17. Kristin
17
KRISTIN
B roccoli. Zoey eyed her arch-nemesis suspiciously as if she expected the florets to creep across the plate and sully her chicken. It didn’t matter which seasonings I used or how I cooked it. She hated the stuff. Zoey had a complete aversion to the color green—vegetables, clothes, even M&Ms.
She was convinced that they didn’t taste as good as the other colors.
The five of us were crammed around our four-seater kitchen table, digging into dinner.
As I was pulling the chicken out of the oven, Chase texted me with a photo of Luna. She had a red bandana around her neck, Quackers the duck in her mouth, and a clean bill of health.
The vet had given Chase a special type of dog food to help her gain a little weight. After checking that there was no microchip and no reports of missing dogs, he brought his girl home.
The kids went ballistic over the good news and were already begging to go visit Chase.
Happiness certainly wasn’t something that came freely. But lately, it had been coming in spades. I, for one, wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Especially when it came to Will…
That man had me smiling, and he wasn’t even here.
I cleared my throat and stabbed a piece of broccoli with my fork.
“So,” I said, waiting until I had the kids’ attention. “I have to work tomorrow. You’ll be on your own in the morning. Lo and Ky are in charge. Miss Erica is going to come over after Aly wakes up from her nap. She’ll stay here until I get home.”
The only way I had weaseled a Saturday free was by promising to work overtime on Sunday. It was one of the last weekends of the busy season. Labor Day was long gone. Warm weather still lingered, though, which drew tourists to the coast for less-crowded weekend getaways.
I had a love-hate relationship with warm weather.
On the one hand, it meant tourists. I hated that. On the other hand, tourists meant more rooms to clean. More rooms meant more hours. More hours meant a bigger paycheck. I loved that.
Sure, it was exhausting, but my bank account depended on it. Making it through the leaner months of winter was a challenge. I barely squeaked by on forty hours a week.
“What about Monday?” Logan asked between bites of mashed potatoes. “You going to poker night?”
I froze with my fork halfway between my plate and mouth. Now or never. “Um, I wanted to talk to y’all about Monday.”
“Do we finally get to come to poker night?” Kylie asked, all too giddy at the thought of going to Maddie and Luca’s house.
I stuffed a bite in my mouth and pointed my fork at her. “No.” I swallowed before adding, “Adults only. Besides, you have to get voted in.”
Kylie rolled her eyes, and I shot her a victorious smirk.
“So, what about Monday?” Logan asked.
I took a sip of water and steadied my nerves. I was in uncharted territory. “I was thinking about having a friend stop by after poker night on Monday.”
Four sets of eyes raised from their plates and pinned me to my chair.
“If that’s okay with y’all,” I added quickly, careful to keep my tone indifferent.
Logan’s fork hit the plate with a clatter. He and Kylie eyed me warily. They were so close in age that I often looked at them as twins.
Hunter was the first person to say something. “Who?”
“My friend, Will.” I was proud of how steady my voice was. I wasn’t ready to drop the girlfriend news on them yet.
Was I even his girlfriend? Was Will too old to have a girlfriend? Surely there had to be an age limit on that label.
Kylie raised her eyebrows. “ Friend ?”
I cut my eyes at Kylie, then to Zoey, then back to Kylie. She took the hint and went back to quietly eating.
“Is that who you were with when we went to Chase’s house?” Hunter asked.
“Yes,” I said calmly. “I, um, didn’t plan on it, but Maddie and Hannah and the rest of the girls surprised me with a night away.”
That was the best way to word it to kids, right?
I couldn’t help but wish Will was here with me, holding my hand as I fumbled through these explanations.
Whoa, where did that come from?
“Is he, like, part of the poker club or something?” Hunter asked, mouth full. “I thought we knew everyone.”
I shot him a look that told him to take smaller bites and stop eating like an animal. I speared a small bite of chicken and popped it into my mouth. “I met him at work. We’ve spent some time together, and he wants to meet y’all.”
Logan’s nostrils flared. I learned early on that was his tell. He was the quiet, stoic type, but that little flex of his nose told me he was angry.
“Is he staying the night?” Logan asked.
