Page 23 of Her Marine
“This all looks delicious, and I'm starving,” Aariah spoke, taking in the food on the table.
“Well, let's eat,” Journee agreed with a nod.
The three sat down, passing the dishes around and placing food on their plates. Once they'd blessed their food, they dug in, and it was a few minutes later, Aariah broke the silence.
“So, Journ, who are the flowers from?”
Journee swallowed the bite she'd just taken, picking up her glass of wine and taking a sip. “Killian,” she replied.
“Oh shit,” Aariah responded. “So, when did the two of you start seeing one another?”
“Right, because I was under the assumption that he was just visiting for a few days,” Aryah tacked on.
“Not that long ago,” Journee responded with a shrug.
The twins looked at her before looking at one another, and Journee knew they were having some twin telepathy conversation. They then both turned their attention to her.
“Nuh-uh,” Aryah spoke. “Spill because you're hiding something.”
Journee rolled her eyes at her sisters, but she knew them well enough to know that they wouldn't drop it. At least, Aariah wouldn't. Honestly, Journee didn't mind. She wanted to talk to someone about it aside from Kaydence, and she'd been waiting to see her sisters so they could speak face to face.
So, as they ate, Journee gave them the rundown for the last almost two weeks. Though it felt longer than that, talking about it made Journee realize how short of a period it had been.
She told them about running into David at the bar and Killian coming to help her out of the situation. The things he'd said to her when they'd walked away. How he'd worked her up from just his words at the bowling alley and the dates they'd been on. Journee also voiced her moment of doubt that she'd had just last night to them.
It wasn't as if they weren't both adults, and they each knew what they were getting into. Journee knew that in some instances kissing could be considered far too intimate when the relationship was a sexual one, which she had initially figured was what she and Killian would have. Even with him agreeing to work for it and taking her on dates.
However, oral sex was too intimate for a sexual relationship, in her opinion, and he'd had no qualms about telling her that he'd like to put his face between her legs. She took it as talk when he hadn't attempted to kiss her after their dinner date, but Journee recalled him slipping his fingers into his mouth after playing with her both times. So, she assumed he didn't want to kissherasbackward as it had been.
“Journee, what made you think that this man, who has tasted you of his own volition, wouldn't want to kiss you?” Aariah questioned.
“I know how it sounds, trust me, that's what had me...I don't know, in my feelings, a little about it.”
“I understand what he meant, though. From what you said, he's been the pursuer, and you've been going along for the ride, which is great for you because you've always had to be the one to step up and take care of everything, even in relationships. But him wanting you to kiss him would show him that you could give just as good as you got and maybe that you wanted the pursuit,” Aryah told her, leaning back in her chair and bringing her glass to her lips.
“He knows I want the pursuit.”
“Maybe he does,” Aariah responded. “But sometimes we as women get pulled into situations, and while we don't mind them, they don't make us uncomfortable; we just sort of fall into them.”
“Not to mention, you said you avoided him like the plague at first,” Aryah threw in.
Journee let what her sisters said sink in and realized they were correct. She had steered clear of him, and even though she had been doing so, they'd both known that she was attracted to him. He'd just knocked her offside. When she'd decided not to let that stop her, she hadn't outright said anything; she'd just stopped her avoidance and told him he'd have to work for it. While she meant it, as she thought back on it, it made her sound like she was teasing him. Like the chase was what she wanted.
“And I'm going to go with, yes, he's physically attracted to you, but sex isn't all he wants. Because that man sent dozens of roses when he could have just sent something less expensive or nothing at all,” Aryah pointed out.
“This is what grandma would call old-fashioned courting. Except with a twist,” Aariah raised her glass, and the three laughed.
“Speaking of grandma, she's supposed to be back in two weeks. Aunt Ella is on the rise, and they think she'll be good as new in a couple more weeks,” Journee told them.
“I don't know why they were worried about Aunt Ella in the first place,” Aariah responded, placing her glass back on the table. “I have never met a woman with a stronger will.”
“She's almost eighty. There was cause for worry.” Aryah reminded Aariah.
“Eh, true,” Aariah responded.
They finished their dinner and cleaned the kitchen together. They grabbed their glasses while Journee grabbed the box of desserts she'd picked up, and Aariah grabbed the second bottle of wine they'd just popped open. They sat on the couch, and Journee passed the remote to Aryah. Aariah chose the movie they watched last time, and it was her baby sister's turn to choose.
Once the movie started playing, Journee passed the box around, and the three settled in to watch.
