright with you?”

“I’ve never been prouder of you, young lady,” I say and then dodge her punch. “I really like Coco, and she views you as a prize. I wouldn’t mind if you two stuck permanently.”

“I am a fucking prize,” Goose says and glances at Coco. “And she’s fun for a city girl. Like not uppity. Her parents aren’t winners. Like, she makes sense to me. I don’t know how you wrap your head around someone like Austen, but you do you, man.”

“She’s cool with naming our son after a Ninja Turtle. Wrap your head around that.”

Goose laughs at my excitement. I like seeing my friend in her normal laid-back mode rather than the angsty bitch vibe she’s been expelling.

I don’t know if Goose feels as certain about her future with Coco as I do about mine with Austen. However, I’ve never seen my friend go so gaga over anyone before. I can’t help thinking they’ll click long-term if they can be honest with each other.

Goose and I turn our gazes toward our women who stop whispering to each other and return to us.

“We have an idea,” Coco says.

Austen smiles. “Would you be interested in taking us for rides around town and then eating dinner out somewhere?”

Coco nods. “We want to get to know our new home better.”

Goose and I share a look. I know my friend’s imagining our future. What will the holidays be like with these women at our side? Where will we live in a year? How soon will we welcome kids and pets? Will we always take impromptu rides with our women around town?

No matter the details, it’s clear how our lives will never be the same.

AUSTEN

For the entire drive to the Lavendar Lady Salon, Coco wears the happiest little grin. She’s been floating on air since Goose took her out for a ride days ago. I often catch her dancing around the kitchen and even humming to herself while doing dishes. Falling in love definitely makes the world feel lighter and more beautiful.

“I really like sex,” I tell her as we take the exit toward the salon. “But that might just be Walla Walla.”

“Sex is exceptional when with people who get you wound up.”

In the back seat, Xenia nods. I’m unsure if she’s genuinely agreeing or only playing along. The woman’s difficult to read, even though she isn’t shy or shifty. I suspect her years working at the front of the house at restaurants created an unbreakably pleasant mask she often wears now.

However, back at the Pigsty with Hobo, her gray eyes reveal only unfiltered warmth. When she cooks, Xenia reveals a wonderfully open energy. Right now, though, she seems a mystery.

“Wynonna can seem, um, aggressive,” Xenia warns us when I pull into the parking lot to find several women already outside their cars. “But she’s very warm.”

“She was nice to me,” I reply and shrug. “And my family doesn’t have a great reputation in McMurdo Valley. That says something about her good character.”

Coco still seems nervous. As a dancer, she used to work in a competitive industry full of catty, sometimes desperate, women. They’d trip each other, hoping to take out the competition. Coco built thick skin, but she still suffers from insecurities after growing up poor and having her heart stomped on by various lovers. I suspect she worries someone will mock her today and send her confidence crashing down.

Wynonna waves as we exit my SUV. Her wavy brown hair is tied back into a barely successful ponytail. She possesses a wild energy, and I can imagine her running with Walla Walla and the others when they were young.

At her side is a beautiful, shiny blonde named Callie Macready. Wynonna’s stepmother is the local realtor who rounded up locations for my future clinic.

Next, I meet sisters—Selene and Yazmin—who are married to Ruin and Armor. They’re gorgeous, exotic, seemingly shy brunettes.

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