A Bride for 100 Days

twenty-six: bang bang, goes his girlfriend

After Gayle left, smirking at the both of us, he walked me to my bedroom door and then pressed me up against it. All of him and all of me, fitting together as we kissed. He cupped my face with both hands and held me close, opened my lips with his, pushed his hips into mine. 

I was moaning and wanting when...

"DADADADADAD!!"

And with a quick peck on his cheek, I escaped behind that door – alone.

The next morning, Jeb made us eggs and bacon and asked if I was up for another drive-in.

Now, in our vast dating experience - all two days of it - it seemed to me that we were already in a rut. 

"We're in a rut," I told him, cutting up a cantaloupe. 

"St-aw-bawees!" Levi pounded his tray.

"You, too," I pointed. "No more strawberries. Canta-lope. Can you say canta-lope?"

"No." 

"Fine. Orange square strawberries for our prince," I put some on his tray. He gobbled happily. 

Jeb slipped behind me and wrapped his arm around my waist. I turned and he kissed me. Soft and tickly and tasting like Colgate mint. "Some ruts are good," he said into my ear. 

I nuzzled into his neck and held on tight. Breathing him and feeling him. "Yes. But other ruts are just...ruts."

Levi began shouting for more orange strawberries. 

With a sigh, Jeb fetched some from the bowl. "So I'm not really creative wth this stuff," he admitted with a tiny shrug. "But I really would love to do something that you enjoy. I figure you've been to the museums downtown a million times. What else do you like? Uh, child-friendly?"

"You know, I was just thinking the same about you. What do you like to do on weekends? You know, prior to the instant family thing."

"Stuff, really. Working out, errands, getting some serious sleep, just hanging. So, could we do that together. Like - you have that thing this morning, right? At the community center? Is it something we could do with Levi?"

I nodded, slowly. "And you have to drop by Jay's house, right - to fix that cabinet door? Why don't I tag along to that?"

"So we share our normal. I like it. It's a plan." He smiled happily. 

I couldn't stop myself from laughing. God, did Jeb love his plans. 

We headed to the downtown community center. I was volunteering as one of the facilitators for a massive mural project that would almost cover the brick wall on the side of the building. 

Some squares had been auctioned off to raise money, others had been commissioned, and many had been just given away in lotteries to local public school art kids. They had a week to complete their squares before it would all be varnished. 

When we arrived, I suddenly felt shy about Jeb and Levi. I didn't even know how to introduce them. When the director walked up with a big smile, I settled on, "This is Jeb and Levi. This is the director here, Maura." 

That worked fine though my stomach did a flip when Levi turned and called me "Momma!" 

A bunch of the school kids loved on Levi and then Jeb took him to paint on regular paper in a kids play area while I did my thing.

At one point, I saw a couple of the moms chatting with Jeb. 

Whoa. I was hit with flash of jealousy so primal that it surprised me.