16. Jess
Jess
The day after the con, Danny left early for his show, and I did my best to fill the absence without texting him a thousand times.
I spent the morning doing a live wrap-up of the convention experience while hyping the San Domingo Comic Con panels I would be attending.
In the afternoon, I tried to resurrect my Fiona cosplay.
However, between the broken boots, torn skirt, and damage to the wig, it was a complete loss.
I was in the middle of proofreading a client’s work when my parents called. With everything that had happened over the last few days, I hadn’t had a chance to reach out and explain. They had seen my endorsement of Danny on social media, and they had questions.
My parents had snuggled up cheek to cheek for the call. They were both smiling, but the guilt gnawed on me as I explained everything that happened. Minus a few personal details.
“I know it was a surprise to you,” I continued. “I should have talked to you first, but he’s definitely the right guy for the role.”
“It was a bit abrupt,” Mom replied with a small nod. “Especially after you said he was ‘meh.’ However, I did see clips of your interview with his performance. I have to say he’s very impressive.”
“And you’re saying he’s reading the books?” Dad asked.
“Yes! Like, fervently. Any downtime he has, he’s had his nose in the books. He’s quoting them all the time!”
My mom always knew when I was up to something. Her smile widened.
“It sounds like the two of you have gotten close?” Her tone was teasing. My cheeks started to burn.
How was I supposed to respond to that? Well Mom and Dad, he railed me really good the night we met so…
Dad, of course, was oblivious. “Well, Sweetie, I’ve seen his performance at the interview you did, and his trailer was amazing. Granted, nobody really knows your connection to Nana, but I trust your judgement.”
“Will we get to meet this young man?” Mom asked.
“Why would we be meeting him?” Dad. Completely and hopelessly oblivious.
“Hey, I got to run! Great talking to you guys!” I called out and ended the call before Mom ruined the moment.
Brayonna stared at the bowl of soup in front of her. “Seriously. You. You ate this?”
I had spent the entire time leading up to our final panel on minority representation in fantasy genres with Bray, raving about Kao’s.
Since I already had plans to meet Danny for dinner and the restaurant was halfway between where Bray and I lived, I convinced her to meet me there for lunch so I could show her how good it was.
She held up a spoon full of delicious broth with a tentacle hanging from it. “Jess. This is a tentacle.”
“I know,” I said laughing. “I had this the other night.”
“You, of all people, ate a tentacle.” Bray shook her head at me like I had lost my mind.
“Just try it.”
Bray frowned before she sucked the broth and a tentacle in her mouth. Her face lit up in surprise. “Holy fuck!”
“I know right?”
“This is so fucking good!” Bray exclaimed as she dove back into the soup. “I mean, I am seeing shrimp in here with their damn heads still on, and I do not give a shit.”
I laughed as I turned my attention to my own bowl, savoring each spoonful. A snort of amusement came from Bray. “Okay, what’s so funny?” I asked.
Bray sucked down another tentacle and waved her spoon at me. “I’d ask what happened to you, but I know what’s going on. And I approve.”
“What do you mean, you approve?” I scoffed.
Bray leaned into the table, dropping her sassy mood.
It was always weird when she shifted into a serious conversation.
“We’ve been friends for years. You have played at my table.
We have gone on trips together. I have lived through your multiple boyfriends and breakups.
Never once would you have considered eating something like this. Until him.”
“I’m not that picky.” It was a lie. I’m totally picky.
Bray raised her eyebrows at me.
“I’ve seen you reject a dino chicken nugget, because it wasn’t dinosaur enough. Now you’re eating tentacles. We’ve gone on double dates to the fanciest of restaurants, and you ordered from the kid’s menu.”
“That was the one time!”
Bray pursed her lips and glared at me. It was definitely more than one time.
“Okay. That’s fair,” I acquiesced. “So, what are you saying?”
She put her spoon down in the bowl, leaning her chin on her folded hands. “I’m saying that you’ve known this man for a few days, and he’s changed you. And you’ve changed him. Both for the better. And I approve.”
I sat there, mulling her words over in my head.
“You really think I’ve changed him?” I asked.
It had been a few days of us being together.
I didn’t think I’d ever have any impact on anyone in that short of time.
Previous experiences had shown me that change was impossible for the people I’ve dated.
