“Er, yeah,” I said, putting away my phone.
“Do you often check out while you’re with Chris? You need to be present in your relationship,” Rainbow continued.
Priyanka nodded sagely. “You don’t know this person. It’s understandable to be a little uncomfortable, but you have to lean into it.”
“Girls,” Rainbow said. “How have you all been handling feelings of discomfort in your marriages?”
“I don’t have any discomfort!” a wide-eyed redhead said with a maniacal grin. “We share everything. We have sex several times a day. We are intimately aware of each other.”
“I know!” another girl gushed. “I’m just so in love with my husband! I want him around me all the time. I literally don’t let him leave. I cry when he goes off to work, and I make him text me every hour to tell me how much he loves me.”
Ooof.
“Honestly?” the redhead said. “Sharing a bathroom has to be the most intimate thing imaginable.”
“I know,” Linneah said sagely. “That’s the thing that has brought Teddy and me closer together.”
She hates Teddy, two-faced bitch.
“And how are you finding the bathroom sharing?” Priyanka asked me.
“I’m not sharing a bathroom with Chris,” I said. “We tried that, and it did not work. He doesn’t like to share his space. He’s very territorial.”
“Ooh!” the redhead said, doing a little shimmy. “I bet he’s a tiger in bed!”
“I bet they’re not doing much of that either,” Linneah said haughtily.
“That segues us into another important conversation,” Priyanka said, her gold jewelry tinkling softly. “How many of you have had sex with your husbands?”
All of the girls except for me raised their hands.
“Why haven’t you had sex with Chris?” Linneah demanded, going right for the jugular.
“I just…well…” I squirmed in my seat as the camera guys circled to zoom in on my face.
“We just haven’t had time.” I started to sweat. It was starting to feel like that time at the sorority party my freshman year in college where Linneah had just backed me in a corner…
You are a small business owner. You are not the awkward, insecure college freshman. Get it together!I scolded myself.
“We are waiting to get to know each other a bit more,” I said primly.
“That’s interesting,” Priyanka said, leaning forward, a studious look on her model-pretty face. “Do you find that you have a lot of hang-ups about sex?”
“She has so many hang-ups!” Linneah laughed. “She and I have known each other since freshman year of college.” Zane turned his camera on her, seeking the drama.
I forced my expression to remain neutral, but it was difficult.
“Grace is frigid, and she’s afraid of sex. She’d rather spend all her time taking pictures of people in love than actually going out and winning her own man.” Linneah gave me a smirk.
“Do you consider yourself a workaholic?” Rainbow asked me.
“What’s wrong with working?” I demanded. “I’m certainly not going to rely on Chris to support me. I can take care of myself. I don’t need a man. I don’t need to be married.”
“And I’m sure Chris would be better off not shackled to you,” Linneah shot at me. She narrowed her eyes. “You need to be careful, Grace. Men like sex, and they want their wives to fulfill their marriage obligations. If you don’t take care of Chris, someone might come along and show him what he’s missing. Someone who can make all his fantasies come true.” Her face was triumphant.
Hot anger coiled in my gut.
You don’t even like Chris.