“No,” I clipped. “He lives in New Bern and was going to stop by for a few minutes on his way home from poker night.” I took a sip of water to quell the flare of nerves. “But only if it’s okay with you guys.”
“Can we stay up late?” Zoey asked.
“A little. Just until Will stops by, and then it’s off to bed.”
“Fine by me,” Hunter said as he got up to put his plate in the sink.
“Will he bring presents?” Zoey asked.
I laughed and began clearing the table. “Probably not, Zo.”
She shrugged her tiny shoulders, then popped up on her tiptoes to get her plate into the sink. “I wanna meet him.”
The two younger kids hurried off to their rooms, leaving Kylie and Logan at the table.
“What about you two?” I asked. “Any strong opinions one way or the other?”
Kylie glanced down the hall, waiting to speak until Hunter and Zoey were out of earshot. “Are you really dating? I heard Miss Hannah talking to Chase about it.”
I figured that would be the case. Logan and Kylie were almost adults and far more perceptive than they let on.
“Would it upset you guys if I went out on a few dates?” I asked as I filled the sink with soapy water. I looked over my shoulder. “You can be honest.” Kylie was still picking at her dinner, so I looked at my brother. “Logan?”
He sulked over to the sink and added his plate to the stack. “Whatever.” And with that rousing vote of confidence, he slumped down the hall to the room he shared with Hunter.
“I’ll talk to Lo about it later,” Kylie said softly. She offered a weak smile as she brought the last of the dishes to the sink. “Did you really go on a date with him? You know, like overnight?”
Normal sisters were able to talk about things like boys, dates, first kisses, and sex. We weren’t normal, though. The line between Kylie and me was blurred. I wasn’t just her sister. I was her guardian.
“I did.”
She leaned her butt against the kitchen counter and crossed her arms. “So… did you, like, sleep together?”
I paused before grabbing the damp dish towel and drying my hands. “If by sleep together , you mean did we sleep in the same bed—then, yes.”
“Did you… do it?”
I laughed it off and shook my head. “No, Ky. It was our first date.”
“But you have done it before. Right?”
I crossed my arms and smirked. “I’m the one who gave you the sex talk. Remember?”
“But you will sleep with him eventually,” she said.
I sighed. “Ky, I don’t know where this is going. Will is sweet and kind, and I am crazy about him. But I also work a lot, and we have a lot going on here at home. I’ve been upfront with him about that. He knows that you guys are my priority.”
“Does he know about…” Her voice trailed off. We didn’t speak about what happened with our parents. Ever.
I nodded. “Yes. I told him.”
Kylie’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “And he still wants you… a nd us?” There was an unmistakable tremble in her voice. The corner of her mouth quivered.
“Ky—” I dropped the dish towel and pulled her into a hug. “You are not unwanted or unloved. Not now, not ever.”
Kylie sniffed as she hugged me. I stroked the back of her hair and squeezed her tight. “Is he good?” she whispered .
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you think that Steve and Chase would let me go out with someone who isn’t?”
She wiped underneath her eyes. “I guess you’re right.”
“They ran a background check on him, honey. Will is a good man.”
That made her smile. Kylie laughed, “I’m surprised Steve didn’t follow you on your date.”
I peered down the hallway. Both bedroom doors were closed. Carefully, I pulled out a cereal box. It was empty, but the kids didn't know that because it was a brand they hated. That may or may not have been on purpose. I opened the box and pulled out a bag of chocolate-covered pretzels.
Kylie’s eyes widened. “When did you get those?”
I put my finger to my lips. “Secret stash.” Pointing at her, I said, “And snitches get stitches.”
We settled on the couch and opened the bag.
“So,” Kylie began. “Your… Will wants to come over Monday night and meet us?”
I nodded. “He wants to meet you a lot, actually. But I promise you—it’s just a pop-in and out. Will won’t stay long, and he won’t sleep here. I’m not springing that on you guys.”
Looking around the simple living room, I sighed. There was no way I could ever have Will stay over even if the kids were comfortable with him. There was no room. I didn’t even have a freaking bed.
Laughing it off, I said, “He’s tall. His legs would hang off the end of the couch.”
She perked up. “Do you have a picture this time? Last time we talked about him, you said he was just a guest at the inn.”
