Page 41 of Filthy Commitments
He stopped walking and turned to look at me. “Why?”
“Well, I don’t think newly dating couples shower together.” I winked at him.
“Get your ass up and come get in the shower with me. We’re not going back to step one. We’re just not acting married.”
I laughed as I got up and followed him to the bathroom. It had been almost two months that we’d been acting married. We had no bathroom rules, we did as married people did. We put privacy away and had immersed ourselves in that lifestyle. It had been hard for me in the beginning, but I started liking it. Being with Jett was easy. We brushed our teeth in the double sinks, took turns peeing, then got into the shower. It was a normal sized shower, not like the one in our house. As I thought about that, it made a bit of the weight I’d been carrying show itself. He and I did share a home.
We were closer to being married than not. Even if it had all begun with a lie. His hands ran through my hair as he shampooed it while I ran my soapy hands all over his upper body. We’d really gotten into a routine. I washed his back, he washed mine. We didn’t even have to talk; we just did like we always had.
“How did this happen, Jett?” I asked as if he could read my mind.
But somehow he had. “I’m not sure. The faking turned real at some point that neither of us seemed to have noticed.”
I began to wash his hair as he put conditioner in his palm then smoothed it through my hair. “We’re just not normal.” That was all I could think.
He nodded, but didn’t say a thing. I thought about what had led up to it all. The time flew through my mind. The timid moments in the beginning that rapidly changed into what was our new normal. Would we ever really get to be something we never got a chance to be? Some people say you have to crawl before you walk, walk before you run, and run before you fly. We’d skipped all the steps. What happens to people who go right to the end?
What would happen to us?
Would be burn out like a flame that burned too bright? I’d heard of that happening. One could see how a passion like we had could possibly fizzle out. And then you had the fact that only two months into a relationship we were acting like an old married couple. Did I want things to be that way? And if I didn’t, was there a way to change anything? I didn’t know. All I did know was I loved Jett. And he loved me.
After our shower, we dried off and went to get dressed. I pulled a sundress out of the closet as Jett pulled shorts and a t-shirt out of the top drawer. We dressed without saying a word. It was pretty obvious that both of us were thinking about what we could possibly do to fix things. Not that anything felt that wrong, but we both knew things needed to slow way the fuck down.
Just as I finished getting dressed my cell rang. I picked it up off the dresser and saw my sister’s name on the screen. “It’s Spring.” I swiped my finger to answer her call.
Before I could even say hello, she was gushing, “He’s here, Asia. We have a boy!”
I gasped and sat on the chair closest to me. “A boy! How exciting!”
“We named him Ray. I know that sounds like a lame name, but there was a single ray of sunshine streaming through the window at the hospital when he came out, and the doctor picked him up. The light hit the baby and it looked like he was a tiny glowing angel. So, his name popped out of my mouth, Ray. My little ray of sunshine.”
“How sweet,” I cooed. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
“He can’t wait to meet you, Auntie Asia. When can you come? We get out of the hospital later today. So, anytime is cool with us.”
I looked at Jett who was trying to look as if he was busy, instead of trying to hear what we were talking about. “I’ll check my schedule. It’s kind of hectic right now.”
Jett looked up at me and shook his head as he frowned and whispered, “You tell her you can go as soon as tomorrow. I’ll get you there.”
“I hope you can make some time for us, Asia,” my sister snapped.
I’d hurt her feelings, although unintentional. “Oh, Spring. I’m kidding. I’ll leave tomorrow.”
Jett shook his head. “You’ll be there tomorrow.”
“Oh, I meant to say, I’ll be there tomorrow.”
“How are you getting here so quickly?” Spring asked.
“How am I getting there so quickly?” I asked Jett.
“I’ll charter you a private jet.” He blew me a kiss.
I thought about leaving him all alone and decided to throw it out there. “Um, Spring, I’m dating someone. Would it be okay if I asked him to join me when I come see you guys?”
“You’re dating someone? Is it serious? Is he cute? Did you, do it? You know, sex? Has my baby sister finally popped that cherry of hers?”
“God! Spring, really! So, is it okay or what?”
