She waved her hand in front of her. “I’m fine.”
Elsa looked toward the kitchen. “You and Kurt? Everything fine?”
“It’s great, actually. We get along so well. It kind of makes me wonder what it would have been like in high school if I hadn’t been such a bitch.”
“You can’t regret what happened, and neither can Kurt, not really.”
“Why not?” Kim did regret it. She’d been a bitch, and she never really considered herself one at all until Kurt.
“It was so long ago, and you had your reasons. Kurt bullied you. I understood why you held back. Now, you’re both older, and both of you know what you feel. You’re both working past everything. It means it will always be good now.”
“Yeah, we are.”
They were. Kim found herself missing him at every point in the day. She would leave her work, to go and find him. Sometimes he worked on his computer, and other times he was in the studio, watching her. They hadn’t had sex yet, even though they fooled around, doing a lot.
Every single night she went to sleep, naked in his arms, sated by the pleasure his hands and mouth had given to her.
“Do you want to take a walk?” Kim asked.
“Sure. Let me grab some juice.”
Kim stood, pulling her long hair back into a rubber band. Elsa came out seconds later with two bottles of juice, each bottle holding a straw.
“They’re having some kind of football game argument. Never understand it, but they’re boys. They’re allowed to play.”
Kim smiled, thinking about all the games Kurt had been catching up on. He carried around his laptop, headphones in, listening to a match from two years ago. When she asked him about it, he told her that with work, he didn’t get to do much in the way of socializing. He’d missed a great deal of life.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing.”
“Kim, you wanted to get away to talk. I’m your best friend. You can tell me anything.”
“Okay, erm, I’m struggling right now.”
“What with?”
“My feelings. How I feel about Kurt, and what’s happening.”
“Is this because of him bullying you?”
“No. I’ve forgiven him. That’s not the issue, and hasn’t been for a long time.”
“What is the issue?”
Kim paused, letting out a long breath. “We’ve not had sex.”
Elsa took a sip of her juice, saying nothing.
“We’ve not had sex, but we’ve fooled around.”
“Are you asking me for sexland advice?”
“Yes, I am. I want to know how I can get Kurt to have sex with me.”
“Get naked. It works for most men.”
“I’ve gotten naked. We’ve fooled around, and he still won’t do it.”
Kim paused to take a sip of her drink.
“Kurt wants you to be ready,” Elsa said.
“I am ready.”
“Maybe he doesn’t think you are. This is a big deal. You’re twenty-eight. Even I’m shocked that you’re a virgin after this long. You’re an artist, and you feel everything. Sex, intimacy, it’s all part of that.”
“Since being with Kurt, my work is lighter, more passionate. I love it.”
“Then talk to him. He’s taking your pace, so no one else is going to convince him you’re ready other than you.” Elsa wrapped her arms around her, and Kim held her close. “I’ve not told Noah yet, but I missed my period.”
Kim gasped, pulling back. “Really. Do you know for certain?”
“No. I haven’t taken a test. I’m scared. What if it’s not positive?”
“Then you keep on trying. You could be pregnant,” Kim said, covering her mouth with her hand. “I won’t say anything.”
Elsa held her stomach. “There could be a little guy or girl in here.”
“It’s magical.”
“It really is,” Elsa said.
They walked around the garden until they heard Kurt and Noah shouting for them to join. When they got to the table, Kim wrinkled her nose at the shriveled up, blackened meat that was resting on the plate.
“Don’t eat that. I think it’s poisonous,” Noah said. “Kurt threw one over the grill, and told me he knew what he was doing.”
“He’s never cooked a day in his life,” Kim said, taking a seat.
“Babe, keep my secrets to yourself.”
“Nope. He thought cooking was so easy, he didn’t even need to practice. I could have died the first night I was here.”
“I make a rather good dinner.”
“He makes death,” Noah said. “That is gross.”
“How did you burn it to a crisp?”
“I don’t know,” Kurt said. “I bet it tastes good.”
Kim grabbed the plate, a knife and fork, and waited. “Go on, give it a try, and see if it’s fit for human consumption.”
“Fine!” Kurt grabbed the cutlery, and took a small, very small, sliver off the meat. Kim winced as he took a bite. It sounded like his teeth shattered.
He wore a poker face really well. Only his cheeks, which were red, gave away his embarrassment. He kept on chewing, not looking anyone in the eye. She wondered what would happen.