CHAPTER FIFTEEN #2
The crop top was from Raina, and after wrestling myself out of the peach blouse from hell, I tugged the loose, black half-shirt over my head. I was so used to living in overalls that the draft from the open window on my abdomen made goosebumps break out across my skin.
One shoulder immediately slid off to reveal my red bra strap.
“That’s hot,” Raina said. “And take your hair out of those braids, let them be loose, crimped waves, and then we’re cooking with dynamite.”
“I don’t think anybody should cook with dynamite,” Danica murmured, giving Raina a weird look. “The food would get blown up and fly everywhere.”
Gabrielle and I both snorted.
I removed the elastics from my braids and undid them so my hair hung over my shoulders.
“Sexy mama,” Raina said. “Oww, oww!”
I rolled my eyes at her in the mirror.
“Do you have a cardigan or something you can wear in case it gets cold?” Gabrielle asked, always the caring mother, even to her cousins.
“No … forget your sweater, then he’ll be forced to give you his. Or you’ll just have to snuggle up closer under the blanket together,” Raina said, her gaze shrewd as she nodded.
“I have a cardigan,” I said, which made my youngest cousin pout.
“What about your makeup?” Danica asked.
I scrunched up my face. “Well, we’re going to be in the dark, and I hate wearing makeup. So …”
“Just a little blush and lip gloss,” Gabrielle suggested.
I rolled my eyes again. “We’ll see.”
“Do you think you guys will have sex tonight?” Raina asked, reaching for the bottle of wine on Gabrielle’s nightstand and topping all of our glasses up.
I shook my head. “We’re taking things slow. Considering how little experience we both have …”
“So many times this week, I’ve found myself thinking back to what Mabel had said the other night.” Gabrielle took a sip of her rosé. “He was just a kid. And the way Mabel said it all so matter-of-factly, almost like she was emotionally detached from the entire thing.”
“That’s the autism though,” I said quickly.
“She’s very emotional about it. She knows what Kyla did was wrong, and that she and Lennox are innocent victims in all of this.
But she knows she’s a product of rape, and I can’t see that sitting okay with anybody.
She’s just had time and therapy to help her process it all.
She is just very … to the point, which can be jarring.
She doesn’t sugarcoat things. I’m honestly not sure she’d know how.
” Then I snapped my fingers. “That reminds me, have you spoken with your son?” I asked Gabrielle.
She huffed a humorless laugh. “Maybe yesterday. Why?”
“Because Mabel asked Lennox to drive her over here today so she could invite Damon to go birdwatching with her tomorrow.”
Gabrielle’s mouth dropped open, much like her son’s had earlier today.
“Yeah. Lennox is going to drop her off here in the morning so they can do their schoolwork together, then when they’re done, she’s going to take him birdwatching. She told him that since they’re the same age and both homeschooled, they should consider socializing with each other.”
“I freaking love that girl,” Raina said. “She’s so to the point. So blunt.”
“So are you,” Danica said to her.
“Yeah, but not in the same way. Mabel is fearless. Filter-free and fearless.”
I met Gabrielle’s gaze and reached for my wineglass. “How do you feel about this?”
She shrugged. “I feel fine. He does need to get out of the house more. And he certainly needs friends. I’m not sure he’s going to enjoy birdwatching, but at this point I don’t give a shit. The kid needs some vitamin D.”
Raina snorted. “He is looking a little pasty.”
“I’ll be home working and training staff all day,” I said. “I can keep an eye on them.”
“I’m honestly not worried about it at all. I have condoms under the bathroom sink for Damon, he knows that, and based on the circumstances of Mabel’s existence, something tells me she’s not interested in becoming a sexually active thirteen-year-old.”
“And she declined a job offer because she doesn’t like doing anything illegal. So them doing any drugs is off the table,” Danica added. “I think we can honestly expect those two to actually go birdwatching and only birdwatch.”
“What time is he coming to get you?” Danica asked, sipping her wine.
I was mid-sip on my own glass, but managed to glance at my smartwatch. I nearly choked on my wine. “Shit! He’s coming in like thirty minutes. I gotta run. I haven’t even made dinner for the kids yet.”
“Send them here,” Gabrielle said, her voice flat, even though her amber eyes glittered with amusement. “Pulled chicken tacos. I’ve got plenty in the slow cooker.”
“Thank you,” I breathed, already at the bedroom door.
“Remember: no glove, no love,” Raina called after me.
I backstepped a few paces and stuck my middle finger around the door at her, which elicited my cousins to all laugh.
Then I was booking it across the yard, with my overalls and shirt in my arms, hoping that I didn’t break into a sweat and cause my hair to frizz out.
I had a date.
My very first date ever in my life.
And it was with a guy I really liked and cared about.
As I smoothed out the minor frizz around my crown in the bathroom mirror, and rubbed some blush into my cheeks, my mind drifted down to the cupboard under my sink.
I thought I still had a few condoms in there.
Should I bring one? Just in case?
After slathering on some lip gloss and taking a bold leap to put a little mascara on too, I crouched down in the tight space and went rooting around in the depths of the cabinet.
I found two condoms from when Killian and I had been scratching each other’s itches. Two.
And they still had six months left before they expired.
Not thinking too much more about it, I went to shove them in the front pouch of my overalls, only to realize I wasn’t wearing overalls.
Right. I was in this ridiculous crop-top and jeans.
I had to admit though, I looked okay.
Maybe even better than okay. I worked hard on my body, and while my stomach certainly wasn’t flat, the jeans were high rise enough to hide that troublesome bit below my belly button.
I crammed the condoms into the front pocket of my jeans, fluffed up my hair, and exhaled.
“He’s here!” Honor hollered from the living room. “I’ll get it.”
Not just butterflies, but an entire swarm of locusts took flight in my stomach.
This was it. My first date. Ever.
A little later than most, but at least it was happening before I was forty.