“Er, sure,” I mutter when he just grins and eyes me, sliding toward the door.
“We got a runner, Astrid.”
“What? Oh no, dear, we’re not done just yet.”
“That’s right, we were planning tea and a good chat before you need to run. Now then, Finny, go get the tea and cookies while we girls get to know each other.”
The look I give him is obviously desperate but I’m left cursing when he just chuckles and walks off, shaking his head when someone gives my hip a good squeeze.
“Come and sit so we can talk.”
I do. I think I may be drunk on horror so I can’t even blame myself when I’m sandwiched between them and feel their blue orbs zero in on me.
“Markus told us all about you. Why, I almost slapped his fool head off his shoulders when I heard that he put your relationship on hold through a note. No manners.” She tsks as Edie sighs and shakes her head.
‘Mind you, the boy was not in a good place back then either, honey. Remember when he finally got done with the lawyers and had to undo what that horrible board did to the company?”
They’re both shaking their heads in disgust when Finn comes back and serves us all tea and cookies that look like lava rocks and feel like them too when I try to take a bite.
Okay, totally get why these old birds need someone to cook for them. Yikes, my poor teeth.
“Yeah, that was rough. I just got out of my first year at TU and tried to help him,” Finn says with a sigh, looking right at me. “He worked eighteen-hour days to rebuild and buy back the main barrels they sold off.”
I don’t get a word but I find myself dunking and riveted as he speaks, talking about how the once flourishing company was near bankruptcy after the board that was loyal to his uncle sold off and ruined what his grandfather had built for years.
“But that was then! We’re all here now and doing very well. Well, despite poor Edie’s diabetes, but we’ve got that under control, don’t we, sweetie?”
Edie nods once and I feel myself go blood red when she pats Astrid’s hand in a way that is not just friendly.
“You’re wondering how we can all be a family what with Ma and Astrid both having been with my dad and whatnot?”
“Well I wasn’t going to say anything,” I demure.
Yeah right. I look like a freaking meerkat my neck is craned to take in all the action and I’m in no way ashamed of the curiosity eating at me.
Wife and mistress becoming friends and raising their sons together? That’s strange in anyone’s book, even mine where judgements are for the Judies of the world.
Edie continues to stroke Astrid’s hand where it lies in my lap. This shit is just weird.
Finn laughs at my obviously morbid curiosity and sits back to stare at me while I slide out from between the lesbian sandwich and sit at the corner, rapt and ready.
“Ma was with Geoff for a good ten years while he had a whole other family she didn’t know about. Me and her were his second family. Markus and Astrid…none of us ever knew about the other. Far as Ma knew, Dad was a traveling salesman who sent money home for us to live and came home when he could. To Astrid, he was the businessman with too much responsibilities and a full workload. Fast forward a few years to him dying and well, let’s just say things became clearer. Ma and I lost our home and she decided to go looking when the lawyers stopped coming around and froze the bank accounts. You can imagine her surprise when she found out that not only was her husband married to another woman, but had a son and this whole life she never knew about.”
This requires popcorn and a slurpy, but I have more class than to say that out loud.
“I can see what you’re thinking and yeah, I get it. It’s weird that Astrid let me and Ma into her home and welcomed us with open arms. Astrid’s not got a mean bone in her body, and when she realized Ma had been as big of a dupe as she was…”
“They were pissed and hurt and couldn’t blame each other?” I ask, on the edge of my seat.
“You got it. We decided that we were a family, good for me since I was still in high school and needed a home, and good for Ma who’d suddenly discovered, ahem, a whole other side to herself.” He laughs as the two giggle and cuddle, watching me for any signs of judgement.
Like I could judge.
“Please tell me he died…”
“Badly?” They all laugh when I pause and wince at my faux pas.
“Nah. He was banging some stripper he picked up in Vegas and had a heart attack on the job, as they say. Went with a smile and two big plastic melons as a final resting place. More’s the pity, huh?”