I had let my emotions overlook their faults. Was Danny different?
As if reading my mind, Brayonna laughed and picked up her spoon. “How many books has he read in the last few days?”
I leaned back in my chair, thinking about it. “You don’t think we’re moving too fast?”
Bray shrugged and dug into her bowl of soup pulling out an entire shrimp. “My uncle and aunt got engaged within twenty-four hours of their first date. They’re still married twenty-two years later. Same thing with me. I knew for sure that Bennet was the one after one date.”
I scoffed. “Oh, come on. That date was a disaster.”
“Yeah, but he was committed.” Bray slurped down her spoonful of soup. “And I know the moment you knew about Danny.”
“Oh, you do?” I joked.
“I do,” she said, a smug look of satisfaction on her face.
I took a moment to let that sink in. Was there a moment? Was it that obvious, and if so, when did it happen? “So, what was it?”
“When you gave your grandmother’s book to his niece,” she said, giving me a grin.
I rolled my eyes. “You weren’t even there.”
Bray shook her head. “You’re not fooling me.
You have carried that little book around with you everywhere since I met you,” Bray ranted.
“You met that kid and less than twenty minutes later you’re handing off Nana Richards’s stories.
The ones she wrote for you. I’ve known you much longer than that, and I’ve only seen the cover.
You’ve dated guys for years without sharing that book with them.
You literally gave a part of yourself to this girl that you barely know. ”
A warmth rose up inside me, turning my cheeks red, and it wasn’t from the soup. “I know her from my Patreon. She and I have been talking about books and the Tyrant series for over a year before I met her here,” I protested.
Brayonna snorted at me as she dug around searching for another tentacle. “Not the same. You’re not handing out your personal things to everyone who’s sassy and adorable on the internet. You gave it to her. Faye. The person Daniel adores and would do anything for.”
I smiled despite the tone in Bray’s voice. “Yeah, Danny is pretty devoted to her.”
“Ooooo. Dan-ny.”
“I’m already regretting this lunch with you,” I joked.
And then she began to sing. “Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling-”
I ducked my head down as Brayonna continued to serenade me. My face could have been used as a beacon to guide an airplane down to a runway. Thankfully, the waiter interrupted her serenade by dropping off a plate of those fried dumplings.
“What are in those?”
I slid the plate towards her. “Heaven.”
Dinner tonight was not just with Danny. It included the entire Finnegan clan.
Deep down, I knew I had no reason to feel nervous.
After all, a couple of days ago, Paige and Faye had been campaigning for me to get together with Danny.
But now I was sitting down to dinner with them, in their own home, and I could feel some anxiety bubble up within me.
Their house surprised me, even after everything Danny had said about his salary. It was an older place, a small Craftsman bungalow with a low roof and a cozy porch. I had barely set foot on the front step when the door flew open.
Faye stood in the entrance, an intense expression on her face. “Hi! Uncle Danny is still being punished by Jorge, so it’ll be a while before dinner. Come on in!”
“Are you sure?” I didn’t want to intrude, and I wasn’t sure Faye held any hard feelings toward me for tracking her down. “I don’t want to–”
“I want you to,” Faye said and held up my grandmother’s book. Her tone was dead serious. “I have questions.”
I tried not to smirk. “I might have answers.” Clearly, Faye had gotten over her shame from skipping out the other night.
Without hesitation, Faye half-dragged me into the foyer, leading me to the living room. “Wait here. Do you want some tea?”
“I’d love tea,” I admitted, watching her with amusement.
“Oh! Wait! Hold on!” Faye made a mad dash to her room. She came back seconds later with a notepad filled with her handwriting. “I have notes.”
“I would be disappointed if you didn’t,” I replied, trying to match her grave tone.
She blinked in confusion for a second, and then her eyes widened. “Tea!” she shouted and scurried away.
I laughed and followed her into the small kitchen as she raided the cupboards for mugs and tea before starting to heat water in the microwave.
“Our tea selection stinks. We have black tea or chamomile which tastes like ass in my opinion.”
“Well, I don’t want ass tea,” I said, trying very hard not to laugh.
“Black it is.” She stood in the kitchen for a moment scratching her arms. “Is it alright if we talk in here?
“It’s fine,” I assured her and took a seat at a Formica topped kitchen table. “How are you feeling after the other night?”