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“Did you?”
“Oh goodness, of course. I ate anything back then on a dare— dirt, leaves, cat food. I can’t think of any dare I walked away from, even pigeon poop.”
Lucy’s eyes popped open. “This is possibly the most nauseating confession anyone has ever told me. So what did the squirrel leg taste like?”
“It tasted like chicken. Dark meat.”
“That’s horrific and yet interesting.”
“Do you ever wonder how we taste? I’ll bet an alien would come down and say we taste like chicken.”
She laughed. “I think that is probably a good time to change the subject. So why are you saying no to us?”
“You mean besides the obvious reasons?” I shook my head. “Like the fact that you can’t date other men, but he can date other women. I mean, that is seriously barbaric, sexist, and assholist.”
“I don’t think assholist is a word.”
“Well, it should be.” I shrugged. “There is also no future in this situation with Chase. I like to be in relationships that are heading towards something more. You know what I mean, right? Marriage, children, and the two of us old and rocking in a chair on the porch of our retirement home. There’s no way I’m raising children in a situation where I have scheduled evenings with their father. And what would our kids call you all anyway, aunts or harem mates?”
“Wow. You’ve really taken some time to think about this.”
It was all I’d thought about for the plane ride once I’d fled from his lounge. The very idea of me joining his arrangement was crazy. No matter how I looked at it, I just kept returning to how out-of-the-box it seemed to my ideas of love and commitment.
And I wasn’t sure I wanted to stray away from my views just to spend time with one desirable man.
“Okay. I see your point on the kids argument,” Lucy said, “but you’re only twenty-two.”
“How old are you?” I raised my eyebrows.
“Twenty-eight.”
“You don’t want kids or marriage?”
“No way.” She waved her hands. “Never happening for me.”
“Why not?”
She placed her glasses back on her eyes and ignored my question. “So let’s grab these orange things.”
We waited in line beside a few people. I concentrated on the smells and guessed there could have been some honey in the sticky stuff the woman poured onto the dough once she fried it.
Anticipation sped up my pulse.
“You do have several years before you would actually have kids, right?” Lucy turned to me.
I considered the question for a few minutes. “Probably. I wouldn’t want kids until I’m thirty. Hopefully, I’m better at taking care of myself by then. I’ve heard the thirties are when you truly know yourself.”
“Goodie. I can’t wait for that to happen for me.” Lucy dove her hand into her purse. “Since you’re not about to rush off and have a litter of little Jasmines, and Chase is pretty desperate right now, maybe you can compromise with him.”
“I doubt he’s desperate.” I replayed what he’d said on the plane, how being with him would happen eventually.
What an overconfident caveman.
“He’s definitely desperate.” She held her free hand out. “Let’s not overlook that he flew us all to India just so he could talk you into being with him.”
I paused and pondered that fact. “Well, he’ll get the picture soon.”
“I’ve known him since I was five. He never gives up. Right now he’s playing fair, soon he’ll go overboard.”
