My Brother’s Best Friends

***Reagan***

Kara’scheekswereflushed and her eyes were wide as she turned to Megan. “Take me home.”

I slapped my hands over my face and giggled like a schoolgirl. “I don’t know what came over me. I think there’s something to the alien stuff. Maybe instead of abducting us, they’re turning us into sex-crazed maniacs?”

Megan shook her head and playfully slapped Kara’s roaming hand. “That’s just you. And my wife, thanks to you. Baby, we’re having lunch. You were starving two seconds ago.”

“And then Rea told us all about getting screwed in a hundred different ways over the last week. It’s the hormones. I can’t help it.”

Megan’s lips pursed instantly and she sent a look toward Kara that spelled trouble. I frowned and focused on my fries, not wanting to start an argument between them, even if I didn’t know how I had.

“Shit. Sorry. My brain. You’ve seen me. It’s all over the place.” She pouted at Megan and pressed a series of kisses to her cheek. “Can’t we tell her?”

Megan sighed and kissed Kara slowly, passionately enough to make me feel like I was invading. Finally, she looked over at me and then back into her wife’s shining eyes. “We’re having a baby. Kara started the hormone treatments, anyway. I’m a little nervous to tell people, just in case it doesn’t work right away.”

I screamed before I could slap my hand over my mouth in time to stop it. Tears instantly filled my eyes and I choked on a sob. “That’s amazing!”

Megan stared between me and Kara, who was also crying, and raised her eyebrows. She looked like she was going to say something and then shook her head. “The hormones have turned Kara into one giant ball of horniness. Along with making her forgetful, emotional, and oddly irate at people who don’t use turn signals. I can’t imagine how the actual pregnancy hormones will be.”

“That one is valid. The turn signal, I mean. It’s infuriating.”

I nodded and wiped my eyes. “It really is.”

“So, um, Rea…” Megan glanced at my stomach and then away just as quickly. Before she could finish her thought, her attention locked onto something behind me and she swore. “Here comes a big snake. Looks like she has her next victim in her fangs already.”

We were sitting outside of Landings in an odd off hour, getting the entire patio to ourselves. The heat was tough, but I couldn’t exactly give them a play by play of my sex life while sitting inside, next to half the town. I had my back to the street and I quickly turned to see what had pissed Megan off.

Shock struck me as I saw Jenny walking towards Landings with her arm through Ben’s. Ben looked miserable and had his head down, just being led around. He even managed to make it inside while Jenny gave me a smug look without noticing a thing.

“Who is that? He’s pretty.” Kara shoved one of my fries in her mouth and made a face. “Probably won’t be when Jenny is done with him.”

I waited for jealousy or anger to settle over me, but they never came. I only felt bad for Ben, which annoyed me because he was a cheater, but no one deserved Jenny. “That’s my ex.”

Megan gasped. “No!”

Kara growled and threw her napkin down. “I’ll kick her ass.”

I shook my head and laughed. “I’m not upset. I feel bad for him. He looks sad and now he’s stuck having lunch with Jenny. That’s a terrible combination.”

“Wow.” Megan smiled as she studied me. “You’ve got it bad for your men. Seeing Jenny going after your ex didn’t even phase you. Do you remember what you said in high school?”

I stilled as panic worried its way through me. I knew what she was going to say from the look in her eyes. I didn’t want to hear it, though. Things were going okay. I didn’t want to start thinking about what came next. “No. Let’s focus on Jenny being a terror.”

“What’d she say?”

“She told me she loved them and she thought she always would. We’d just watched some sappy rom-com and she said she felt like a part of her had never really been hers; it’d always been theirs.” Megan held my gaze. “You’re a little older, but you’re no less you. I don’t think you’d chance hurting Russ for a roll in the hay, not for a second. It’s always been more.”

I shifted in my seat. “Shut up, Megan.”

Kara put her hand over Megan’s mouth. “Clearly, Rea isn’t ready for that conversation, baby.”

Any conversation we were going to have was cut short by Jenny and Ben coming out to the patio area. Jenny stroked Ben’s arm and spoke to him in a sickly sweet voice. “Why don’t you grab us a table, Benny?”

Ben looked around and froze when he spotted me. Jenny was forgotten as he walked over to me. “Reagan. I… How are you?”

I smiled, determined to be kind to him, despite everything. “I’ve been good. I didn’t know you were still in town.”

He squatted next to me and braced his arm on the back of my chair. “Do you think it’d be okay if we got together to talk? I won’t push for anything, Reagan. I just want to talk. I think I need help making sense of the mess I made.”