I cut her off with another kiss before she can spiral. “Why does it need to be weird? Do youwantto cancel your date with Bo?”
“No,” she whispers, looking away guiltily.
Unable to help myself, I tilt her face back to me, kissing her again, her taste positively addicting. “I promise you that it doesn’t bother me, and I can one hundred percent guarantee that Boden will not be upset that you attempted to climb down my throat.”
She chokes out an incredulous sound and takes a swat at my arm while I simply laugh at how adorably red her cheeks are getting. “Excuse me, but I distinctly remember minding my own business and admiring the scenery when you decided to set fire to the HR packet.”
I grin, not repentant in the slightest, but try to level out my amusement so that she doesn’t think I’m teasing when I say, “Our life is rather unconventional, Sabrina. And dangerous. It’s easy for one of us to keep an eye on you and still handle our own responsibilities because there are four of us. It’s not a game to put ourselves in your path to see who you pick first, it’s simply-” I waver a hand back and forth, searching for the right term “-logical. Everything in our life carries some risk, and the more vulnerabilities we have, the more complicated it is to manage. Hell, even with four of us to watch over her, look at what nearly happened to Emmeline because we grew complacent with how peaceful things had been.”
I gesture between the two of us. “So I guess I’m trying to say thatthis? Rather than being mad, I think you’ll find the others will become borderline annoying trying to get you to look at them, too. The better part of our lives happen under the cover of night, a major piece that we’re forced to keep hidden from most people. Having someone we could be ourselves with?” A weary breath escapes in a rush. “It’s something we never thought we’d find. None of us would want to rob the others of that peace, but share it with them.”
Her eyes scan mine for any hint of a lie, finding none. After an agonizingly long spell, she comes to some sort of internal decision, processing countless scenarios in her head faster than she could riddle out aloud. “Efficient. I like it.” Finishing off her drink, she tosses the empty can in the trash and starts walking back towards our workspace, assuming I’ll follow. “And in this economy, multi-income households are the only way you’re going to find anywhere decent to live. More people to divide the workload and chores. Less pressure. If you’ve used up all of your mental spoons for the day and don’t have anything left to give, you don’t need to worry about letting your partner down. You can have someone else tap in so you can have a break to recoup without the guilt that your significant other is being neglected and not having their needs met.”
I nearly crash into her back that I’m staring at in awe when she abruptly stops, spinning on her heel. “You're never wholly dependent on one person. Seriously, more people need to get on board with this concept; it would solve so many problems.”
“Where the hell have you been my entire life?”
She smiles, looking absolutely radiant. “Playing hide and seek in the woods. I might not be the best conversationalist, but I’m a pro at rolling with the punches.”
Chapter 9
Sabrina
––––––––
Asmall buzzing soundson my nightstand. Groaning, face buried in my pillow, I smack around blindly to grab my phone before it vibrates off of the edge. Pulling it off of the charger, I turn to blink blearily at the obnoxiously bright screen, promptly dimming it to the lowest setting so that I can actually read the text without blinding myself.
Hey, I know you’re sleeping right now, but figured you’d see this when you wake up. I just got back into town and thought I’d see if you were still up for that dinner this weekend?
-Bo
Rolling onto my back, I start typing.Sure, text me when you’re conscious. I know jetlag can be a bitch and you might need a day or two to recoup.
His response comes through a few seconds later.Shit, did I wake you up? I thought your phone would be on silent. Sorry.
Nah, my sleep schedule is currently shot to hell after this week. Reid’s making us all take today off though to prepare for the next few days of hell sprinting. Last thing that system needs is us adding more bugs to it because we’re dead on our feet, so we’re going to take a binge and purge approach for a little while.
