Authors: Marianna Roberg
Emily eyed the table. "Seven settings? But there are six of us."
Teniel slyly looked at Jaina. "Jaina's boyfriend is coming to dinner."
Huge brown eyes fixed on Jaina. "Boyfriend?! You have a boyfriend?! Why didn't you tell me?!"
Jaina concentrated on the forks. "It's a recent development. Really recent. Like, two weeks ago, recent."
"Before you found out that I was coming?"
"Um. Yeah."
"What's his name? C'mon, spill it, Jaya!" Her eyes narrowed. "And what about Gay Boy? You're seeing some guy you haven't told me about, and you're in lust with Colin?"
Behind Emily, Teniel was trying not to laugh. She muffled a laugh in her hot pad and ducked back into the kitchen.
Jaina bit her lip. "Look, I... I'll explain later. I..."
Outside, they heard a car door slam. It sounded close, like in the driveway. Emily ran to the window, while Jaina went to the door.
"Nice car!" Emily said.
Jaina jerked the door open. Colin stood outside, one hand raised to press the bell. He grinned when he saw her.
"Hi," she said softly, going all mushy inside and feeling stupid.
"Hey. You gonna let me in?"
She stepped back and held the door. He had snow on his head, she noticed with a laugh.
Emily was staring outside, eyes wide. "Cool! It's all weird outside."
"It's called snow, Em," Jaina called as she pulled Colin into the dining area.
Emily turned around. She blinked in surprise at Colin. "Hey, you're C
olin!"
He laughed. "And you're Emily."
She looked around, feeling a touch confused. "But... Teniel said Jaina's boyfriend was coming over..."
Jaina took Colin's hand and pulled him forward. "Em... This
is
my boyfriend.
"
♥♥♥
"Dude," Emily said. "Dude. No way. Isn't he gay?"
"Nope," Colin said. He pulled Jaina close and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Not gay."
Emily looked at him like he's grown a second head. "So you're not gay, you two are an item, and you're
living
with him?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Are you
sleeping
together?"
Colin pinkened and began stammering. Jaina laughed self-consciously.
"They are," Jason said. He was pulling on his coat and walking towards the door. "I'm going to pick up the twins."
"Where
are
the midgets?" Emily asked.
"With the neighbors." Jason left.
Jaina pulled Colin towards the couch and sat on his lap. "I missed you."
"It's been five hours."
"So? I still missed you."
Emily made a gagging noise. "Stop! You'll make me sick!"
Jaina stuck her tongue out at her sister, then intentionally kissed Colin thoroughly. Em made a face and went into the kitchen.
A couple minutes later, Jason came back, twins in tow. Emily came out to meet them. To Jaina, it worried her when the twins instantly took to Emily.
"The takeover has begun," Colin murmured in her ear.
Jaina fought a laugh and poked him in the stomach. "Quiet."
Teniel came into the living room. "Dinner's ready."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
At the end of dinner, Teniel surprised Jaina by bringing out a birthday cake.
"I know, I know, your birthday isn't until Monday. But I figured that we had four reasons to celebrate tonight." Teniel grinned. "First of all, Jaina's turning twenty-two in a few days. And I'm sure you'll want to be spending that day with Colin."
"I work," Jaina groaned.
"Reason number two, Emily's arrived. And we're happy to have you," Teniel continued.
"If it'll keep her out of trouble," Jason said darkly.
His wife didn't spare him a glance. "Third, it's July 4th, and for you Americans, Independence Day."
Emily frowned. "No fireworks, though."
"Like we're letting you blow anything up," Jaina said.
Jason snorted. "And four?"
Teniel set the cake on the table. "Reason four... In about six months... We're adding a new brother or sister to the family." She smiled at her children as she said it.
Clarissa squealed.
Jaina smiled and looked over at Colin, sitting next to her. He was looking at her closely. She wondered what he was thinking.
"Coolness!" Emily said. "That's around Christmas, right?"
"End of January," Jason corrected.
His youngest sister grinned. "Awesome. So... reason number five, Jaina finally got some."
"Got some what?" Christian asked.
Jaina, who had just been taking a sip of water, choked.
Colin smiled at the youngster at his side, between himself and Jason. "Recognition for her talents as a makeup artist," he said smoothly.
Chris looked disappointed. "Oh."
"Nice save, Pierce," Jaina whispered in her boyfriend's ear.
Clarissa was looking with skepticism at Colin. "Are you Jaina's boyfriend yet?" she demanded.
Colin giggled. "Should I be?" he asked her.
"Yes!" she said emphatically.
"Okay, then. I am if you say so."
Next to him, Jaina laughed quietly as Rissa beamed at them.
Teniel and Jason had taken the cake back into the kitchen, and they came out now with it loaded with candles. Everyone sang to Jaina, Colin included. After cake and ice cream, the twins gave Jaina drawings they'd made, then their parents sent them to bed.
Teniel handed Jaina a wrapped gift while Jason was off finding his. "Wait until you get home to open that," she said with a wink.
"Ew," Emily interjected.
"Something bother you?" Colin asked her.
She looked at him and fell silent. He wondered if it was because of who he was, or the fact that he was her sister's boyfriend.
Jason came back into the room. He had a red-wrapped package in his hands. It was lumpy and tied with string. "Here. Happy birthday."
She grinned at the sight of the typical Jason-wrapped gift. Teniel, on the other hand, sighed and said, "You should have let me wrap it."
