“Yeah, and maybe while you’re at it you could send her a singing telegram.”
“Oooh!” I snap my fingers. “A stripper. We’ll send her a stripper.” Sobering, I say, “I don’t know what we can do beyond talking to them and hoping for the best.”
He shakes his head. “That’s one conversation I wouldn’t want to make.”
I glare at my brother. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Just being honest,” he defends.
Rae comes in the front door, her body drenched with sweat from her morning run. Her earbuds dangle from her iPhone as she winds them up.
“Hey,” she says rather breathlessly.
“We’re going to breakfast,” Cade tells her.
She nods and starts for the stairs. “I’ll take a quick shower. Promise.”
An hour later, we all pile into Cade’s Jeep and head down the road to a local place.
The floors are always sticky and the air smells like syrup, but the food is the best so I don’t complain.
I slide across the plastic booth and Xander sits beside me, resting his elbows on the table.
Cade slides in across from me and his legs bump mine in the narrow space.
Menus are already on the table and we each pick it up, scanning it even though that’s really unnecessary.
Our usual waitress comes over and flashes a smile before sitting our drinks on the table. We didn’t order them yet, but she knew what we’d get regardless.
“The usual?” she asks, tucking her tray under her arm. We all nod and shuffle the menus to the end of the table. “I’ll have that right out for you.” She smiles again and heads off to another table.
Cade’s phone starts going off and he looks at the screen before clicking ignore. Before I can ask who it is, it goes off again. He answers this time.
“Stan, I don’t know who the fuck gave you this number, but if you call one more time—” He rolls his eyes and taps his fingers against the table impatiently. “I’m not doing an interview for you. Why not? Because you’re a dick.” He laughs but there’s no humor in the tone and I can hear Stan grow irritated on the other end. “Mhm,” he hums. “Fuck you too.” He hangs up and drops his phone on the table before covering his face with his hands. “I’m going to strangle Stan,” he mutters from between his fingers. His phone starts ringing again and he groans, “Going to have to change my number.” He looks at it anyway and his eyes widen in surprise. “Mom?” he answers. He listens for a few beats, nodding his head. “Yeah, of course that’s fine. Head on over whenever.”
He hangs up and looks across the table at me. “Looks like Mom’s had enough of his bullshit and she wants to leave him.”
I breathe out a sigh of relief—one I think I’ve been holding for years.
“It’s about damn time.”
“We need to talk to your mom,” Thea announces from the bathroom.
I sigh heavily. “I know.”
“We can’t keep putting it off,” she continues.
“I know,” I say again.
It’s been three days since the Fourth of July party, and I’m still puzzling out what to say. Nothing I come up with sounds any good, but I guess I just have to be honest.
Right now, though, I have to head to practice, and I’ve managed to get my coach to agree to let Thea and Cade come watch. I think the only reason he agreed was because of Cade. They really wanted him for their team and were saddened when he didn’t opt to go pro. I think my coach is hoping if Cade sees a practice that he can sway him and pull some strings to get him on the team.
But I know Cade doesn’t want that. His dad pushed football onto him, and instead of being something he loved, it became something he hated.
“We should get her flowers,” Thea says, peeking around the bathroom doorway. “Do you know her favorite?” I shake my head and she curses. “Okay, I’ll guess then. Where’s her favorite restaurant? We could ask her to meet us there.”
“That place in the city.” I snap my fingers together, thinking.
“Xander, think,” she says, exasperated. “There are a million places in the city.”
“Gregory’s? Does that sound right?”
“Sure.” She waves her hand dismissively. “You let her know, and after you’re done with practice I’ll make reservations and grab some flowers.”
I nod. “Okay. Sounds like a plan.” I try to sound optimistic but my voice falls flat.
I’ve called my mom a few times in the last three days, and she’s only answered once and promptly hung up after only a minute of conversation.
“Call her.” Thea glares. “Now.”
“You’re bossy today,” I mutter, but do as she says because there’s no point in putting it off.
I call her twice and she doesn’t answer either time. My mom’s been mad at me plenty of times over the years but never to this degree. Her coldness is off-putting, to say the least.
Since I can’t get her, I suck it up and call my dad. He answers, but instead of his usual cheery hello I get a gruff, “What?” instead.
I sit up and scratch the back of my head, awkwardness overtaking my body. “Um,” I hesitate, “Thea and I would like to take you and Mom to dinner tonight. To … uh … talk?” I say it like a question, then promptly wince. I’m going about this all wrong and I sound like an idiot.
He sighs on the other end and I can hear the sound of shuffling papers and I imagine him in his office working. “When and where?”
“Eight o’ clock at Gregory’s?”
I then hear a squeak as he presumably leans back in his chair. “We’ll be there.”
“Thank you,” I say.
He clears his throat. “Your mom loves you, and she’ll forgive you, but don’t forget that she’s allowed to feel hurt. Don’t belittle her feelings.”
“I won’t,” I vow.
“Good. See you then.”
The line clicks off, and I drop my phone on the bed.
Thea pops back through the door. “Did you get her?”
“No, my dad.”
