“Gah! Can you not call them milk machines?” Dee shrieks.
“You know Dee, I don’t know what you’re so freaked out about. I love it when Greg uses his teeth.” I laugh when her jaw drops. It really is just too easy to shock her these days. I’m pretty sure the last time she got some, Bush Sr. was president.
“I do not need to know that about Greg.” She looks over at Izzy who is still laughing. “Why are you laughing? That’s just gross?”
Izzy calms herself down, and looks at Dee with mirth dancing in her bright eyes. “Then I guess you don’t want to hear her tell you about when she first discovered he has not one, not two, but three piercings on his junk!” She starts laughing all over again when Dee starts gagging and leaves the bathroom.
“Cruel, but fucking hilarious.” I laugh right along with Izzy for a few seconds. When we both are able to stop, I look at her and offer a small smile. “Are you really okay? I know you wanted to be there with us, but this really was just something that we needed to do, just the three of us.”
“My feelings were hurt for a second, but then Axel explained it to me. I understand, really I do.” We hug for a second before she pulls back and grabs my hand. “At least he did something right.”
She’s not wrong there either. While he and Emmy take turns complimenting the ring he picked out for me, I take a second to take it all in again.
My heart swells when I think about what wearing these rings mean. My husband. It’s so new, and honestly hasn’t sunk in yet. Not sure that it even will for a while, but the thought that the man I was so determined to avoid and evade is now my husband and soon the adoptive father of Cohen, makes my heart expand.
When we make it back to the table, Greg stands and pulls the chair out for me. Right as I’m getting ready to say hey to Beck sitting at my right, Greg leans over and whispers in my ear. “Do you know why Dee came out before you three spouting some nonsense about me being disgusting?” I look across the table at Dee. She is still looking at Greg as if he’s the carrier of every incurable disease out there, and it has me in fits all over again.
“Knock it off, Dee!” I yell across the table.
She shakes her head a few times and looks back at Greg, “There are just some things that I do not want to know about you. Three? Really?”
Greg wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer to his side. I can feel his laughter vibrating through his shaking body as he laughs at Dee. With my husband’s strong arms wrapped around me, Cohen in his lap, and all of our friends surrounding us, I thank my sister for the millionth time for always reminding me to live.
We decide to leave dinner a little early. When Izzy asks if Cohen can spend the night at their house, a very excited three-year-old yelps ‘yes’ across the table, and Greg doesn’t waste any time paying the tab, and dragging me out of the restaurant.
“You’re acting like a beast, Greg.” I laugh, struggling to keep up with his long legged strides.
“Told you, every Beauty needs her Beast, and your beast was just guaranteed a whole night of uninterrupted sex with his wife. So let’s move, woman.” When I still can’t keep up with his stomping strides towards the truck, he spins, and before I have a chance to protest, he puts his shoulder in my gut and I am hanging over his back.
“Greg!” I can’t even fake outrage at this point. This is my man and I fucking love it.
When we reach the truck, he all but throws me in the seat. He does take the time to lean into my body and devour my lips in a soul-consuming kiss full of promise off what is to come. When he pulls away, I whimper and he laughs.
“Yeah, you feel me now.”
“Beast.”
The car ride home is full of thick heat. Not because of the temperature, but because we both know we may make it two steps into the house, if lucky, before coming together.
Ever since Cohen has come to live with us full time, we have had to become creative with our sex life. The time he pushed me into the pantry and gave me the hottest five minutes between our can goods is one of my favorites. Almost getting busted by Cohen was not. I am convinced that that kid came with a built-in cockblocker. If anything, having the little guy around just makes us hotter for each other when we are able to steal time away together.
Then again, with Greg Cage, every time feels like the first time.
When we pull into the neighborhood, offering Stan a wave, and make our way to the house, I unbuckle my belt and prepare for what will come next. Predictable as always, he pulls right up to the front door, climbs out, and stalks over to my door. At least this time he cradles me in his arms bridal style as he storms to the door. I reach out and take care of the locks, and in two seconds, we are in the door with it shut, and locked, and my back flat against the cold steel.