I tugged my phone out of my back pocket and swiped through for the picture Will and I had taken together.
Early this morning, he woke me up with sloppy kisses along my neck and a cup of coffee. We walked hand and hand down to the edge of his yard where the stone retaining wall dropped into the Neuse River.
He sat behind me on the edge of the wall with his arms around me while I sipped from the mug that had Have you tried turning it off and on again? written in black letters. I had set the cup aside, leaned into his chest, and snapped a photo.
I handed my phone over and let Kylie look at the picture Will and I had taken together. Kylie grinned as she studied the screen.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“I’ve never seen you so happy before.” She handed my phone back. “Even before everything went to shit.”
I didn’t bother correcting her language.
I swiped the screen to another photo of just Will. He was standing at the stove in his kitchen, flipping pancakes.
“Oh, wow,” Kylie said, craning her head to get a better look. “He is tall.” She chewed on her fingernails—a nasty habit she learned from me. Kylie’s voice was quiet as she said, “He looks strong. Like he could keep us safe here.”
I smiled at the memory of waking up wrapped in his arms. I felt safe with him. Like I could breathe. I could close my eyes and know that everything would be okay because Will was there. Still, Kylie’s insistence that we needed protection was alarming. I tried to keep her shielded from my conversations with Steve and Chase, but she was more aware of things than she used to be.
“I think I’d like to meet him,” she said quietly, staring down at the uneaten pretzel pinched between her fingers. “It might be nice to have a man in the house…”
Before I could respond, Will’s name flashed on the screen. Time had gotten away from me, and it was nearing nine o’clock.
Silencing the call, I said, “Ky, Will and I are just going on dates here and there. It’s not that serious, and there is zero chance of him moving in.”
Disappointed, Kylie made up an excuse about needing to do homework and retired to her bedroom. A teenager voluntarily doing homework on a Saturday night? I don’t think so.
I tapped Will’s name and pinned my phone between my shoulder and ear as I pulled my work uniform out of the basket of clean clothes.
He picked up on the second ring. “Hey, Sunshine,” Will said. “How’s your day been?”
I smiled while I got my things ready for work in the morning and told him all about the accidental adventure of Chase rescuing Luna this morning.
“You should get a dog. I bet the kids would love a dog.” He chuckled.
I rolled my eyes. “I have neither the space nor the time for a dog. And vet bills and dog food are expensive.”
He hummed something noncommittal. I turned the bathroom light off and pulled my blankets and pillow out, getting the couch ready for a night of ergonomically questionable sleep.
“You about to crash on me?” Will asked. I heard the rustle of sheets on his end of the call.
I closed my eyes as I slipped under my favorite well-worn quilt. “I need to. Long day tomorrow.” The warmth of the mhmm he grunted was soothing. I could listen to him talk all night long. I shifted my lumpy pillow under my neck and plugged my phone into the charger. “About Monday. Are you still free?”
“For you, always.”
I couldn’t help myself. I bit my lip and stifled a girlish giggle. “Will…”
“Go ahead,” he teased. “Ask me out.”
“You know what, never mind,” I said, harassing him. “I take it back.”
“Kris—” I heard his sleepy laugh and imagined him lying on his back, shirtless in bed. “I’ll be on my best behavior, I swear. When can I see you again? ”
“A bunch of us get together for poker every Monday. It’s pretty lowkey. We order pizza. There’s drinks. It’s really more to hang out than gamble.”
“Just tell me when and where.”
“I’ll text you the address. But I was thinking…” I took a deep breath. “Maybe afterward, you could swing by my place for a few minutes… I kind of told the kids a little bit about you, and they mostly want to meet you.”
“Mostly?”
“Three out of four isn’t bad. It might take Logan a little time to warm up to you.”
“Logan. Seventeen, into video games, sulking around, and the occasional football game,” he said, repeating the run-down I’d given him this morning.
When we sat down to eat breakfast, he asked me questions about all the kids. Their likes and dislikes. Their favorite foods and what they watched on TV.
Goosebumps cropped up on my skin when he recounted everything in perfect detail. Will listened. He remembered. He cared.
“You got it.” I tried to sound cheery, but truth be told, I was worried that Logan wouldn’t come around to Will.
