Baumgartner Generations: Janie

CHAPTER SIX

“Hey there, sexy.” TJ smiled at me when I closed the door behind me, hearing the distinctive growl of the Mustang taking off outside with Josh at the wheel.

“Hi.” I smiled back. “Is the princess all tucked in?”

Ronnie nodded, lifting her head from TJ’s chest. “I told her you’d peek in on her though and say goodnight.”

“Okay.” They looked so cozy together, and part of me wanted to settle myself between them-but another part of me suddenly felt like it didn’t belong there. I couldn’t help but think of Josh. What was I getting myself into? “Let me get changed and I’ll join you. What are you watching?”

“ Crazy Heart. It just started.” Ronnie grabbed the remote to pause it. “It’s supposed to be good.”

I stopped by Beth’s room first. She was curled up under the covers, her thumb stuck firmly in her mouth, but her head popped up when I opened the door.

“Did Mr. Josh drive you home?” she asked sleepily.

“He did.” I came to sit on the bed next to her.

“I like him.” Her voice sounded dreamy and far away. I know how you feel, kid, I thought. “Hey guess what?”

“What?”

“Mommy’s going to have a baby!” she whispered loudly.

I gasped. “Did they tell you that?”

“No.” She was still whispering, as if they might hear her. “They talked about it in the car. They thought I was listening to my iPod but the sound was off.”

“Sneaky Pete.” I laughed. “Did you tell them you know?”

“Nuh-uh.” Obviously-no wonder she was speaking in hushed tones. “Will it be a brother or a sister, do you think?”

“I don’t know.” I brushed her hair away from her face. “How do you feel about having a little brother or sister?”

“Okay I guess.” She didn’t sound thrilled. “Colin from school has a baby sister and he says she smells.”

“Babies can be smelly.” I tried not to laugh. “But they can be lots of fun, too.”

“I hope ours is fun.”

“It will be,” I assured her, tucking the covers all around her body, making a little Bethie-burrito the way she liked.

“I’m sleepy,” she murmured. “G'nite, Janie.”

“Good night, precious.”

I quickly changed into a baby-doll nightgown and towel-dried my hair, knowing they were waiting for me to start the movie. TJ whistled when I came out, his eyes lighting up. I just smiled, slipping onto the couch next to them. Ronnie was next to TJ, her cheek resting on his bare chest, and I slipped between her thighs, my head on her belly. She was wearing boy shorts and a t-shirt, but it pulled up a little, giving me a sweet view of her navel.

Crazy Heart was fantastically good-Jeff Bridges clearly earned the Oscar-but kind of sad. I think it brought us all a two-hour dose of reality we wanted to find a way to escape from for a while.

I debated telling them that Beth knew about the baby, but I didn’t want to spoil any surprise they had planned. Ronnie had really started to show-or maybe I had just really started to notice. Her breasts were full, her belly becoming rounded and kind of hard instead of soft. I knew, because I was resting my head there as we watched.

“Anyone ready for bed?” Ronnie murmured, stroking my hair. It was still damp, even though I’d towel-dried it in the bathroom. The rain was coming down outside again.

“It’s early still.” TJ glanced at his watch.

“We don’t have to sleep.” Ronnie slipped a hand down under my nightgown to grope my breast. I sighed softly, shifting to give her better access.

He chuckled. “Pregnant women are so horny.”

Ronnie’s fingers brushed my nipple, making me moan. “Yep, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.”

“Right, because it has nothing to do with having Janie down there tucked between your legs all night,” TJ joked, but I could hear the growing excitement in his voice as he watched his wife fondle me, both of her hands in the bodice of my nightgown now.

“Mmmm, no, it couldn’t be that,” she teased. I cupped my whole pussy with my hand over the cotton stretch of my panties-god, I was still so wet from my finger-fuck in the car, and that make me think of Josh. Thinking about him made me feel both guilty and excited. “Looks like Janie’s just as horny as I am…”

I turned over on the couch, my breasts spilling out of the top of my nightgown as I kissed Ronnie’s rounded belly, my hands moving up her thighs.

