Chapter 7 #2
“I just don’t want to have to quit my job. I want a baby, but I love what I do,” Laryn said tearfully.
“I think women everywhere have the same feelings as you,” Chaos said gently. “There are enough smart people sitting around this table that I’m sure we can figure something out by the time it might become an issue.”
“You’re right. I’m just…stressed. Hormones, you know,” Laryn said.
Casper put his arm around Laryn and pulled her into his side. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed.
“And before any of you assholes ask, yes, we’re getting married. That was always in our plans, but the baby sped that up a bit. There’ll be a lot of doctor visits, to make sure Laryn and the baby are okay, and I want her to have all the health benefits being married to me will give her.”
“Doesn’t she have those with her job now?” Obi-Wan asked. He wasn’t being an asshole, he was truly wondering.
“That’s what I told Tate,” Laryn said, sitting up.
“So you don’t want to get married?” Chaos asked, sounding confused.
“Of course I do. I love him. But I don’t want to have to get married.”
“It doesn’t sound like you have to get married,” Pyro chimed in. “You’ve got health insurance, you’re living together, what else will getting a piece of paper give you?”
“Shut the hell up,” Casper complained.
Laryn giggled, and the sound was a nice break in the tension that had surrounded the friends.
“I keep telling her that this changes nothing about our plans, just moves them up a little. She’s the love of my life, and if something happens to me, I want her and our baby to receive all the benefits that come with being my spouse.
You all know as well as I do that spouses in the Army have more rights than non-spouses. ”
He wasn’t wrong about that. It was possible that if they weren’t married, and something happened to Casper while on an op, no one would come to Laryn’s home to tell her. Unlikely, but possible.
“And I’m going to officially ask her. It’s gonna be uber romantic. And she’s gonna remember the proposal for the rest of her days, and tell our kids and grandkids all about how their dad and grampa went out of his way to make the most important question of her life memorable.”
“So you have it planned?” Pyro asked with a grin. “Can we help?”
“No, and no,” Casper growled.
Obi-Wan chuckled.
“Don’t embarrass me,” Laryn told Casper with a scowl.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“And no asking when we’re in bed either. Because I’m not telling our kids or grandkids about that.”
Laughter once more rang out around their tables.
“Please tell me that with the big secret out, Casper’s going to be less of a dick and PT won’t be quite so horrible from now on,” Buck muttered.
“Don’t count on it,” Casper informed him.
Everyone groaned.
Obi-Wan leaned into Zita once more. He was worried that all this drama was going to turn her off from wanting to hang out with his friends.
Her idea of a live-in nanny was a good one, but if it was his kid, he wasn’t sure he’d trust someone he hired like that with his baby.
He’d worry about what was happening the whole time he was gone.
“You still want a drink?”
She turned to him with a sheepish smile. “I didn’t mean to start a whole…brouhaha,” she said. “All I wanted to know was if it was okay with Laryn if I had a drink.”
Obi-Wan smiled at her. She was adorable. And he loved how considerate she was. “I think it’s safe to say that she’s okay with you having whatever the hell you want. Now, what can I get you?”
“Diet Coke and rum, please.”
“You got it.” He couldn’t resist the urge to lean in closer, until his lips were almost touching her ear, and saying, “Thank you for being so cool with this. I swear it’s not usually so…heavy around us.”
The hand she placed on his knee felt as if it was burning through his jeans. “It’s fine, Sage. Promise. When the medics and I get together while on duty, you’d probably be scandalized at how raw our casual talk is. All about medical procedures and bodily fluids and stuff.”
Obi-Wan pulled back and chuckled. “Not much scandalizes me. I’ll be right back.”
Then he stood and asked if anyone wanted anything from the bar. When everyone said they were good, he headed across the crowded room to get the drink for Zita.
By the time he got back, with both the Diet Coke and rum and a lemon drop for Mandy, talk had settled into more mundane topics.
Zita was talking about the film and what she did on set.
Everyone was laughing at the story she was telling about the extra she’d had to dose with Zofran, to get her to stop throwing up from nerves after being near Logan Striker.
“Thanks,” Zita said with a small smile as Obi-Wan put the drink down in front of her.
“You didn’t have to get me a lemon drop, but I appreciate it,” Mandy told him.