She frowns. “I still feel bad for quitting, but without you there, I didn’t see the point in staying. No offense, but I don’t find architecture all that stimulating.”
I crack a grin and she walks toward me. I place my hands on her waist and then move them down, over her ass, to settle on her legs. “But me, you find stimulating?”
She places her hands around my neck and then climbs onto my lap, grinding her hips into mine. “Oh, yeah,” she sighs breathily.
She bites her bottom lip, drawing it slowly between her teeth, and her eyes flick down to my lips.
We need to leave in a short time, but fuck it.
I close the space between us, wrapping my fingers in the strands of her hair and drawing her mouth to mine.
She lets out the softest little sound that’s half-moan and half-purr.
I flip her onto the bed and cover her body with mine. She’s so small beneath me and I love that my body shields her so easily. I smooth my hands down her sides and then grab the bottom of her shirt, quickly removing it. Her eyes watch me, warm with pleasure, and she licks her lips. I love that she gets turned on so easily—that she truly wants to be with me. It’s something I thought might never happen.
She sits up and I reach for her bra strap, popping the clasp so the black scrap of fabric falls down her arms. My eyes rake her in and my blood heats. I’ve never felt possessive before, and I’m not sure what I feel now can even be described as that, but there’s this primal need to mark her some way as mine.
She pushes my sweatpants and boxer-briefs off my hips and takes me in her hand. My breath catches and my eyes close as I fall to the bed. A moment later, her mouth joins her hand and I lose all sense of reality.
“Fuck, Thea.” I wrap my fingers around her silky hair, and watch her work her mouth up and down.
My heart bangs like a drum inside my chest, so loud that I can’t even hear my thoughts.
I push her should
ers gently and she releases me, giving me a lazy smile with her eyes half-mast.
I grab a condom and rip it open. She watches me as I roll it on and then I grasp her hips, pulling her toward me and sliding inside her. She lets out a small gasp and her fingernails dig into my arms. Her hands move to the center of my chest and I grab them, pinning them above her head. Her eyes darken.
I press my lips to her neck and then move down between her breasts.
Her hands grow restless between mine, desperate to touch me, and I can’t help but smile against her skin when I kiss the underside of her breast.
“Xander,” she pleads, fingers wiggling. “I need to touch you.”
“Not this time.” It’s not often that I take complete control, and this is the only time I’ve refused to let her touch me.
She whimpers as the heat of my body leaves her and then I flip her over, grab her ass between my hands, and slam back inside her with a groan.
I lean over her, pressing my front to her back, and whisper in her ear, “I fucking love you.”
She doesn’t respond with words, just the smallest fucking whimpers as her fingers dig into the sheets. She comes, her body shaking, and I hold her steady so she doesn’t fall to the bed, and then I’m right behind her finding my own release. She sits up on her knees and I hold her against me, my breath coming out in pants against her back.
After a moment we both collapse onto the bed, and she sprawls across me, burrowing her head against my neck.
“That was intense.” She laughs.
I nod. My brain’s turned to mush, and there are no words.
“Now I’m all sweaty and I smell like you.” She laughs again, heartier this time. “Think about that while you practice.”
Fuck.
“So, what’d you think?” I ask Thea as we head out to the parking lot. My hair is still damp from my after-practice shower and my gym bag thumps against my leg. “Was it everything you thought it would be?”
She clasps her hands together and does a little spin. “It was spectacular, and so intense. I can’t wait to see you play in a real game, because fuck, if I’m this turned on after a practice I’m going to jump you after a game. You’ve been warned.”
I laugh, shaking my head at her. “You realize I’ll be dead tired after a game, right?” Even now, my legs hurt and my arms are protesting every time I lift them even slightly. I never complain, though, because I’m living my dream.
She waves her hand dismissively. “I can fantasize about some dirty against the locker sex, okay? Give me a break.” She spins again and then stops. “Oh, I made the reservations for eight like you asked, but we still have several hours to kill so what do you want to do?”
I shrug. “What do you want to do?”
“Hmm.” She stops by the truck and presses her fingers to her lips. “We could go to Larimer Square?” she suggests.
I nod. “Sounds good to me.”
We head over that way and roam the streets for a while. When we pass a flower cart, Thea stops and insists we pick out some flowers for my mom.
“Which one do you think she’d like?”
I rack my brain, trying to remember if I’ve seen any of these around the house before. After a minute, I point to one. “Those, I think.”
She nods and grabs them. “Lilies, good choice.”
I buy the flowers and we continue down the street, ducking into the shops now and then. There’s a pet store and we pick up some things for Prue that we know she’ll love.
Eventually, we stop at a café, and grab some coffee, taking a seat at one of their outdoor tables since it’s not blistering hot.
“Oh, this is good,” Thea croons, sipping on her blended coffee drink.
I set the flowers on the table and stretch out my legs. Tonight’s dinner isn’t far from my mind, and I’m trying not to overthink it.
“Hey,” Thea says softly, trying to get my attention. I swivel my head toward her. “Are you okay?”
I nod, tapping my finger on the lid of my coffee. I don’t know why I even got it, I don’t want any. “I’m worried about tonight,” I admit.
“Oh.” She frowns, and looks away.