“Oh yeah,” TJ encouraged me as I slid her shorts down, finding she wasn’t wearing any panties at all. Her pussy lips were plump and thick and I licked them, using my tongue to tease her clit before sliding it down to really taste her. She tasted different lately, more thick and musky, and I buried my face between her legs, making her moan and reach down to caress my breasts.

“Wait.” Ronnie looked down at me, already breathing hard as I locked my mouth over her clit, sucking hard. She shuddered and I could see her nipples getting hard under her t-shirt. “Oh Janie, ohhh…”

“That’s my girl.” TJ slid his pajama bottoms down to let his cock free. “That’s my good girls.”

Ronnie twisted slightly, positioning her head in his lap as he stroked his cock against her cheek. I grabbed her thigh and lifted her leg, rubbing my own pussy as I licked hers. God, she tasted so good! I swallowed her juices, using my fingers to slide inside her, searching for more.

“Ohhh baby,” Ronnie whispered, looking up at TJ. “She licks my pussy soooo good!”

“Not as good as you suck cock.” TJ smiled, his eyes dark with lust as he put a hand in her hair, guiding her mouth to his dick. It was a stunning sight, seeing his fat, fleshy pole disappearing into her mouth again and again. His head went back, his breath coming faster, and I kept my mouth right there on her clit as I rubbed my own, watching them.

“Oh god,” Ronnie gasped, coming up for air. “What about Beth? We need to go to the bedroom.”

TJ groaned softly, his hand bruising his wife’s breast underneath her t-shirt, giving me a sweet glimpse of her rounded flesh. “I’m sure she’s sleeping.”

“Just in case.” Ronnie grabbed her shorts and pulled down her t-shirt. “Especially after what she almost said at dinner!” She looked over at me to see if I remembered, and of course, I did.

“I know.” My eyes widened at the memory. “And I… I haven’t even told Josh about… us… yet.”

Ronnie took my hand and pulled. “Well, from what you said, he and his wife have an open marriage. He’d be kind of a hypocrite not to accept this.” She wrapped her hand around TJ’s dick-he was still sitting on the sofa-and tugged. He groaned, his hips rising up, and we both followed her.

“You’d think that was true…” I answered with a sigh, but there was no more room for words once we got behind a safely locked door, the three of us stripping and finding our way to the bed.

TJ stood beside us for a while as Ronnie and I kissed and fondled each other, mewing like kittens as we rubbed and nuzzled and licked. I loved kissing her, feeling her breath on my face as it came in little pants, her hand cupping my pussy, mine thrust between her legs, both of us working for it. The lamp on the night table was on, burning low-we rarely had sex in the complete dark, I think because all of us liked to watch—and I could see TJ stroking and squeezing his cock as he stood next to the bed.

“Oh baby,” Ronnie murmured against my lips. I felt her quivering, her thighs trembling. “You’re gonna make me come.”

“Like this?” I whispered back, my thumb strumming her clit, my fingers buried deep.

“Yes!” she urged, hooking her foot over my thigh and thrusting against my hand. I focused all my energy on her, watching as her head went back, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders, her nipples hard and almost red instead of their usual pink. “Oh Janie! Now! Now!”

TJ groaned softly and I met his eyes as his wife came all over my hand, her pussy clenching my fingers, her nails digging into the soft skin of my shoulders. I would have little half-crescents there later, but at the time I didn’t even really notice, because Ronnie was heaving and straining in my arms, her whole body quailing with her orgasm.

“That was fucking beautiful.” TJ pressed against Ronnie from behind, sandwiching her between our flesh. He leaned over to kiss her and she turned her face up to him, arching and letting him maul her breast. I pressed my hand over his, squeezing, rubbing. I hadn’t been imagining things-her breasts really were much rounder and fuller than they’d ever been. And more sensitive too. She squealed and yelped now when I licked and sucked them instead of just moaning. I leaned in to suck the one TJ wasn’t fondling, just to prove my point, and she responded immediately, her hands burying themselves in my hair.

