It was after they made love and after the heat of passion that she lay in Jax’s arms and imagined living here with him and Jameson and starting a family. As she thought about children and working, she thought about the many times they made love without protection. Her heart raced, and she wondered if Jax and Jameson knew exactly what they were doing or if all three of them were so overtaken with lust that it never crossed their minds. Now she would have something more to worry about. The fear of being a single mom now ruled over her happy thoughts. But then came their words of love and of commitment. She was confused. They were going to go out tonight to meet friends of Jameson and Jax’s. Perhaps when they got home, she could bring up her concerns. She wanted them. She wanted to feel like this, loved, satisfied, safe, forever.
* * * *
“You are so full of shit, Jax. I was fucking there. I remember dragging your ass out of that building in the nick of time.” Gunner raised his voice, and the men roared with laughter. Mariana didn’t know who to believe with all the crazy war stories they were telling. Gunner, Garrett, and Wes McCallister were ragging on Jax and Jamison for the past hour, and Jax and Jameson were doing the same thing to the McCallisters.
“They’ll go on forever about this. My men are stubborn,” Gia, their girlfriend, said as she stood by the wall next to Mariana. Gia was really nice. She was tough, but sweet, and Mariana couldn’t help but notice how her men adored her. Casper’s was a really nice bar and restaurant. Jax and Jameson were right, the McCallister brothers and fathers really did decorate the walls with actual photos of soldiers.
“Hey, did you see the pictures of Jax and Jameson in uniform? There are a few over here. Come on,” Gia said as she took Mariana’s hand and led her to another wall down past the crowded bar. A glance over her shoulder and she immediately noticed both Jax’s and Jameson’s eyes on her and the McCallister men’s eyes on their woman. Mariana swallowed hard. She was only walking to the other side of the room, so why did she feel so lost without them next to her?
“See, check these out,” Gia said and pointed to a series of photos.
Mariana smiled as she looked at two very handsome and very young-looking faces.
“Jameson and Jax look like teenagers.”
“They pretty much were. Same with my men. They entered the military young.”
Mariana smiled. Gia was really nice. She never had a close friend before. There was never anyone around long enough to trust, but for s
ome odd reason, she felt comfortable with Gia.
“Hey, do you like martial arts?” Gia asked.
“Me?” Mariana asked, wide-eyed. Gia chuckled.
“The reason I ask is that I work out at a place near the gym the guys belong to. It’s a great dojo. Maybe tomorrow afternoon you’d like to go to one of the classes I help out in?” Gia asked.
“Really? I’ve never done anything like that before. I don’t even work out.”
Gia looked at her sideways.
“Honey, with your body, you have to engage in some serious aerobic activity. You look like an athlete.”
Mariana smiled.
“I skateboard.”
“Shit, seriously? My God wait until Dale finds out. He’ll have you hanging out with his high school buddies, jumping railings and working the skate park down the road.”
Mariana laughed.
“How did you get into skateboarding?” Gia asked as they walked over to another spot near the bar and two empty seats.
“It was my only means of transportation. I skateboarded to school, and even in college, and up until a few weeks ago, I was a courier in the city, so skateboarding got me around.”
“That is so cool. Do you know how to drive a car?”
“I have a driver’s license. I took driver’s ed in high school because it was required, but other than driving my ex-boyfriend’s car around Houston a bit, I really don’t have much experience driving.”
“Do you think your men will let me steal you for a couple of hours tomorrow for the dojo?”
Mariana looked over her shoulder at the table where Jax and Jameson sat. Both men were watching her. She smiled, and Jameson gave a small smile, not Jax. He was always so serious. She turned back to Gia.
“Maybe they will. We’ll ask them.”
* * * *
“So, that’s one special young woman you two old men snagged,” Wes teased Jax and Jameson.