“You don’t mean that.”
“No, I don’t. I’m frustrated because you won’t tell me what is going on with David, but you had no problem sharing my past trauma with Travis, without my permission, I may add. Why the double standard?”
He marched over to me. “Because your trauma could affect our relationships. David’s may end up affecting the relationships, too, but for now, he needs to try to work it out himself. If it gets to a point where I feel you need to know, I will discuss my concerns. That’s the best I can promise.”
“Ugh. He just tried to kill me, Kait! How is that not affecting our relationship?” Kait just stared at me. “Fine. Be like that. I’m going to my room. Come get me when dinner is done.”
He laughed. “Alright, Princess.”
I went to my room. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any books, and there was no internet here. So, I ended up laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking. Not a good thing. My mind started coming up with the worst-case scenarios for what was going on with David. After about a half an hour of that, the door banged open. Kait was standing in the door.
“This isn’t good for you. Come out here and help with dinner to get your mind off David’s problems.”
“Okay.” After I had gotten off the bed, Kait pulled me against him. I rested my hand on his muscular chest, feeling his heartbeat.
He kissed my temple. “I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make sure David will be okay, and comes out of this whole.”
“Whole? What does that mean?”
Sighing, he said, “I don’t mean that literally. He will be fine.”
I studied his brown eyes. Absolute sincerity shone there. I nodded. He leaned in to kiss me. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one having problems keeping hands to themselves. I snickered against his lips.
“What now?”
“Just enjoying the knowledge that you’re having problems controlling yourself too. You have been taking every opportunity to touch and kiss me you can.”
“Well, yeah. I love you. Of course, I want to touch you and kiss you. Magic or no magic.”
I laughed and kissed him hard. He kissed me back, sweeping in to claim my mouth. He picked me up, his hands on my butt. I groaned and wrapped my legs around his waist, pushing my pelvis against his. He moved slightly, rubbing against me.
He walked me back toward the wall, supporting my back with it. The smell of burning bacon wafted through the room. Kait set me back on the floor and hurried out, muttering under his breath about burning dinner.
I followed him out, laughing to myself. When I got to the kitchen, the room was filled with smoke, which was pouring out from under a lid on a pot. Kait was waving a towel over it.
“Is it ruined?”
“Pretty much.”
“See, I knew it! You’re having problems, too. You totally forgot about the bacon, didn’t you?” I was laughing when I said it and I knew I was poking the bear, but I had too. He always seems like he has everything under control, and he is so perfect.
He snorted. “Yes, I forgot, and I never said or implied that I am perfect. I am just as flawed as anyone else.”
I shook my head. I wasn’t going to get into that debate. “So, if the bacon is burned, what are we going to do for dinner?”
“We will figure out something. We may have enough that’s not burned. I was going to make extra.”
“Alright. You wanted me to help. I’m out here, what do you want me to do?”
“Peel the lettuce leaves off, and wash them, cut the tomatoes and get out the bread and mayo. Don’t toast the bread yet, though. We usually all do it ourselves so that it’s hot. And David likes his less toasted.”
I nodded as I followed his directions. We easily worked around each other, in a kind of silent dance. It was surprisingly easy. My parents had never been able to work together in the same room like this. They would be in each other’s way, and by the end of dinner, Dad would be sulking and Mom would be screaming. So, they hardly ever even tried.
He pulled the last of the bacon off the pan before coming over to me. I was slicing the final tomato, then I was done. He rested his chin on my head, and slowly wrapped his arms around my waist, being careful not to get in my way. I leaned back slightly in his arms. A feeling of peace filled me. I could see spending the rest of my life like this. Moving in harmony with the guys that had somehow made themselves my life. Nothing else mattered but them.
I finished the tomato and spun in his arms. I kissed him softly. “Should I go get David and Travis, or do you want to?”
He sighed. “Do we have to?”
“Yes. I’m sure they are hungry too.” His eyes unfocused for a minute.
“David is still sleeping. How hard did Travis hit him? I’ll go get Travis. I want to talk to him about what happened.”
“Okay. I’m not waiting for you, so if y’all want food, you better hurry.”
“Okay.” I didn’t even get a smirk or a chuckle from that? I was trying to be funny. While wondering if he saw something in David that worried him even more, I made my plate. David walked in, rubbing the back of his head, right before Travis and Kait did. Kait was watching David with a slight frown.
David walked over to me, kissing me quickly before taking his plate to make his sandwiches. Travis gave me a quick peck on the lips as well. It all felt very mechanical, while we all watched David. Once he sat down, he looked at us all quizzically and said, “What?”
I glanced around, but no one else seemed to want to step up. “Are you feeling okay?”
“My head hurts