I clasp my hands together and rest them on the table. “She has every right to be mad, my dad too, for that matter. First I don’t tell them about football, and then this.” I wave my hand at her. “If I was in their shoes I’d be pretty fucking pissed too.” I cover my face and let out a groan. “I don’t know how to make it okay again, and you know me, I hate conflict. I want everyone to be happy, but all I keep doing is making everyone miserable.”
Thea reaches across the table and takes my hand. “We all make choices that we think are the best at the time, and sometimes hindsight shows that we were wrong, but we can’t go back in time and change it so we have to follow the course and let things play out. It’ll be okay, I believe that, and you should too.”
I sigh. “Between this, and your mom and dad, and Cade …” I pause. “It’s a lot going on.”
She nods, her eyes growing misty. Her mom’s staying with us now, in my room, so I moved all my crap—at least, most of it—to Thea’s room. Her mom has been quiet and distant with all of us, staying mostly in her room out of sight. No word has come from Thea’s dad and I’m really fucking glad, because I don’t know if I could stop myself from hitting the guy this time.
“Yeah, it is,” she agrees. “Hopefully, it’ll all be over soon,” she whispers.
“Yeah, I hope so too,” I echo.
Thea and I are the first to arrive at the restaurant and we’re led to a secluded table in the back, and I wonder if Thea requested that we be seated away from everyone else.
“Thank you.” She flashes a smile when the host pulls out her chair and hands her a menu.
I take my seat and a menu from him and he tells us that someone will be by with water.
I clear my throat and wiggle restlessly in my seat.
“Stop,” Thea hisses. “You’re acting like a five-year-old who can’t sit still. Everything will be fine.”
I mess with the collar on my shirt, trying to loosen it. “Is it hot in here?”
“No, you’re just a hot mess,” she groans. “Calm down. You’re going to have a heart attack before they get here.”
“What if they don’t come at all?”
She gives me a look. “They’ll come.”
Someone comes by and fills up our glasses with water and I slurp mine down like I haven’t had any water all day.
“Whoa, slow down,” Thea warns, placing her hand on my arm.
“I’m nervous,” I hiss under my breath.
She snorts. “I hadn’t noticed.”
I see my parents and glance at Thea in panic. “Am I sweating?”
“No, you’re fine. Take a deep breath.”
I take her advice, but then I forget to breathe out so by the time my parents are taking their seats I exhale heavily, sounding like a whale, and everyone stares at me.
Fucking great. This is already fantastic.
Thea’s hand touches my knee. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I squeak, and take a sip of water. It’s empty.
This gets better and better.
I was less nervous telling them that I made the football team and wasn’t going to work for Dad than I am now, and I thought I was pretty nervous at the time.
I clear my throat. “I got you some flowers,” I tell my mom. I notice she chose the seat across from Thea.
Her head is behind the menu when she says, “I saw.”
I sigh. Her coldness is expected, and warranted, but it hurts anyway.
“How was work?” I ask my dad.
Small talk is good, right?
“Good,” he says, picking up his water. “We closed the Holtzman account today, so you know how glad I am to get that account.”
“Oh, wow, congrats, Dad. That’s fantastic.”
It really is. He’s been working for months to get that account. It’
s a huge deal for designing a building downtown and three more over the next ten years.
“Yes,” he says, setting his glass down, “so this is like our celebration dinner.”
My mom sets down her menu and crosses her fingers. “Really? I thought this dinner was for my son to explain to me why he got married and didn’t tell me?”
I need a drink. Or ten.
“Mom—” I start, but she promptly holds up her hand.
“I need my food and a glass of wine before I hear anything you have to say.”
I glance at Thea and she’s holding in a snicker.
I’m glad she’s amused by this.
Our waiter stops by the table with a basket of bread and a bottle of wine.
“Can I interest you in a glass of our house wine. It’s—”
My mom holds up her glass. “We’ll take the whole bottle since my son’s paying.”
Thea smacks her hand over her mouth, but not quick enough to hide her snort.
“Oh, okay.” The waiter pours her glass then reaches for another empty one.
“Oh, no, that won’t be necessary,” my mom says, grabbing the bottle from him. “This is just for me.”
This time Thea’s laugher escapes and she does nothing to stop it. Instead, she sits there cackling, entirely amused by this situation.
“I’ll give you another minute to decide what you want and I’ll be back soon.”
“Thanks,” I mumble. I’m pretty sure my cheeks are red with embarrassment right now and Thea’s still laughing.
I slide my menu to the edge of the table. I’ve already picked out my meal, but it hardly matters because I doubt I’ll be able to eat it.
“So,” Thea says cheerily, “marvelous weather we’re having.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. The weather, that’s what she goes with?
“This wine is fantastic.” My mom points to her glass. “I’d offer you all some, but it’s mine.” She cradles the bottle like a baby.
I cover my face with my hands.
Please, tell me this is a nightmare?
I open my eyes and she’s drinking straight from the bottle.
I think I might die.
“All right, that’s enough. You’ve embarrassed him sufficiently.” My dad grabs her arm and forces the bottle from her mouth.
When Stars Collide (Light in the Dark #2) Page 19