Obi-Wan nodded at her and leaned back in his chair, one arm resting on the back of Zita’s as he took a sip of the beer Pyro poured for him.
“So, tell the truth. Were you weirded out when Obi-Wan told you that we’d all be here tonight?” Edge asked.
“Why would she be weirded out?” Buck asked.
“Seriously?” Edge asked, with an incredulous look on his face.
“Yeah.”
“Maybe because going on a date with all your buddies isn’t normal?” Edge said.
Buck frowned.
And Mandy giggled.
He looked at his girlfriend, seeming completely befuddled. “I’m missing the joke.”
“Dude, you did the same thing,” Chaos informed him. “Brought Mandy to Anchor Point on your first ever date—with all of us in attendance.”
Buck looked from Mandy, to Chaos, to Zita, then back at Mandy.
“It’s okay,” Mandy said, taking pity on him. “I wanted to meet all the friends you talked about while we were in the jungle.”
“I…It’s… I just wanted to share the most important people in my life with you,” Buck said, looking exasperated. “I totally should’ve taken you out to a fancy restaurant or something. Maybe bowling.” Both Mandy and Laryn giggled at that. “Anything, as long as it was just the two of us.”
But Mandy shook her head. “No, Nash. I was happy to meet everyone. I wouldn’t have wanted to do anything else.”
Obi-Wan glanced at Zita. Had he fucked up too? He was out of practice wooing a woman, and apparently screwing things up right from the start.
“Don’t,” she said, obviously reading his mind. “Tonight is perfect.”
“But—”
“If you’d asked me out to dinner at some fancy restaurant, I probably would’ve turned you down.
I’m not a fancy restaurant kind of girl.
And I let you pick me up, sure, but that was about as much leeway as I was going to give you, since you specifically invited me to a casual night out with you and your friends.
Besides, neither of us were interested in dating anyone, remember? ”
Obi-Wan was well aware his friends were listening intently to this conversation—and that they’d probably give him shit tomorrow. But he didn’t care.
“I wasn’t. But now I am,” he said firmly.
“You are what?”
“Interested in dating. You.”
He couldn’t read Zita’s expression, but he wasn’t telling her anything he hadn’t said this afternoon, in the smokers’ area on the film set. He went on.
“Next time, I’ll do it right. Maybe we can rent electric bikes and ride up and down the boardwalk at the beach. Or we can do one of those escape rooms or ax-throwing things. I’ve heard the aquarium is neat too.”
“Oooh, we should all do an escape room! We’d break a speed record for figuring out the puzzles!” Pyro bragged.
But Obi-Wan kept his gaze on Zita. He hadn’t thought it was weird at all that he’d asked her to come hang out with everyone at Anchor Point.
But now, he realized it was probably a bonehead move…
because deep down, he’d known even then that this was a date.
Hadn’t he thought at the time that he’d prefer to cook for her at his apartment, just the two of them?
At least she was being cool about it. And he believed her when she said she would’ve turned him down if he’d gone the more traditional route.
This dating thing was tough.
“Zita?” he whispered, when she didn’t respond, suddenly feeling off-kilter and unsure of himself.
“Me too,” she said after a long moment.
“You too, what?” Chaos asked. “You want to date our boy here?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake, Obi-Wan was done with his friends.
Why he’d thought this was a good idea was beyond him.
He should’ve had this conversation somewhere else, away from his teammates, but it was too late now.
But then again, if Edge hadn’t brought up the possibility that a group get-together wasn’t the best impression to make on a first date, he probably never would’ve thought twice about what he’d done.
He glanced at Chaos to tell him to fuck off, but a commotion at the front door of the bar had everyone turning to see what the hubbub was all about.
Obi-Wan couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Who he was seeing.
Carmen St. James had just sauntered into Anchor Point as if she were the queen of England, and she was doing her subjects a huge favor by gracing the commoners with her presence.
There was a big man standing right behind her, a guy Obi-Wan had seen on set more than once, but he had no idea what his job was.
Carmen looked around, saw him staring at her—and made a beeline straight for him.
Obi-Wan heard Zita inhale deeply and mutter, “What the hell is she doing here?”
But he had no time to do or say anything else before the beautiful actress was standing next to his chair with a huge smile on her face.