I had forgotten all about Sophie and Jack until we stepped out of the bedroom after our shower together. They were sitting in the living room, engrossed in a serious conversation, it seemed like.
It suddenly occurred to me that they definitely heard everything from this morning, and my body stiffened as I felt my cheeks begin to heat up. But when they looked up at us and smiled, it wasn't filled with tease. It was just polite smiles, but I wondered if they were just pretending out of curtesy.
Oh god.
As my thoughts began to spiral, Nicole spoke. "Oh, hey. How was picking up Dan?"
Right. They were probably out the entire time. At least, I hoped they were.
We settled down on the couch across from them.
"Relatively easy," Sophie answered. "He has to come back for a checkup in a couple weeks, but the doctors are confident letting him go home."
"I don't think I've ever seen him so excited," Jack added amusingly. "He was practically skipping out of the hospital."
Sophie rolled her eyes and then shifted her attention to us. "Did you both sleep well?"
I stared at them, not knowing how to answer. It was a very simple question, but my mind was still stuck on the mind-blowing sex from this morning. Sophie didn't look like she knew anything had happened though.
"We slept very well," Nicole answered casually.
Sophie nodded and glanced over at Jack. Then, very slowly, I saw it. There was just the slightest upturn on Jack's lips, and then Sophie was biting down on her lip too.
"Oh my god," the words spilled from my lips. Groaning, I dropped my face into my hands. "They heard everything."
Jack was the first to laugh, and then Sophie's followed immediately after.
From beside me, I heard Nicole let out a breath. "Alright, that's enough."
"Okay, not everything," Sophie tried to reassure us. I kept my face in my hands, refusing to meet their gazes. "We just heard a little when we came back and then immediately took Riley to the park."
Jack laughed even harder. "I'm pretty sure Riley's traumatized!"
Hearing his name, Riley trotted into the living room, glancing around at us. Then he sat down and stared at Jack, who was still cracking up at our expense.
"You're such an ass," Nicole said lightly. I felt her rub my back soothingly and despite my embarrassment, I leaned into her touch.
"Stop teasing them!" Sophie scolded her husband playfully.
Dropping my hands from my face, I finally dared to look at them. Jack had his lips pressed firmly together even though it looked like it pained him to hold in his laugh.
Sophie gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry about him. Men. They can be so immature sometimes."
My face was still hot, but I felt a little bit better.
Jack pecked her cheek lovingly. "You're in love with this man, though."
She sighed dramatically. "Unfortunately."
Nicole's body vibrated with a small laugh, and I leaned against her. She draped her arms over my shoulders, and her fingers subconsciously traced circles on my arm.
"So how long will you guys be able to stay?" Sophie asked. "Jack and I wanted to take you both to Rudy's tonight for dinner."
Nicole pulled away slightly to meet my gaze, a question in her eyes.
I shrugged. "I don't have my first final until Tuesday. I'm okay with staying."
Truthfully, I liked being here with Nicole, and I liked how happy she was around Sophie and Jack. Plus, they were great company even though I was still embarrassed from the "little bit" they had heard this morning.
"Great!" Jack clapped his hand together as he stood up. "I'll go book us a table."
Sophie gave him a gentle smile. "Thanks, honey."
He shot her a wink before leaving the room to make the call.
"It's hard to believe that you guys hated each other before," I said suddenly. The thought had been pressing on my mind ever since last night, and seeing how they were with each other now, I wondered how it happened.
Fortunately, Sophie was not offended, and she released a soft laugh that filled me with relief.
"They were always at each other's throats in high school," Nicole said amusingly. "And they didn't even run in the same social circle."
"He was so annoying though!" Sophie exclaimed. "You remember when he and Wilson spray painted the field that one night before the homecoming game?"
Nicole bursted out laughing. "Oh yeah! They canceled the dance to punish the whole school too because no one knew who did it."
Noticing my confused expression, Sophie turned me to explain. "Jack and Wilson broke into the school one night while they were drunk and spray painted a penis on our football field."
My eyes widened. "Oh my god."
"It was the biggest penis too," Nicole added.
"And no one ever found out. Jack told me years later when we started dating," Sophie sighed. "You know, sometimes I wonder how I fell in love with him."
"I think you two always had a thing for each other, even in high school," Nicole said.
"No we did not!"
"They do say people often disguise love with hate," I chimed in, and Sophie turned her glare to me.
"Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy," Nicole mused.
"Ooh, Cathy and Heathcliff," I said, and Nicole grinned.
"Oh, fuck off!" Sophie scowled. "It was not like that at all. I hated him, and he hated me."
Nicole raised a brow. "And you think that hate just evaporated after high school, and you two suddenly fell in love just like that?" She shook her head. "No, it had to come from somewhere."
Sophie's cheeks flushed pink. "Well, he was more mature when I met him again. And muscular too."
"Who's this muscular he we're talking about?" Jack asked teasingly as he reentered the room and settled back down next to his wife. "Dinner's set for seven thirty, by the way."
"Jack, what did you think of me in high school?" Sophie asked him.
He gazed at her lovingly. "Well, I thought you were the most beautiful girl in the school."