“I can tell you’re biting your nails,” he chided. “Don’t worry about me meeting them. I’m not expecting it to be all sunshine and roses the first time around.” Will chuckled good-naturedly. “You haven’t been easy to win over. I’d expect nothing less from them.”
“Speak of the devil!” Maddie squealed as she rocketed off the couch. “Spill! We need the details of your big date!”
Melissa and I walked in together. She had given me a ride to poker night so Will could take me home, and I wouldn’t have to worry about picking up my car .
I laughed and made a beeline for the bar in Maddie and Luca’s basement. I wasn’t driving, and I wasn’t getting through the night sober. Not when I was leading Will right into the lions’ den.
Luca stuffed a glass into my hand and whispered something about it being strong.
I took a sip and sputtered. “Good Lord! That nearly burned my eyelashes off! What the hell is in that thing? Lighter fluid?”
He smirked. “Vodka, rum, gin, and Midori. It’s called a Hand Grenade.”
I took another careful sip. “Your talents are greatly appreciated, Chef DeRossi.”
“Stop hogging her, Luca!” Maddie said as she grabbed my arm, pulling me to the semi-circle couch where the girls always congregated. “So, is he coming tonight?”
I checked my phone and nodded as I took a seat beside Bridget. “Yeah, he should be here in a few minutes.”
“Tell us about the date!” Hannah demanded as she toed off her designer heels and tucked her feet under her rear. “Did you finally get laid? Was it amazing?”
“Um, I did not sleep with him!” My eyes nearly popped out of my skull. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell y’all about it.”
Maddie rolled her eyes. “Please. We know all about each other’s sex lives. There are no secrets here.”
“I wish there were secrets,” Mel mumbled with a laugh.
Between bites of pizza, Hannah Jane pointed to Maddie and said, “Luca likes to fuck Mad against windows.”
Maddie looked rather pleased with herself. She exchanged a heated look with Luca, who was grinning from ear to ear.
Hannah pointed to Erica. “She and Steve get it on so much they literally made a new person.”
Erica laid her hand on her growing baby bump and shrugged. “A girl can only swallow so many times.”
My nuclear cocktail came back to bite me in the ass. I dropped the glass on the coffee table and gasped for air. “Warn a girl,” I wheezed. “I thought you were the innocent one.”
Erica snickered. “That would be you, you adorable baby duckling. Just because I’m quiet doesn’t mean I don’t know my way around a cock.”
I looked at the ceiling. Lord, take me now.
Hannah pointed to Bridget. “She’s the queen of blow jobs. If you need oral tips, she’s your girl.”
“Pineapple is your friend,” Bridget said as she sipped her glass of red wine.
“And the last time I went to New York, Isaac and I went to a strip club together,” Hannah said. “Let me tell ya, ladies, getting a lap dance from another woman while your man watches is hot as fuck in the moment and excellent foreplay for after.”
Maddie reached over and high-fived her.
“And I’m going to die alone,” Mel said as she hopped off the couch. “Anyone want another piece of pizza?”
“I keep telling you I can set you up with someone,” Isaac said to Mel. “I know plenty of guys who’d show you a good time.”
Mel laughed. “No offense, but I am not into—” she motioned between him and Hannah Jane. “Those kinds of things.”
He shrugged. “Offer stands.”
There was a knock at the glass doors that led out to the beach. Steve hopped up from his spot and unlocked them. Will, Chase, and Luna stood on the other side.
Will locked eyes with me and grinned. He looked all kinds of hot in faded jeans that showed off his ass and a half-zip pullover that stretched across his broad chest. His light brown hair was neatly styled under a ball cap that had a red circle around a bear paw stitched on the front. He still had his wire-framed glasses on from working all day.
I hopped off the couch, abandoning my drink. I was fairly certain that the alcohol would eat through the glass if I left it there long enough.
Luna let out a bark and happily swished her tail on the floor. It had only been a few days, but she was already looking healthier. Chase didn’t look too bad either. I think taking care of Luna gave him a much-needed distraction. Luna looked up at her human with adoring eyes.
Will met me halfway across the man cave and leaned down for a kiss. “Hey, beautiful.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Hey, you.”