“I’m so wet,” I murmured as my tongue played with her nipple, back and forth, teasing. She rolled to capture my mouth, straddling me, pressing my hands above my head.

Glancing over at her husband, she smiled. “I think Janie needs to be fucked.”

“Well, I’m sure I’m the man for the job.” He grinned as he moved toward us on the bed, situating himself between my open thighs. She leaned forward over me as he teased my pussy with his cock, making me moan and arch against Ronnie. She kissed me softly, murmuring sweetness as he slid himself in deep.

“That’s a girl.” She looked into my eyes as they widened in surprise at his sudden entry. “Take that dick. You like it inside you like that?”

“Yes.” I wrapped my arms around her. I loved feeling her body against mine while he was fucking me, the soft press of her breasts, the now-rounded swell of her belly. It was almost as if she was fucking me with his cock as we rocked together on the bed, our tongues and arms twining.

“Do you want me to lick your little clit?” she whispered in my ear as TJ lunged.

He was fucking me, but his hands were on his wife’s hips and they moved together, we all did, the bed hitting the wall with every thrust.

I sighed softly, indecisive. I loved the feel of her body against mine, but the thought of her tonguing me to climax as TJ fucked me was too hard to resist.

“Yes,” I urged. “Please. Lick it.”

“Only if you return the favor.” She grinned and then turned around, straddling my face. I groaned and wrapped my arms around her hips, pulling her pussy to my mouth.

“Don’t stop fucking her, baby,” Ronnie insisted and I gasped when TJ’s hands gripped my hips, rocking my legs back, making my body into a rounded “C” shape and conveniently bringing my pussy up more so she could lick it. He was pounding into me now, making my whole body pitch and quaver.

“Oh god!” I cried when her mouth found my cunt, but the sound of my voice was completely muffled. I was drowning in her juices and drinking that down as fast as I could. Her mouth was magic, her fingers spreading my lips for both her husband’s pounding cock and the relentless lash of her tongue.

“I don’t want you to come,” she panted up at TJ, and I felt his fingers seizing my flesh as he groaned his response. “I want you to fuck my ass.”

Oh god. I was surprised he didn’t come right there, but he managed to hold out, still fucking me anyway as she re-focused her energy on my pussy, bringing me right to the brink of madness. I thought I was screaming but no one could tell because Ronnie was grinding her cunt down against my face, her thighs spread and trembling, and I knew she was close.

Ohhhhh fuck…

They both took me there in an instant, between the belly-deep assault of TJ’s cock and the merciless press of Ronnie’s tongue, I was gone, lost, catapulted, my whole body welling with my climax and then releasing it in a quivering flood. Ronnie was coming, too, pushed over by my orgasm, her pussy a hot, fleshy, pulsing throb against my face.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” TJ muttered, pulling slowly out of me. Ronnie rolled off me to the side to cuddle me against her, crooning and stroking my hair. I could taste myself when she kissed me and my tongue found hers, looking for more.

“Baby, I don’t think I can last long,” he gasped as he watched us tangling our limbs together on the bed.

“But I want you to fuck my ass,” she pouted, and then grinned as she got up on her hands and knees. “I’m sure Janie will help…”

I smiled, reaching over and opening the night table drawer. The KYJelly was always there. I flipped open the lid as TJ sighed and positioned himself behind his wife to spread her ass cheeks.

“Here,” he directed, nodding, and I drizzled some of the stuff down the crack.

Ronnie shivered, glancing back at us as I worked the slippery lube into the tight space TJ wanted to invade, the opening winking at us like a dark starfish.

“Here, too,” I murmured, using my slick hand to make him even wetter, jerking from base to tip, using quick, easy strokes. He captured my hip and pulled me close to kiss me. I kissed him back, my hand still tugging at his dick.

“You do it,” he whispered against my mouth. “Put it in.”

Swallowing, I pressed the spongy head of his cock against the wet pucker of her ass, watching as he grasped her hips for leverage. I was always sure it wouldn’t go in, every time I watched him do this. Ronnie moaned, her toes curling, the covers bunched in her fists as he shifted forward, letting me guide him, my fingers pressing his flesh deeper.

