“Actually, we’re running a little bit ahead of schedule,” Mom laughed. “I was thinking we could take a break and watch the rest of the parade on the television. I love seeing Santa come at the very end!”
Mom was way into Christmas. I was grown-up, yet she still left baking soda and glitter footprints in front of the fireplace, claiming Saint Nick had left them. I briefly entertained a vision of Zeus here, opening presents and sipping hot chocolate while listening to festive music. By the time I was done fantasizing, I’d decided to invite him for Christmas too.
“By the way,” Violet said as we headed for the living room, closing the kitchen door behind us, “I saw John out walking on our way here. Who was that young man with him?” Her voice sounded innocent enough, but the gleam in her eyes told me she found him very attractive.
“Hey guys,” her husband, Jeremy, said as he entered the house, herding their small children and preventing us from answering. There were several years between Mom and Violet. Jeremy and she had a hard time getting pregnant during their first years of marriage, but that had all changed eventually, and now they had three beautiful boys who were some of the most skilled destroyers I’d ever seen. They could turn the house upside down in two minutes flat and refuse to help clean anything. Usually, it took several hours to put right all the messes they made. It was getting better as they got older and learned to listen to their parents.
Uncle Jeremy was wearing jeans and a jersey, as were his boys. Their black hair looked like it hadn’t been combed yet. I could tell from the names on their shirts they were cheering for a different team than Dad’s. That should make for an interesting football game.
“Go play outside!” He waved them all to the backyard and sat down on the love seat, pulling Violet down next to him.
“How are they?” I asked, in reference to the boys, settling onto the couch with mom.
“Josh has started second grade,” Violet said proudly. “He’s doing very well. Henry is in first grade and wants to join the youth soccer league. Zack started school this year and got the same teacher the other boys had. She said she feels like she keeps getting the same boy year after year, they all look so alike!” She shared a laugh with her husband, ignoring the yelling coming from the backyard. “They’re a bit of a handful,” she admitted. “But we love them. Our family wouldn’t be complete without them!”
While her sister had been talking, Mom turned the television on and found the parade. Soon we were all making comments on the giant balloons, marching bands, and musical acts.
The door opened and Dad and Zeus walked in, laughing. The knot I didn’t know had formed in my stomach loosened. I smiled widely.
“Good morning!” I said cheerfully, ignoring Aunt Violet’s questioning face.
“To you as well!” Zeus beamed, walking over to me and giving me a quick peck on the lips. Violet’s eyes almost bugged out of her head.
“Are you hungry, boy?” Dad said, clapping a hand onto his shoulder.
“Famished actually,” Zeus laughed. “I usually don’t go so long without eating after I exercise.”
“Yeah,” Dad said, talking to the whole room. “I thought I’d have to wake this guy up to go for a walk with me. He was doing pushups when I opened the door!” He laughed again, obvious admiration in his eyes.
I’d been sure Zeus could win him over, but I didn’t know how he’d do it. Somehow he had, and I intended to finally find out what “the talk” really was.
“Let’s get some food in ya,” Dad said, pushing him towards the kitchen.
Zeus grinned and grabbed my hand, squeezing it gently before allowing my father to lead him away.
“Again,” Violet said as soon as they were out of earshot. “Who is that?”
“It’s Karly’s boyfriend, Zeus,” Mom said appreciatively.
“Marry him.”
Jeremy groaned at Violet’s statement. “Vi, let her be.” He shook his head and focused his attention back on the television.
“I’m serious,” she continued. “He’s gorgeous. I’d marry him myself if I wasn’t already spoken for.”
Mom and I stifled giggles as Jeremy jumped to his feet.
“What is that supposed to mean?” He threw his hands in the air and walked into the kitchen without waiting for an answer.
“What are we talking about?” Mom’s other sister, Ashley, asked as she walked through the front door. Her red, curly hair bounced as she turned and closed the door. Her clothes, like her hair, didn’t match the rest of the women—she had donned a jersey as well.
