"I've got a package for you, little lady...right here."
Allisen managed to keep her composure for about five seconds before busting out laughing at my dumb joke.
"Come on in, you goof," she chuckled, ushering me inside her and Jack's apartment and giving me a quick peck on the cheek. I beamed at the contact, letting the little butterflies in my stomach do their now-familiar work. Cradling the little care package full of thumbprint cookies, I followed her into their home.
It had been a few weeks since our memorable encounter at the club, and, in that time, the four of us had managed to go on a few lovely double dates. Nothing too high-stakes, just a few little coffee meetups, some bookstore browsing, going with them to ogle potential new baby goodies. It turns out that, once you reach your thirties and everyone is working full-time or more, the biggest obstacle to getting hot and heavy is schedule management. So far, we hadn't reenacted our sexy times, but Scott and I were getting to know Jack and Allisen better as people, which was pretty dang neat in and of itself.
One thing I knew was that I was jealous of their decorating sense. I hadn't been over to their apartment before, but I got a chance to take in my surroundings as I followed slowly behind Allisen. Sensual goddess she may have been, but the pregnant waddle she was currently sporting leaned more toward the adorable than the seductive.
I couldn't help but compare our homes. Scott and I had crammed ourselves into a little studio, and had somehow seemed to fill every square inch of it with stuff. Nick-knacks, media, books, pictures, a giant plush chicken that I'd found at a garage sale. In contrast, Allisen and Scott's place matched the elegance and confidence of their personalities. Sparse, but classy decorations. Lighting fancier than the ten dollar standing lamps from Target. It felt very grown-up.
It gave me not a little bit of evil joy to think about how absolutely cluttered with baby toys it would soon be.
As we made our way to the living room, I spotted Jack, currently sitting cross-legged on the floor and surrounded by pieces of furniture. He wore a very serious face of concentration, running his fingers through his dusty blonde hair while staring at a tiny dowel.
"Hey, look who I found," Allisen said, introducing me.
I gave a little wave. "Hi!"
"Oh, hey, Marie!" Jack beamed, seemingly forgetting his task and bounding to his feet.
"I brought a care package! It's cookies."
"Oh, wow, thanks!" he made his way over to me and wrapped me in a big hug. Yep, butterflies here, too. He had nice arms. Like, really nice. And I'm a simple girl with simple needs. Like having those arms pin me to the ground and...anyway!
"I figured you guys could use something nice given all of the...everything you must be experiencing right now."
"Do you want to sit down?" Allisen asked. "Because I have no choice. I'm going to be sitting soon."
She gestured over to her couch. It had a built-in chaise, a pretty common feature that felt like luxury given how impossible it would be to fit something like that in my place. Right now, though, Pregnant Lady Dibs meant that I wouldn't be trying it out. Allisen sat and, with some effort, rolled herself into a lounging position. I sat down next to her, gently rubbing her shoulder.
"That looked tough," I cooed.
"I am three houses right now, Marie," Allisen sighed. "And, like, big, nice neighborhood houses."
"You're radiant," her husband assured her.
"Thanks," she flatly chuckled.
"May I?" Jack asked me, gesturing at the baked goods. I nodded and he took two, offering one to his wife. "Want one, babe?"
"I'll try," Allisen said, reaching out and taking the cookie. She turned to me. "I just want you to know that, if I hate it, it's not you."
Jack took a bite, nodding appreciatively. "These are really good. Thanks, Marie!"
Allisen took a tentative bite, paused, then swallowed with some difficulty. "Nooooooooo!" she threw her head back and kicked her legs in a very endearing display of frustration. "It's fish! Why does everything taste like fish!"
"Oh no," I stifled a laugh.
"Stupid hormones! I hate them." She clutched my shoulder for drama. "Did you know that plain hand soap has a smell? Because it does! Everything has a smell. And it's all terrible!" She pointed the cookie at Jack. "Here."
"I'll take 'em," Jack said with a smile, gently stroking Allisen's leg before sitting down among the furniture detritus.
Her head flopped over in my direction and she smiled at me. I couldn't help but stare into her beautiful brown eyes. No matter how frustrated she might have been, one look from her was still enough to turn me into pudding.
"I miss when I was able to be sexy at you guys," she sighed.
"Don't need you to be," I assured her. "Turns out, I like spending time with you. Scott, too. If he weren't wiped out from work, he'd be here in a second. You don't need to be any way other than how you are."
I wanted to do something, but didn't know if it'd be weird. Probably wouldn't be. I felt nervous and jittery. Screw it. Both of these people had seen my butthole. I could be confident, for once.
I shifted on the couch, leaned over, and gently kissed Allisen, running my hand along her cheek.
"Mmm," she sighed as my lips left hers. "That's really nice."
"Yeah," I giggled. "We should, you know, keep doing that sometime."
I looked over and Scott gave a sly grin. "Man, I feel like I picked the worst time to look down at the instructions."
"Oh, you're fine," Allisen said, chucking a throw pillow at him.
"Yeah, back to work, mister," I added.
"Yes m'am's," he laughed.
As Jack continued to work on what would at some point be a changing table, Allisen and I started getting caught up. She referred to it as "news from the outside world," because, apparently, the two flights of stairs combined with her pregnant belly meant that she had been spending a lot of time cooped up inside. Luckily, she was able to work from home. Between getting their house ready for the new arrival and Jack's work, she hadn't even gotten to see much of her spouse. I got the feeling that the isolation was getting to her.
Luckily for her, though less lucky for us, Scott and I had been having a time that could be charitably described as dramatic. One of the stores that Scott worked at had shut down, and another was cutting hours. He'd managed to get a job at Quik Trip, but that had its own troubles. Not only was it a graveyard shift, his assignment wasn't at the location by our place, but, instead, a forty minute bus ride away.