“Ooooo!” Ronnie shivered and then cried out as the head of his cock slipped into her. TJ hissed air between his teeth, his fingers digging into her hips.

“Are you okay?” I whispered, dipping my head down to look at Ronnie. Her eyes were half-closed, her cheek against the mattress.

“That’s the hard part,” she murmured, closing her eyes all the way and slipping her hand between her legs. She liked rubbing herself off when he fucked her ass. “Now he can fuck me. Make him fuck my ass good.”

“Wait.” I reached over to the night stand and opened the drawer again. There were two little Lelo vibrators inside in silk drawstring bags-her bag was red and mine was blue. They matched the color of the vibrators. TJ always said next to the creamy complexion of the two of us together, it was like the fourth of July. It sure felt like fireworks when we played with them.

“Here.” I slid Ronnie’s red vibrator out of the bag and turned it on, handing it to her. She took it, moaning as she slipped it between her pussy lips.

“Christ, baby,” TJ moaned. “I can feel that against my dick.”

I knelt up next to him as Ronnie fucked her pussy with the vibrator and TJ began to fuck her ass. I was always both excited and fascinated to see how much the tight hole of her ass stretched to accommodate him. I pressed against his side, sliding my vibrator out of its sheath and turning it on. Just watching him fuck her was enough to make me want more.

“You like it in your ass, baby?” he panted, sliding in deep. She squealed, biting her lip, and I heard the hum of her vibrator grow louder. That made him groan, his head going back. “God you’re so fucking tight!”

“I wonder what it feels like?” I whispered out loud, slipping my buzzing vibrator between my swollen pussy lips as my fingers explored the place where his cock met her flesh. He slowed, sliding an arm around my waist and kissing me. His tongue slipped into my mouth, teasing, and I ran the tip of the vibrator against my throbbing clit.

“Does it feel good?” I murmured as TJ broke our kiss, wrapping my thumb and finger around his cock and letting it slide over him as he fucked her ass.

“God, yes!” Ronnie moaned and bucked, fucking herself with the vibrator, fucking back against his cock. “I’m gonna come! TJ! Oh!”

He gasped and grabbed her with one hand, the other hand gripping my hip, as she shuddered against him. I watched, shivering, my pussy juice so copious it was actually coating my thighs.

“Does it feel good in your ass?” I whispered.

TJ gritted his teeth, his eyes meeting mine. “You keep asking and I’m gonna show you how good it feels in your tight little asshole.”

“Would you like that?” I teased, feeling his hold on me tighten, his cock still buried in his wife’s tight hole, my thumb and finger still making a ring around it. I could feel his dick get fatter when I said it. “Would you like to fuck my little virgin ass?”

“Fuck,” he said, kissing me hard and thrusting deep, making Ronnie yelp and hang onto the sheet to keep from hitting her head on the headboard. “Oh god!” he growled, really giving it to her, taking it, using her ass. “Oh god, I’m coming!”

“Mine!” I insisted, pulling him quickly out and stroking, aiming the head of his cock against her asshole as I put my cheek against the rounded swell of her behind. He jerked and thrust, the tip of his cock finding its way back into her hole for a moment as he came, thick white liquid flooding back out over the head as I tugged on him and leaned in to lick it off.

“Oh Janie,” he groaned, watching as my tongue played over his dick, catching each new blast as well as I could, still rubbing the head of the vibrator between my legs.

“Oh fuck, Janie, suck me off! Yeah, yeah!”

He grabbed my hair, burying his cock in my mouth as the last geyser of his cum bathed my tongue. I swallowed him dutifully, moaning softly. He gasped when Ronnie turned around and joined me, kissing me over the head of his cock, our tongues touching.

“I think I must be the luckiest man alive,” he panted, one hand in Ronnie’s hair, the other buried in mine.

Ronnie smiled, kneeling up to kiss him, and I did, too, the three of us together, arms entwined.

“I think Janie needs some more attention,” Ronnie whispered, cupping my breast. I flushed, realizing I was still riding the little vibrator in my hand.

“Well we can’t have that.” TJ grinned, pushing me back on the bed.