Uh, yeah.
“But? I sense a but here,” I say, urging him to continue. “Okay, seriously, I wasn’t going to say, but these cookies suck and I like popcorn with my shows.”
“She’s perfect, Edie! Oh,” Astrid coos, clapping her hands gleefully.
“Ahem! That’s a strong no on the popcorn, I’m not your maid. Anyway, I was saying we are all a family and I think even Markus got over it eventually when suddenly we found ourselves without a home again. Dad’s brother decided he was better for the job and petitioned to contest the will. That pretty much left us penniless, and when Markus found out he came right home.”
“And supported you all while those sharks dragged it out. Man, this is why I don’t bang lawyers, ya know.” I laugh.
There is the sound of crickets and maybe my foot flying up into my mouth as they all pause and stare at me as if I just threatened to bang a married guy.
“Erm, is this like one of those times when I find out you’re a lawyer or something?” I joke.
“No, babe, this is that time when you find out I’m a lawyer.”
Turning, I peek over my shoulder and meet Marks’s eyes as Astrid starts giggling and the others try and fail to hold in a laugh. Honestly, I can’t take me anywhere.
“Yeah, I should have guessed, huh?” I quip, not hiding my long-suffering sigh or the fact that I’m unabashedly checking him out.
What? This douche lost me my Days and I have got to say I am not happy with this turn of events at all. Watching a lion rip a gazelle apart is no fun when you have no one to high five.
I could invite Indie, but with all the pot she smokes at home I’d have a hysterical almost vegan on my hands.
Marks seems to take my tone as teasing and strolls into the room with a smile that does wrong things to my people south of the border.
Dammit. Don’t go there.
Why not? You need a substitute and he’s semi-acceptable. And hot. And more than semi-acceptable. I want him!
“No, not really. I only finished the exams and took the bar when I needed legal advice but couldn’t afford it. Came in handy being a shark when the chips are down.” He laughs, bending to kiss both moms before dropping down beside me.
The noogie is so uncalled for, but I roll with it and only sneer a little when he tries to throw an arm around me and pull me in.
“Stop that, idiot. Do I look like I want to be pawed by you? Uh, no,” I rattle on, feeling the urgent need to run and run some more till the sight of all this good though slightly strange family starts messing with my head.
You know when you go all gooey inside and start imagining two lesbian grandmas and a joker of an uncle for the imaginary kids you’re gonna have?
That is so not happening right now. Although I have to say that if it were I could be down with a little boy with green eyes that sparkle with mischief.
“So, you’re here. I was wondering what Indie would do to get you here after Mom told me about their meeting,” he muses, ignoring my protests to pull me in for a kiss to the hair.
“She just threatened to hound me till I got this over with. No biggie since we’re all professionals or whatever,” I huff, digging my elbow into him.
The family is no help, no matter how I protest. They all just sit and smile as Marks wrestles me into submission and settles comfortably as if we’re all just shooting the breeze and
this is normal.
Yeah. That’s my life. Not a shred of normalcy in sight.
Thank God they all start talking about some wine they’re all excited about.
I listen and do my best to stay stiff beside him, totally ignoring the way he smells all yummy and delicious, and wait an for an appropriate time to leave.
It’s when they start talking about me, like me and Marks in college, that things start to get tense and very uncomfortable for me.
“I gotta go! Look at the time! Mrs. Marks, er Astrid, I’ll call you later and get the details about everything and um, whatever else we should discuss. Stop touching me, perv, your mom is perfectly normal. You have no excuse for this behavior.”
I’m practically at the door when I hear them all laughing and I am not in the least surprised when the devil himself comes sauntering up behind me to hold out my coat and open the door.
“You give any more thought to us?”
“Killing each other. Oh scads. Warning, I always carry a concealed weapon, so don’t blink if it starts getting hairy.”