“Karly’s fiancée,” Violet said.
“You’re engaged!” Aunt Ashley squealed.
“No!” I laughed, raising my hands in a plea for mercy.
“She should be, he’s beautiful,” Violet said as Ashley took Jeremy’s place.
“Ooooh, I want to see,” Ashley said.
“Girls, calm down!” Mom laughed as she shushed them. I mouthed a silent thank you to her.
“Somebody talking about me?” Zeus’s head poked through the kitchen door, curiosity on his face. “My ears were itching.” I heard my aunts sigh softly as he released one of his devastating smiles.
“Nope, we’re just watching the parade,” I said, trying not to giggle.
“Alright then.” He smiled at me for a second longer and then retreated back through the door.
“Holy cannoli,” Ashley whispered softly.
“Wait till you get a look at the rest of him,” Violet murmured, flexing her arms like a strong man.
This was one of the things I loved best about my aunts—their inability to not say what they were thinking. Mom had never been outspoken, not unless she had to be. But her sisters . . . they were on a whole separate level.
I blushed furiously at their comments, wondering if Zeus had heard them saying we should get married. Part of me thought it wouldn’t be so bad if he had.
A few question filled minutes later, Zeus came through the door again.
“Mind if I crash the party, ladies?” he asked.
My aunts gushed their approval while Mom simply invited him to take a seat. He settled down on the couch next to me, putting an arm around my shoulders and kissing me quickly on the forehead.
“You look nice today,” he said and I laughed.
My old, torn up jeans and paint splattered high school shirt were anything but nice. My hair, which I hadn’t even really combed, was in a messy ponytail. I surveyed his designer jeans and tight black t-shirt.
“You’re the good looking one in this relationship,” I laughed. “It’s a miracle I’m not still covered in pumpkin!”
“You’re wrong,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “You’re beautiful.”
There was a sigh from my aunts’ vicinity. I blushed as he smiled and kissed my forehead again, not seeming to notice anything other than me.
“Well, we should get back into the kitchen, now that the parade is over. And we can finally put up our Christmas decorations since it’s officially the season!” Mom beamed as she left the room. Supposedly, Christmas didn’t really start until Santa finished the parade.
“Do you mind if I hang out with the guys?” Zeus asked as we stood up. “They said something about a game on TV.”
“Sure, that’s fine, they watch it every year.” I smiled and kissed him quickly on the lips—blushing the whole time—before he left the room. There was something different about having my family watch us kiss. It felt weird.
Once we were back in the kitchen with the door closed, Violet sighed deeply. “Yup. You need to marry him.”
Chapter Eighteen
We were ready to start our somewhat early dinner. I laid forks and knives on the table at each seat, mouth watering over the turkey in the middle, looking nice and buttered. Cranberry sauce, spinach dip, salads, and the side dishes all surrounded it. Delicious pie smells were wafting in from the kitchen, calling me like a mouse to cheese.
As I placed the silverware on napkins, Mo
m set the glasses and my aunts set the plates. I was quickly becoming distracted, watching the scene playing out in the backyard.
Although the house wasn’t very big, the backyard had always seemed the size of half a football field. The grassy lawn was perfect for getting immovable stains. The leaves had started changing colors, and were falling from the trees, which lined the full brick wall surrounding the yard.
Josh, Henry, and Zack were crawling army style through the lawn, dirt smeared on their faces. They each held an imaginary weapon in their hands. I could see them whispering instructions to each other through the open window.
Suddenly, Zeus burst out from behind the trees and onto the trampoline, shouting a war cry. Jumping high into the air, he mimed throwing things at the boys, who had issued their own battle shout and were advancing rapidly.
Zack was making machine gun noises while waving his arms back and forth.
“Grenade!” Henry yelled, taking a rock from his pocket and throwing it onto the bouncy mat.
“Surrender!” Josh yelled over and over again, making his own battle noises in between.