I spread for both of them, their mouths and tongues, letting Ronnie take my vibrator. She turned it up on a high pulse, sliding it in and letting it hit that spot deep inside that made me crazy as they took turns licking me.

“I know what you want,” TJ murmured, reaching up to pinch my nipple as his wife took her turn tonguing my clit. I moaned and reached down to spread my pussy wider for her mouth. “I can make you come… just… like… that.” He snapped his fingers and I watched, wide-eyed, as he took the other vibrator, still wet from Ronnie’s pussy and humming on the bed, sliding it down between my legs.

“Noooo!” I howled, but Ronnie rocked my hips, pushing my legs back, opening me wider, thrusting the blue vibrator in my cunt even deeper. I begged TJ with my eyes but he did it anyway, pressing the red tip of the vibrator against my ass. “Oh fuck! No! Please! Don’t!”

Ronnie licked me faster, distracting me, and I moaned, thrashing on the bed. TJ grabbed my thigh, keeping me spread, and pressed the little humming head against my asshole. I cried out, my whole body tense, but I was so fucking close to coming, I couldn’t stop it.

“Oooooo!” I howled as I felt the little red vibrator open me up, sliding in next to the blue one, Ronnie’s tongue and mouth relentless, her face full of my juices. It was so good, too good, and I couldn’t hold back. “Oh fuck! Yes! Do it! Fuck my ass and my cunt!”

I was stretched, oh god, so full, my pussy spasming, even my little asshole clenching around the slick, hard invasion there. It was love and rockets and fireworks and the Fourth of July between my legs and they both kept on, licking and fucking, until I was begging, pleading for them to stop.

“I can’t!” I groaned, pedaling backwards on the bed. “No more! Oh! God!”

They came up to join me, Ronnie on one side, TJ on the other, both of them kissing me softly, petting me. My skin was on fire, my whole body alive, my nerve endings raw, turned inside out. TJ pulled the covers up over us and instead of dozing happily between them as usual, I found myself thinking of Josh. Again.

What is wrong with me? I thought, looking between the two people I loved most in the world. But every time I closed my eyes, it was Josh, smiling, kissing me, calling me “Just—Janie” and whispering into my ear how much he wanted me. I sighed, knowing how selfish it was to want him, especially now, here. But I did. I wanted him more than anything.

“Where are you going?” TJ murmured as I began to untangle my limbs.

“My room,” I whispered.

“Makes sense. Just in case,” Ronnie mumbled, snuggling up to her husband as I pulled my nightgown over my head and found my panties on the floor. “’Cuz of Beth…”

“Good night,” TJ called softly as I opened the door.

I smiled and said goodnight as I closed it behind me, but I was already wondering if Josh had called. When I went downstairs and got back to my room, the first thing I did was check my phone.

No message. But his number was there-he’d called. I glanced at the clock.

Probably too late. I hit “dial” anyway.

“Hello?” He didn’t sound sleepy.

“Did I wake you?” I whispered.

“No.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “I was just thinking about you.”

“Me, too.”

“You were thinking about you, too? What a coincidence.”

I muffled a laugh, not wanting to wake Beth down the hall. “No, I was thinking about this incredible guy who drove me home today…”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. He’s the sexiest thing I've ever met on wheels.”

I could swear I heard him blush. “The feeling is mutual, sweetheart.”

“I got an idea,” I whispered, closing my eyes and cupping my still sopping mound. The minute I heard Josh’s voice it was throbbing again. “A really naughty one.”

“Do tell…”

So I did.

And we didn’t hang up the phone until my alarm insisted it was time to get up.

“Janie!” Ronnie nudged me awake and my head snapped up.

“Sorry,” I apologized, flushing and looking over at Gretchen across the table. We were sitting in Katz’s Deli, an infamous tourist trap-the place where they filmed the

“orgasm scene” in When Harry Met Sally-and I’d obviously just fallen asleep over my pastrami reuben. “I’m just so tired…”

“You and TJ are keeping the poor girl up too late, Ronnie,” Gretchen teased, I flushed even more deeply, letting them both think that was the reason, that it was most certainly not the fact that I’d been up talking to Josh until the wee hours in the morning for the past two weeks. Definitely not that.

