Free Entwined - SF5 by Susan X Meagher Page B

bear today?" Jamie ran her hand over Ryan’s stomach, tickling the soft, smooth skin.
    "Don’t want to get up," she growled, turning onto her side to halt the rubbing.
    "Okay, Honey. You obviously don’t feel well, so you should just go back to sleep. I’m going upstairs to have a little breakfast. You come up later," she said as she bent to kiss her tummy.
    "Don’t leave me," Ryan whined, in full pout.
    "Ohh, you are grouchy, aren’t you," she said as she climbed back into bed and wrapped her lover in her arms. "Do you want to be cuddled?"
    "Mmm-hmm," came the mumbled reply as she contentedly nestled back against her body.
    "Okay, we’ll cuddle until you want to get up," Jamie soothed as she felt her grouchy bear relax and drift off to sleep again.
     
    It was nearly nine o’clock when Ryan’s eyes opened again. She sat up with a start and looked around wildly to find the clock. "My God! Do you know what time it is?" she asked as she searched for her lover.
    Jamie got up from the loveseat and came to sit by the bed. "I tried to wake you up, but you were very determined to stay in bed. I figured you wouldn’t be that way if you really didn’t need your rest. It’s okay, Honey, we haven’t missed anything."
    "But I never sleep this late!" she whined.
    "Well, you did today. It’s no big deal. Really."
    "The boys will make fun of me," she pouted.
    "I bet they don’t. I bet they’re concerned about you."
    "No, they’ll make fun of me," she said as she stuck her lower lip out.
    "Let’s go upstairs and see, okay?"
    "Okay," she glumly agreed as she got up and looked through her drawers to find some pajamas, mumbling under her breath, "They’re gonna make fun of me."
     
    Jamie had taken her shower hours earlier and was fully dressed in khaki shorts and a yellow polo shirt, her preppy look further enhanced by well-worn Topsiders without socks. As they reached the living room, Jamie took her partner’s hand and guided her into the dining room. Conor was still at the table, and he looked up quickly when he saw them.
    "We’ve been worried about you guys," he said with evident concern. "Are you okay?"
    "Fine," Ryan murmured, sitting down heavily in a chair.
    Conor shot a look at Jamie, but she didn’t want to make a big deal out of Ryan’s mood, so she just went into the kitchen to give Martin a kiss. As she greeted him, she picked up the bottle of Motrin and shook a couple of tablets into her hand. "Very, very bad mood," she whispered.
    He handed her a glass and whispered back, "Did she get her period?"
    Jamie found this rather surprising. She was certain that her father had no idea that she even had a cycle, much less when it fell. But when she gave it a moment’s thought, she realized that Martin was probably the one who had to explain the whole thing to his young daughter, so he would logically be more aware of her physical issues.
    Jamie nodded while she filled the glass with water. "She didn’t get much sleep either. That makes her grouchy anyway."
    "I should warn you that this happens nearly every month. Her mother was the same." He smiled at Jamie with a little twinkle in his eyes. "I suppose that’s another reason for me to be thankful that she has you. Now you have to deal with her!"
    Jamie beamed up at him. "It’s my pleasure to deal with her. I’m just glad no one teased her about getting up late. She actually might bite today," she said with a laugh.
    "I know how to cheer her up," he said with a wink.
    Jamie went back into the dining room and sat next to her grumpy lover. "What were you talking about in the kitchen?" Ryan asked suspiciously.
    "Nothing. Martin just wondered how you were feeling."
    "He should ask me. I can speak for myself," she muttered as she rested her head on the table.
    Conor shot Jamie a puzzled look and she rolled her eyes and mouthed, "Be nice!"
    Martin came in moments later and placed a rather gross looking bowl of thickly sliced bread covered in warm milk in front of his