Zeus fell to the ground, making one last attempt to escape before Henry declared his bomb had exploded. Everyone acted like they’d been thrown back from the force, all of them falling onto their backs.
Zeus was on his feet in an instant, grabbing Henry. He straightened, pulling him clean off the ground.
“Let me go or Henry gets it!” he demanded, backing up against the wall.
“Don’t listen to him,” Henry shouted. “Take him down; I’ll do it for the team!”
Josh and Zack rushed at them, firing their pretend weapons. Zeus dropped Henry, groaning and clutching his side. He made a dash for the sturdy swing set on the far side of the yard.
“He’s getting away!” Zack screamed.
“Quick, to the fighter jets!” Josh instructed.
They all ran to the swing set, Zack and Henry taking the double swing, Josh the second single—Zeus already being in the first.
“Shoot him down!” Henry yelled.
“You’ll never catch me!” Zeus yelled back while they all began firing at him again. He jumped from his swing, flying through the air. When he landed, he fell over onto his stomach and became still.
“We got him!” Josh said triumphantly.
They all got off of their swings and went to investigate. I had to cover my mouth to keep them from hearing my laughter when Zeus suddenly came back to life and a massive wrestling match began.
“He really is something,” Mom said in appreciation.
I nodded my head, realizing she’d caught me watching.
He fit in so nicely with everyone. I didn’t know what he’d told Dad on their walk, but it was clear he’d passed the test. I could tell Mom liked him, as did the boys. There was no doubt Violet and Ashley approved of him. I’d even heard him joking with Jeremy while we were cooking in the kitchen.
It was surprising that it meant so much to have everyone like him. I knew I really liked him, and asking him to come home with me hadn’t seemed like such a big deal, It’s not like we were going to get married or anything.
As I finished setting the table, it occurred to me that’s exactly what I wanted. I didn’t just really like him—I was in love with him. I froze, watching him again as he played in the yard. He wasn’t the man I’d met at STYX. He had grown into something better, someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. His snarky side still showed up every now and then, and I loved that. I loved the way he looked at me right before he kissed me. I loved the way he treated me. I loved that he had never pushed me into anything.
He caught me watching him and gave a small smile and wink before he was tackled by the boys again. My insides warmed and I blushed.
I loved him! How hadn’t I realized it until now? He was everything I never knew I wanted. It didn’t even bother me that he’d been married before. I knew he was being honest when he said he didn’t want to be with anyone else any more.
I thought back to the dream I’d had when I spent the night in his penthouse. What if I hadn’t been dreaming and he really had said he loved me? Butterflies erupted in my stomach as I realized he might actually feel the same way about me.
“Time to wash up for dinner boys!” Violet called out the window. “You too, big guy!” she added jokingly to Zeus.
They all headed for the door, still wrestling a little. I started to feel panicked. How was I supposed to act now that I knew how I really felt? Did I tell him? Should I wait for him to say it first?
I didn’t know what to do, so I seated myself at the table. I could hear them laughing as they came through the back door in the kitchen and washed their hands at the sink.
“You have dirt all over your faces!” Violet didn’t sound too happy with her boys.
Zeus came from the kitchen laughing, stopping right outside the door when he saw me.
“Hey good lookin’,” he said softly. The smile he wore and the sound of his voice made my heart race.
“Hey,” I said shyly, feeling the blush creep onto my face as I smiled.
He stood there for a second longer, looking at me. His eyes seemed to sparkle and I couldn’t take mine off him.
“Sorry I didn’t help with the food,” he said.
“It’s fine. Mom wouldn’t have let you anyway,” I laughed. “It’s tradition for the girls to do it. The boys make Christmas dinner.”
“Sounds fun,” he said, moving from the door and taking a seat next to me.
“It is. We usually have homemade pizza. It’s Dad’s specialty. Sometimes he makes doughnuts, but not every year. He likes to keep it fresh.”