“More the other way around.” Ronnie winked, taking a drink of her water. She’d sworn off both coffee and Diet Coke. “So are you really here to stay, Gretch?”

“I don’t see why not.” The blonde woman leaned back in her chair with a shrug, flipping her hair over her shoulder. It was almost as long as mine, but finer and straighter and almost white-blonde instead of honey-colored. “New York is the best place to be if you want to do fashion photography.”

“California didn’t work out?” Ronnie took a loud bite of her pickle.

Gretchen rolled her eyes. “Flakes and bimbo. So not my scene. Oh my god, are you the quintessential pregnant woman or what? Do you want some ice cream to go with that?”

“I can’t help it.” Ronnie laughed, crunching happily. “They have the best pickles in the world.”

“So when does this kid make its appearance?” Gretchen asked. She was eating a chopped liver sandwich, in spite of the gagging sound Ronnie made when she ordered, and looked like she was enjoying it. “And do you know what it is yet?”

“Hopefully not until my due date.” Ronnie leaned back, putting a hand protectively over her belly. It was even more rounded now-it was like she’d popped out over night. They’d even told Beth, because it had become so obvious. “I’m due on Halloween.”

Gretchen frowned. “That’s… ominous.”

“I hope not.” Ronnie sighed. “Oh, and we’re not finding out the gender.”

“Why not?” I complained.

“Really!” Gretchen agreed. “How are we supposed to shop?”

“You’ll just have to buy yellow and green.”

“They’ve got some cute gender-neutral stuff nowadays,” I said, picking pastrami off my sandwich. The stuff was like velvet pork, so yummy. “Purples and oranges.” They both looked at me, surprised. “What? I’ve had pregnant friends. I’ve been in Babies R Us.”

Gretchen leaned her elbows on the table, looking across at Ronnie fondly. “You must be glad to get the summer off.”

“I am,” she agreed. “And now we’ve got a real vacation to look forward to. TJ’s taking time off work, and it’s perfect timing-Beth will be at music camp all that week!.”

“Ahhhh, a Baumgartner vacation.” Gretchen grinned. “I, myself, can’t wait. It’s bound to be a wild time.”

I snorted. “If my parents invite anyone else, someone’s going to have to sleep outside.” Of course, I’d been dreaming about inviting Josh. I just had no idea how to broach the subject. And how awkward would that be? I knew it was impossible. But still… I wanted what I wanted.

“Oh, it will be fine.” Gretchen winked at me. “We can sleep three or four to a bed.” That cracked both of them up.

“You guys are so bad.” I sighed, glancing down at my phone. I had it in my hand, in my lap, waiting for a call or text from Josh. It was Saturday afternoon, and I was sure we’d see each other tonight, especially since Gretchen was now staying at TJ and Ronnie’s in the guest bedroom until she could find an apartment. I flipped through, noticing two texts from Lil. WHERE ARE U? and WTF?? Ugh. I’d been so involved the past few weeks, I hadn’t even called her back.

The phone rang in my hand and I jumped. “I have to take this.” Ronnie looked at me, eyebrows raised. “Go ahead.”

“I’ll be right back.” I stood, rushing toward the back of the deli, not wanting them to hear my conversation with Josh. Too obvious, I realized, but oh well, it was too late.

“Hello?” I said breathlessly, slipping into the women’s bathroom. Empty. Thank god.

“I told Catherine.”

My breath caught in my throat. Of course I knew what he’d told her-that he was seeing me. Granted, we hadn’t been together face-to-face since the night he drove me home from Tamarind, but we’d been talking practically non-stop. We’d even talked about Catherine and their relationship and how he’d had the feeling, ever since he’d agreed to the seeing-other-people-thing, that it was more a one-way street in Catherine’s eyes. Her street. Not his.

I swallowed hard. “…And?”

“She wants a divorce.”

“Josh…” I breathed, leaning back against the wall. I felt like if I didn’t have something to lean on, I was going to fall over. “Don’t kid around.”

