Page 64 of Gideon
“Well, that sounds nice. Plus, it would be nice to meet the brothers in their natural state,” she quipped, rolling back onto her back and cuddling into me.
“Their natural state?” I questioned. “What does that mean?”
“You know, their various states of ass. Levi’s the ass. Malachi’s the asshole, and so on.” I couldn’t hold back my sputtering laugh, remembering that night we had discussed them all.
“As long as you agree now that I’m not a pain in the ass,” I quipped, kissing her temple as she snuggled closer.
“Oh, you’re still a pain in the ass, Gideon Temple. Make no mistake about that,” she teased, tickling my sides.
Our silly banter did not let up as we continued to talk throughout the afternoon. I wasn’t sure I’d ever smiled so much. My cheeks even hurt. Soon, the afternoon had passed, and we both lay there, lazily watching the clouds skirt across the sky.
“I should probably head in to the house and get to work on dinner,” she muttered with a languid stretch.
“Try not to burn the house down, okay?” I teased her, kissing the top of her head before she stood up.
“Hardy-har-har,” she sarcastically retorted. “See you inside in a bit?” she asked.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” I promised her, turning to watch her walk away and off to the house.
I lay there for a while after she left, lost in thought. Naomi was a complete conundrum. She was like fire and ice, existing in the same place at the same time. It didn’t make sense. She didn’t make sense. And yet, I was drawn to her more than I had been drawn to anything. More than this boat. Hell, perhaps more than even kink.
I pulled my cell out of my pocket and dialed Zeke’s number.
“Gideon? Is everything okay?” Zeke’s voice answered on the other line.
“Hey, brother. Yeah, everything is fine. I just…” I sighed, sitting up and running a hand errantly through my hair.
“Just what?” he questioned, concern evident in his voice.
“This is a lot harder than I thought,” I admitted quietly.
“You’re not kidding there,” he scoffed with a short, derisive laugh. “What has you stressed?”
“Balance,” I groaned.
“Ah, and what in particular about balance is… throwing you off?”
“Did you really just make a joke about balance? At my expense?” I chuckled. Zeke was rarely a jokester, but when he did throw out a line or two, it was a welcome surprise.
“I did. Enjoy it while it lasts. But seriously, what’s going on?” he asked, getting back to the matter at hand.
“It’s just figuring out how to do this. How far in do you go? How do you know if it’s too far or too fast?” I basically whined my frustrations to him.
“With Naomi?” he questioned.
“No, with fucking Janet Jackson. Yes, with Naomi,” I sniped at him.
“Well, where are you finding your balance issue exactly?”
“All of it! How do I balance going through all of this with her, all the truth and real talk, while still keeping my head above water?” I explained.
“Keeping your head above water? What do you mean by that?” he continued.
“Are you ever going to answer my questions with a statement and not just another question?” I accused him.
“Well, I need to understand before I can give you any real advice, Gideon. So what is it exactly that has you all twisted up?” he pushed me. I rolled my eyes, tugging at my hair in frustration.
“I can’t really tell you,” I admitted with a groan of annoyed frustration.