"No, no, it's a tradition," Jaina said. "We've always wrapped them as messily and weird as possible. One year, I wrapped Jason's present in a Victoria's Secret box, and then ten layers of newspaper and duct tape."
"She did, too." Jason glanced at Colin. "Beware, when your birthday rolls around."
Jaina pulled the wrapping off and gasped. "
The Bare Flame
!" The book was the long-awaited sequel to
The Sea Of Swords
trilogy.
"I figured you'd want that, since you're into the series. I've had it preordered online for ages."
She smiled. "Thanks. Now I have all of them."
Emily leaned forward. "So, when can I see Colin's place?"
Jaina glanced at Colin, who said, "Tuesday. We aren't filming, so we can show her around Auckland."
"Cool!" Em grinned.
Jaina looked at her watch, then stood. "I hate to dash out like this, but Colin and I have stuff to do tomorrow, so we've gotta go."
"Okay," Emily said. She hugged her sister.
Colin headed towards the door. Jaina followed, then went back and hugged Teniel and Jason.
"I'll call you later," she told Emily.
The door closed behind them.
Emily said, "You realize they're just going home to do it, right?"
"Emily," Teniel said.
"Yes?"
"Go help Jason with the dishes.
"
♥♥♥
"What do we have to do tomorrow?" Colin asked as he started the car.
Jaina was fiddling with the radio. "Well, I was thinking... Since we aren't doing the biking, with it being all cold and stuff... Maybe we could take ballroom lessons. There's a clas
s that starts tomorrow evening at some place downtown."
"How'd you hear about this?" he asked.
"I keep up with the dance studios. I haven't attended anything, but I've been paying attention to their schedules."
Colin nodded. "Ah. Well... If you really want to, I guess we can."
"Don't worry, it's just basic stuff. Waltz, cha-cha, mambo, tango, stuff like that."
"Basic for
you
, maybe."
Jaina raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're
afraid
of ballroom dancing."
His silence made her chuckle. "It's okay. I'll be there to hold your hand."
"Oh, that will make it better."
"What's wrong with ballroom dancing?"
Before Colin could answer, Jaina's cell phone went off. She sighed and answered it. "Hello?"
"Hi, Jay, it's Angela!"
Jaina blinked in surprise. She hadn't heard from Angela since the day before she and Colin had consummated whatever it was they'd... consummated. "Ange, hi. Are you back?"
"Just got in. Sydney was
amazing
! I got to go surfing... which I'm horrible at. And I went crazy shopping." Her friend laughed. "Are you free tonight? I thought maybe we could hang out."
She looked at Colin, then said, "Well... I didn't have any solid plans for the evening."
He nodded. "If you want to go have a girl's night with Angela, go ahead. I'll be home when you get back."
Jaina smiled. She knew there was a reason she loved him. "Sure. I'll meet you at your place? About an hour?"
"That'll work. See you in a bit!"
Angela hung up. Jaina put her cellphone in her pocket. "You've been all day without me. I thought you'd be a litt
le more possessive."
"You've had me for two weeks. You haven't seen Angela for the same length of time. I can survive a few more hours." He turned a sexy grin to her. "'Sides. I got you all to myself this weekend.
"
♥♥♥
Angela had called just before Jaina left the house and suggested they go clubbing. Jaina made a quick change of wardrobe--a red, drapey shirt, black skirt that hit just above her knees, and black pumps--and drove over to her friend's apartment.
Angela answered the door dressed in a clingy blue top with a draped neck and long sleeves, and black leather pants with ankle boots. She'd pulled her blonde hair up into a style Jaina had never been able to figure out, with wisps falling attractively around her head.
They took Jaina's car. Angela navigated, until Jaina realized they were headed to the club she'd gone to her second week in New Zealand. The club where she'd first, unknowingly, encountered Colin.
As they walked in, handing over their cover fees, she suddenly wished Colin was there with her. She wanted to dance with him.
Angela ran into the bathroom to apply a fresh coat of lip gloss. When she came out, she found Jaina leaning against the wall, a small, secretive smile on her face.
"What's up?" she asked.
Jaina shook her head. "We've got catching up to do. I know someplace."
Angela followed Jaina down some stairs into a room empty except for a DJ.
"Have you been here before?" Angela asked.
"Once or twice."
They sat on a sofa against the wall. Jaina crossed her legs at the knee, leaning her head on her hand.
"You missed an interesting couple of weeks," she said.
"Oh?"
"Colin filmed some, uh, interesting scenes with Rebecca."
Angela grimaced.
"Then there was the Pig Incident. With Alex's transgenics stuff? Yeah, the piglet Colin had to hold kinda... pooped on him."
Imagining the look on Colin's face at that point, Angela burst out laughing.
Jaina smiled, remembering how it'd completed a thoroughly awkward week. "And you know the bellydancers they were bringing in? The lead dancer broke her leg, so guess who got to fill in for her?"
"You?!" Angela gasped. "I didn't know you did that!"
Jaina laughed. "It's lucky for them I'm into it."
Ange shook her head, saying, "Wow. So you made it on to the show."
Jaina grinned. "More than that. The plotline involved the lead dancer having a, uh, fling with Alex."
Her friend's blue eyes widened. "No! So you've... y'know, kissed Colin?"
"Yeah. Pretended to, uh, you know... also."
"Wow." Angela snickered.
"And you were right."
"About the kissing?"