“I’m not.” So matter-of-fact, but I could hear it in his voice. His heart was broken.

I sank to the floor, unmindful of where I was, whispering, “I can’t believe it.”

“I can.”

“But—” I protested. “But she was the one who wanted an open marriage!”

“I know,” he agreed with a sigh. “But apparently she was only fine with that if I wasn’t seeing someone else.”

I stared at the phone. “Is that what she said?”

“She said a lot of things.” His voice grew clipped and short.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I didn’t mean to pry.”

He took a deep breath. “She said mostly that she loves women.”

“Well…so do I,” I replied, thinking of Ronnie. And Ronnie and Gretchen. They’d been lovers once, too.

“No…I mean… really loves women,” he said. “Like, exclusively.”

“Then…why did she marry you?” I pondered, shaking my head.

“Yeah, that was my question.”

“Did you get an answer?” I glanced up as someone walked in. It was clearly a New York tourist-the I “heart” New York t-shirt was a dead giveaway—and she did a double take at me sitting on the floor, but I didn’t care.

“She said she married me because she loved me.” He sighed. “Still loves me, I guess.”

“And you love her.”

“I did,” he admitted sadly. “I do.”

“How long have you been married again?”

“Four years.”

Not chump change. “And how long have you had an open marriage?”

“Two.”

I blinked at the phone. I knew I’d heard the numbers before, but they still stunned me. “She’s been sleeping with other women for two years…”

“Yep.”

“And you never once…”

“Nope.”

“Are you a masochist?”

Josh laughed. “I think I’m just…very stubborn. Like someone I know often says, ‘I want what I want.’”

“Yeah. I know what you mean.” I smiled, wishing I could reach through the phone and hug him. “So now what?”

“I don’t know, Janie.”

I closed my eyes, leaning my head back against the tiles. “Josh, I… I really… like you.”

“I like you too.” He gave a low laugh. “Yeah, that’s an understatement.”

I glanced over as the tourist came out of the stall and started to wash her hands.

“But I’ll be honest… I don’t want to be the cause of your marriage falling apart.”

“No.” I heard the protest in his voice. “Janie, don’t even think that.”

“But if it weren’t for me—”

“Janie, stop.” There was steel in his voice now."Catherine made her decision, and she used you as an excuse to make it. That’s all. It doesn’t have anything to do with you personally. Not really.”

“I just…” I sighed as the tourist woman walked past me to the door. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’ll be okay,” Josh assured me softly. “Trust me. I know it will.” I shook my head, swallowing past a lump in my throat. “I don’t know what to say.”

“How about saying yes.”

“Yes?” I asked quizzically. “To what?”

“To me.” This time his voice was near a whisper.

And so was mine. “Oh Josh…”

He cleared his throat. “I made reservations at the Plaza.”

“Yikes!” I rested my forehead on my hand. “I think it’s a little soon. Don’t you? I mean…it feels like… like having sex at a funeral.”

“That’s morbidly hot.” He laughed.

“Josh!”

“Well, I did it for two reasons,” he explained. “I admit, it gives us a place to go besides the car…but it also gives me a place to stay.”

“She’s kicking you out?” I exclaimed.

“No…” he corrected me. “I told her I was leaving.”

I blinked, feeling tears stinging my eyes. “Is this really what you want?”

“ You are what I want.”

My heart stopped. “Oh Josh…”

“All you have to do is say yes.”

“I don’t know…” I breathed. This was all so very complicated-and getting worse by the minute. “I mean…”

“Say yes, Janie.” If it wasn’t Josh, I’d swear he was almost pleading with me.

“Don’t think. Don’t weigh the pros and cons. Just feel. Do what you feel.”

“That always gets me into trouble…” I reminded him.

“I don’t believe it.”

“I want to…” I whispered. “I do…”

“So do it,” he urged. “Just say yes, Janie.”

I closed my eyes and whispered, “Yes, Janie.”

“Yes?” He wasn’t just smiling now, I could tell. He was grinning.

“Yes.” What else could I say?