Page 34 of Summer Sweethearts
“Ever the gentlemen,” Jess snickers, but doesn’t fight me on paying. We grab our bags, load them into the truck, and I head back toward Jess’ shop so she can finish up her work day.
Pulling up to her store, she opens the door and gets out, but turns, looking back at me. “Thanks for hanging out with me today. It was fun.”
“I had fun too. I’m glad you agreed to go with me. I’ll admit I was a little nervous that you’d turn me down. Not sure why, so don’t even ask, but yeah… just thanks for saying yes and hanging out today,” I tell her honestly, and she rolls her eyes at my admission.
“I kinda like you, ya know. So spending time with you isn’t any trouble,” she smiles cheekily, winking at me before shutting the truck door and heading into the shop.
As I drive home to put all our groceries away, I can’t help but think to myself how much fun I had today just running errands with Jessica. She is easy to talk to and such a free spirit that it just makes run-of-the-mill things fun. My mind also shifts to thinking about how easy it would be to fall in love with Jessica, too. I have no doubts that in the future, I’ll have two girlfriends and two women who own my heart equally.
LORETTA
I’m rushing around the house tidying up before everyone gets here for the cookout. Heading to the fridge, I pull the burgers, brats, and hotdogs out so Michael can throw them on the grill when he returns from getting ice. He stayed here last night too, but we had a low key night watching movies and ordering pizza.
We did, however, all sleep in my bed with me cocooned between my two lovers, and it was the best feeling in the world. One I wish I could bottle up and save forever. “Ladies, I’m home!” Michael shouts as he breezes into the house, carrying two bags of ice in his arms.
I open the patio door for him and step out; he follows me, and we dump the ice in the cooler. Jessica hurries out, her arms full of beer, and puts the bottles Michael bought in the cooler before heading back into the house. “I missed you,” Michael murmurs in my ear, grabbing me and spinning me to face him. He leans in and kisses me softly, his lips enveloping my bottom lip, sucking on it slightly before pulling away.
“You were only gone like an hour,” I giggle, reaching around him to grab the door and open it as Jessica comes back out again with the huge jug of lemonade. She sets it on one of the tables we had set up on the patio, next to the stack of cups we brought for the kids.
“Everyone should be here in like thirty minutes. Should we fire up the grill and start the meat?” Jess asks.
“Yeah, I’ll go grab it all and get to cooking,” Michael agrees, nodding his head. Releasing me from his hold, he kisses my forehead, turns on his heel, and heads inside. He reappears a few minutes later with platters of raw meat, sets them on the side of the grill, then fires it up.
“I’m gonna go get the macaroni salad and chips. Jess, could you grab the speaker from the garage so we have music? Oh! And the slip-and-slide for the kids, please?” I ask, moving toward the patio door. Jessica raises a brow at me, and I’m sure she’s wondering why I have a slip-and-slide when I don’t have kids. It’s for things like this so that when I have kids over, they’re entertained. I hope to someday have a gaggle of kids running around, but that’s a dream for another day.
Sure enough, no sooner than we have the slip-and-slide set up and are connecting the hose, do Cara, Waylon, Walker, and the kids come barreling into the backyard. “Hey, guys,” I greet Cara, giving her a hug, my hands barely making it around her swollen belly.
“Hey,” she replies. “I see Michael and Jessica are here already, and the rumor is he spent time with each of you separately this week,” she whispers in my ear as we embrace. “Care to share or deny?” She giggles.
“I’m seeing both of them,” I admit, rolling my eyes at her. “Michael took Jessica to lunch to get reacquainted. For now, they’re just good friends, I’d say.”
“Look at you, joining the more than one lover club. Isn’t it just fantastic? I was hesitant at first. I won’t lie, but these two brutes changed my mind, and now I’m happier than I’ve ever been,” she tells me. I shake my head, smirking at her. “And the sex is phenomenal,” she adds.
“Okay, little mama, time to get you in a lawn chair with your feet up.” Walker laughs as he wraps an arm around her waist, leading her toward the patio. Waylon follows behind them, winking at me as he passes.
“Loretta, can we play with the slip-and-slide?” Oscar asks me, shouting across the yard.
“Of course! I set it up just for you guys,” I tell him. He fist pumps the air before pulling off his t-shirt.
“Daddy! I sip side!” Tatum squeals and Waylon picks her up, tosses her in the air, and catches her.
“Of course, baby girl. Let’s get your dress off,” he coos, helping her remove the festive dress she has on, revealing an adorable paisley print one piece. Tatum wastes no time running to join her brother on the slip-and-slide.
I take a seat in a lawn chair next to Cara and watch the kids play. Jessica comes over, hands me a beer, and sits down next to me.
Suddenly, “Party’s here!” is shouted from across the yard. We look away from the kids to see Bea and Bayley joining us. Bea has a crockpot of cheesy potatoes in her hands, and she sets it on the table next to my macaroni salad, resting in a larger bowl full of ice to keep it cool. Bayley sets her cake pops down too, and they both run back around to the front of the house. Minutes later, they’re back, dragging a huge cooler between the two of them. Walker and Waylon jump up, helping them get it to the porch. Bayley opens it, revealing a ton of jello shots and High Noons.
Bayley passes everyone but Cara a jello shot, and we say ‘cheers’ to the evening’s festivities. Putting the little cup to my lips, I swirl my tongue around the edge, freeing the jello, and then let it fall into my mouth.
“Dinner’s ready,” Michael announces, using the tongs to grab the last hotdog off the grill. He sets the platter of meat on the table and kisses the side of my head as he walks by. “Love you, baby,” he murmurs.
Molly, Cain, and Aiden come rushing into the yard. “Sorry, we’re running late. We ended up having to pick up Mom,” Aiden pants.
“Where’s Ted?” I ask because I invited Ted as Molly’s plus one now that it’s public knowledge that they’re seeing one another.
“Wouldn’t you know, just as we were about to leave, the alarm for the diner went off, and he rushed down there to see what was going on,” Molly sighs. “He’ll probably come by later, but who knows how long these things take. Now, where are my grandbabies?” She rushes past us toward the kids, wrapping their little wet bodies up in a giant hug, not seeming to care they’re soaking her shirt. She just laughs and playfully talks to her grandkids.
My heart twinges at the sight, missing my parents, but they have been gone a long time. I can’t help getting depressed in situations like this. Thinking that if I ever have kids, they’ll only have one set of grandparents.Well, unless those kids are with Jessica and Michael, then they’d only have Jessica’s mom.Shaking that negativity from my thoughts, I smile and wave the guys over to the patio. “Come on, we are just about to eat. Michael just pulled the food off the grill, so you’re right on time.”
