Sweeter Than Fiction

Chapter Ten

Don

“Look, I know we aren’t very far into this whole thing, but I’m calling it now. Dean is Rory’s worst boyfriend.” I shove another handful of popcorn in my mouth.

Abby waves her hands in the air. “You haven’t even met the other ones.”

“Well, you’ve seen the show. What do you think?”

She nods. “Dean is still the worst.”

“I knew it!”

“But this is still pretty minor. Just wait. He gets so much worse.”

“It gets worse than telling Rory he’s into the whole 1950’s housewife thing?” I ask.

“Surprisingly, yes.” She chugs half of the wine in her glass. “Man, popcorn makes you thirsty. So, you don’t want a woman who will cook and clean for you?”

“You mean a maid?” I joke.

“You’d be surprised how many men want that.”

I tell her. “That’s just not for me. I get that it works for some couples, but that’s not what I want.”

She looks at me, waiting for me to continue.

“I grew up with a single mom who worked two jobs. My dad was nowhere to be found, so my mom did it all. She cooked and cleaned. She drove us around everywhere and helped us with homework. I always wondered what it would be like to have two parents who would share the responsibilities. No matter who I eventually end up with, I’ll make sure she never has to carry that much of the burden.”

“That’s a good outlook to have, I guess.” She pauses a moment. “So, you didn’t know your dad, huh?”

“Nope. He was around when my sister, Jill, was a baby. But I came on the scene when she was about two. He skipped town not too long after that. Haven’t seen or heard from him since. I suppose two kids was just too much for him.”

“Did you ever think about trying to find him?” She asks.

“My mom was willing to answer anything I wanted to know. When I was a kid, I would occasionally get curious. But I finally realized that he wanted nothing to do with any of us. Why should I give a shit about him?”

Abby picks at her fingernails as she talks. “For what it’s worth, I think he’s missing out on getting to know a great guy.”

Hearing her say that makes me smile. You know, I have been on countless dates since I’ve been in New York. Never has one of those women asked me about my family. I appreciate the fact that Abby seems to actually want to get to know me. The feeling is mutual.

Before I can say anything, she asks, “What’s your sister like?”

“Jill and I have always been close. With our mom working so much, we looked after each other. She was a little older, but she never pulled rank. Even now, we talk as much as we can. And not long ago, she gave me the best gift ever.”

“What’s that?”

I pull out my phone and open my photos. I click on one of Kaylee and hold it up to show Abby.

“My niece. Kaylee.”

Abby’s face lights up. “Oh, wow! She’s adorable!”

“She’s my little bestie. My partner in crime.”

“Does she still live back in Nebraska?”

I nod. “Yeah. That was the hardest part about coming here. But we will video chat all the time, and I go home as much as I can and spoil the crap out of her.”

“That’s what uncles are for.” She grins.

“Okay, enough about me. Tell me about your family.”

Her entire demeanor changes. I can practically see the invisible shield rising all around her.

Without making eye contact, she starts talking, “Not much to tell. I had two parents who stayed married and two older siblings. Two brothers. It was all just normal.”

The way she says the final word makes me think it was anything but normal.

“Are you guys still close?” I ask.

She lets out a soft laugh like the question is a ridiculous one. “No, not really.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I say.

“It’s my choice,” she replies. Doing a subject change of her own, she says, “I think I need more wine. Want some?”

“Sure.”

She takes my glass and heads to the kitchen. When she comes back, she goes to move her phone to the other end of the coffee table. Somehow, in moving it, she hits play on whatever app she had open earlier.

A man’s voice fills the air. “I can’t believe how good it feels to finally have my cock buried inside her. The way she clenches around me makes me want to fuck her like this all night long.”

“Oh, dear God!” Abby cries and she lunges for the phone. The second her fingers try to grasp it, though, it slips and falls to the other side of the table.

The voice continues. “I pound into her as she cries out my name. The view I have of her tits bouncing up and down is everything. ‘Good girl,” I tell her. ‘Take my cock just like that.’”

Finally, Abby manages to hit the pause button. Her face is a deep shade of red.

“Sorry,” she mumbles. “I like to listen to smutty books. Well, I like to read smutty books, but listening to them is sometimes just easier, you know?”

She’s cute when she rambles.

“Abby, it’s okay. You don’t need to explain yourself.”

“Oh, I think I do. I’m sure that makes me sound…I don’t even know.”

Before she can go any further, my phone starts ringing.

“Hello?” I answer.

Hal is on the other end sounding quite frantic. “Mr. McDowell, we’ve got a situation down here.”

“What kind of situation?”

“We had a break in, and some damage was done. Looks like there’s even some water damage.

“What the fuck? Where was security?”

“I don’t know, but—”

I don’t let him finish. “I’m on my way. Make sure the cops are on scene.”

I end the call while standing up.

Abby asks, “The cops? Is everything okay?”

“I’m not exactly sure. That was my foreman. There’s been some sort of break-in down at the job site.”

“Oh, shit.”

“I’m really sorry, but I have to go.” I start grabbing a few things to help clean up a little.

“Of course,” she says while grabbing my hand to stop me. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this. Go.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. Get out of here. Go be a boss.”

“Thanks, Abby. I’ll see you later.”

By some miracle, I manage to find a cab right away. I technically have a pick-up truck, but I have to park it in a garage damn near ten blocks away. I just don’t have time to go grab it.

When I arrive on site, a couple of cop cars are parked out front. Hal meets me at the door with an officer.

“What do we know?” I ask.

The officer speaks before Hal can. “Looks like some junkies. Maybe teenagers, but I doubt it. They were after any copper they could find. Not sure exactly how, but they managed to trip the sprinkler system. Luckily, the fire department showing up on the scene managed to scare them off.”

Anger courses through me because I pay a security company damn good money to keep shit like this from happening.

And I really hate cleaning up messes that I didn’t make.