I was rambling. And saying weird things like “keep it fresh.” What if he noticed I was acting differently? My palms were sweating so profusely I had to keep rubbing them on the nice pants I’d changed into for dinner. He would say something funny, and I’d laugh unnecessarily loud.
Eventually, everyone else joined us at the table. Mom brought out a pitcher of water, and I filled my cup, proceeding to gulp it down like I was dying of thirst.
“You okay?” Zeus said, putting a hand on my shoulder, a look of mild concern on his face.
“Yeah, fine!” Did I say that too fast? How did people sit next to someone they loved and act completely normal?!
“Welcome everyone!” Dad said, rising from his seat. “I’m happy that we’re all here to give thanks together. I would especially like to welcome Zeus. We’re happy you could join us.”
“My pleasure,” Zeus said, squeezing my shoulder. I laughed nervously. I needed to keep it together!
“Jeremy, would you like to say the blessing?” Dad asked.
“Sure.” He stood and folded his arms. The rest of the family remained seated but folded their arms also, bowing their heads.
I didn’t hear anything Jeremy said. All I could think about was trying to act normal. It would be a miracle if I didn’t blurt out my feelings during the car ride home.
“Amen,” everyone said in unison.
“Let’s dig in!” Dad said, grabbing the carving knife and going to work on the turkey.
Plates were passed around and filled to maximum capacity. Laughter and small talk filled the air, along with the clinking of utensils.
“So what do you do for a living Zeus?” Ashley asked as soon as everyone had their food.
“I’m a business man,” he answered politely.
“Don’t be shy boy,” Dad laughed. “He owns a casino.”
“Wow, that’s interesting. Especially since I thought John despised casino owners,” Jeremy joked.
“This is true,” Dad laughed. “But Zeus here explained some of it to me. He’s not really in charge of the money part of the casino. He owns the resort it’s in. Someone else handles taking everyone’s money.” He raised his fork as if toasting Zeus, chewing up the turkey he’d just put in his mouth.
“That’s mostly true,” Zeus laughed. “I have some control ove
r money issues in the casino, but it is mostly handled by bankers. Everything goes into the vault, and the bank comes and picks it up. I do have full control over the rest of the resort, though.”
I remained silent through the conversation, my emotions making me a nervous wreck. Zeus must have noticed I was in some sort of distress. He placed his hand on my knee and subtly scooted his chair closer to mine.
“How did you two meet?” Violet asked, picking up her glass to take a sip.
“At the club in my resort,” he said, smiling at me. “I was sitting at the bar when she came up and asked for a water. We danced a little after that—“
“And that was it,” I said, interrupting him. “He asked me out on a date a little while later.”
“Oooh, what did you do?” Ashley asked.
“Uh,” Zeus gave me a confused look before answering. “I took her to a nice restaurant and art gallery.”
“I bet you loved that, Karly,” Mom said smiling.
“I did, thank you.” I took another bite of my food, not able to hide my smile at the memory of our date.
“Dating is gross!” Josh piped up, his mouth full of mashed potatoes.
“Let’s talk about something else!” Henry agreed. Zack only nodded his head, the amount of food in his mouth preventing him from speaking.
“How about we talk about the war you guys lost in the backyard today?” Zeus said while everyone else laughed.
A play by play of the battle ensued so the rest of the family could vote on who won. I remained silent, watching Zeus interact with the family. It was like he’d always been a part of it. I knew I loved him with my whole heart. I would find the right time to tell him and pray he felt the same way.
Once dinner was over, Zeus insisted on clearing the table and doing the dishes. Mom threw a fit about it, but finally conceded. He excused the rest of the family to go relax as well, but I stayed to help him.
We were gathering the last of the plates when his hand brushed mine and an extreme electric charge caused me to drop everything I was holding, one of the plates breaking as it hit the floor.
“Ouch! You shocked me good!” I laughed, shaking my hand. It was tingling like it had fallen asleep.
Zeus (Book One of The God Chronicles) Page 12