“Goddammit, Percy, be serious for a minute here. I want to get to know you again and maybe just be friends,” he snarls, making my skin tingle at the thought of weekdays with Marks.
Shoot. I knew I shouldn’t have shared a roach with Indie this morning because my thinking is clearly skewed here.
“Hmm, I’ll consider if you answer a few questions.”
His shoulders relax a little and I see his hands unclench deep in his pants pockets.
“Fine. Shoot.”
Oh I wish.
“One, who’d you vote for in the last election, and if you don’t get this right you’re toast, buster.”
“Didn’t vote.” He laughs, making me smile.
“Good answer, both candidates were sorely lacking. Two, what are your views on the fracking situation?”
“The men responsible should be shot and left to bleed out just like they’re killing our environment.” He shrugs.
“Three, condoms versus diaphragm.”
“Definitely condoms. It’s my sperm. I should keep that shit under wraps.”
God. So disgustingly perfect. Most guys just grin and say “pill” like I’d let them even close to my oyster shell unclothed.
“Last but definitely not least, and this one is the deal breaker. Peanut butter or jelly.”
“Chocolate syrup.” He grins.
“Fine. Be at my place at eight. You get there late and you can buzz right off. And bring snacks, man. It’s just rude to eat all my stuff.”
“Oh I’ll definitely eat all your stuff. After.”
I can so see myself getting into hot water here. Darn my insomnia and soft heart.
“Whatever. I’ll see you tonight.”
Chapter Five
The Best Laid Plans Never Work
Marks
I haven’t been this excited about a date since I took Percy to the steak bar just off campus and splurged on a full dinner and dancing. I’ve spent all afternoon getting Mom and Edie up to speed about how things stand between us, and endured a lecture from my baby brother that no big brother should ever endure.
Some of the things he called me still make me sad, but I got through it and took responsibility for it like a man. Not only because he’s right but because I have my own guilt that I’m still dealing with, and something that I should tell her and my family that I haven’t had the balls to tell anyone in years.
But for right now I’m golden. As I stand and wait for the door to open I take stock of the grocery bag and grin at the jelly bears staring up at me, praying that these suckers are at least enough to get me another dry hump, if not a home run.
Look, I haven’t had sex in almost two months since I opened that wedding invitation and saw my future staring back at me, so don’t judge me for being hopeful. I’m a guy, I have a dick, so I can live in la-la land without feeling like a pervert.
“Hi! You brought food?”
My grin matches Indie’s as I shuffle in and put the bag on the kitchen counter, lifting the jelly bears out and holding them high despite her snarl and little pout.
“Hands off, McGee, these aren’t yours.”
“Damn straight they’re not. Gimme, Marks,” Percy yells, going long as I lob the packet at her to stop Indie from filching them in midair.
“Unfair! Those are perfect with the wine I brought home.”
“Here. Have the chocolate drops.”
Her squeal is childlike and I find myself laughing a little as she grabs them and throws us the peace sign before skipping away and slamming her door, leaving us alone in the kitchen.
“Hi.”
Smooth, Marks, real smooth.
Percy tilts her head and eyes me for long seconds before nodding and waving me on behind her.
“Hi right back at you, Marks. Bring the bag to my room. If you leave it there, Indie will be neck deep in it and puking before the night ends.”
Her room is so stark it makes me do a double-take as I take in the big bed and it’s snowy white linens to the dresser that holds not one knickknack or personal item, and the big screen TV that’s mounted on the wall across from the bed.
Percy is colourful in all aspects, not just her language, and I know upon seeing this that she’s become a person I don’t really know. Where’s the color and vibrant expression of her nature?
Dammit I’d about settle for the sight of one color besides white and black at this point. Beige maybe? Anything but the empty, almost devoid and sterile sight of this place.
“Come on, Marks,” she mutters, rolling her eyes as she pats the bed beside her.
“Percy, what the hell?” I manage as I sit and stretch against the black headboard.
“What the hell what, Marks?” she mutters, grabbing the remote and settling in.
“Where are the colors?”
I’m not a decorator, and if I’m honest my own room is almost the same as this one. Bare and stark, an empty canvas for the day when I can take her home and let her work her magic on the home I built for us.
“Eh, screw colors, Marks. This is simple, easy to clean, and I don’t have to worry about stains because I can just bleach anything that’s dirty and have it sparkling and clean in a minute. Now shut up, lady. I’m starting the movie,” she mutters.
It takes a while for me to relax and stop focusing on the lack of personality in here, but when I finally decide that it doesn’t matter since she won’t be here much longer, I can hunker down and pull her closer to settle in for whatever she has in mind.
“Aw come on, Perc, not fair.”
I secretly love this movie but I will never admit it. I don’t focus on that, though, not even when they screw in the car and her hand hits the steamy window. All I can feel and see and smell right now is Percy snuggled into my side, her head pillowed on my chest, her soft, braless breasts smashed against my ribcage.
It feels so right and natural that for a few moments I pretend we were never apart and that I didn’t fuck up the best thing that has ever happened to me.
I knew the moment our eyes met and she flipped me off when I smiled at her that she was mine.
She had to be because I was hers in that moment. I didn’t see the purple streaks in her hair, her ugly shoes, or the year’s worth of eyeliner smudged beneath her blue eyes.
I just saw a pretty girl with pretty eyes and a softness she tried so hard to hide but was evident from our first whispered hello. I also saw a pair of knockout boobs and ass that I could bite into and a mouth that made my dick ache.
Yeah, I knew and I spent the next four weeks, every waking hour I had that wasn’t filled with class or football, to show her that I was the right guy for her.
It took that long, not long at all really, but what felt like a lifetime before she let me have her past second base and so much foreplay I was ready to rip my dick off to stop the fire she was building inside me.
The moment I was inside her? Best of my life
and the last moment I ever wanted to be single. I knew then that she had every single piece of me from my body to my heart and I worked my ass off to get hers in return.
With her I could just be me and not worry about my dad trying to force me to study business and do what he wanted me to do, which was take over from him while he fucked his way across the country. I studied law because I liked it and prayed that I would get scouted right out of college my last year.
From there I would play ball and Percy could travel with me and finish her studies online. It was a solid plan and something I lived every day for. Did it hurt that she wouldn’t go public with us? Yes.
That shit made me feel insecure for the first time in my life, but I handled it the only way I knew how to without scaring her off. I beat the hell out of my teammates on the field and pretended it wasn’t an issue for me.
I mean why would I mess things up for something so silly when I hadn’t introduced her to Mom yet?
The sex was great, and I mean phenomenal because she had no inhibitions or hang-ups about her body. She was proud of herself just as she was, and man oh man did that make for some raunchy, dirty, mind-blowing sex.
I was fine with it all and ready to just live for whatever we had then until the day I got two calls. I responded to Mom’s call first, and then, when I had my family settled with a home and enough money to see us through the next month, I responded to the other.
Second worst decision I have ever made in my life.
“Oh come on! Come on, you old bat, every time!” Percy yells, screaming curses at an old Rose who has taken it upon herself to make fish rich with that chunk of rock that could probably feed a small country for a year from the proceeds at auction.
“You say that like she doesn’t drop it every time.” I laugh, pulling myself back to the moment.
Percy huffs and tosses a jelly bear at the TV, her lip curled with disgust.
“I just keep hoping, you know. I mean honestly, the good she could have done with that thing and she just tosses it like that? What a freaking asshole.”
“I know, right? They could have gotten easy two mill for that rock and helped the poor.” I sigh.
That has her sitting up and eyeing me before she smiles so big I feel like the sun just rose. God have mercy, I love Percy.
THE NAUGHTY ONES: The Complete 5-Books Series Page 40
