Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
tristan
I don’t know why Paula is so put off by her family. They seem really nice. For a second, I thought I was going to lose my hand to her Dad, but my quick thinking put us on an upward trajectory. At least, I think it did. He didn’t attempt to kick me out of the beach house.
Paula moves, and I catch it out of the corner of my eye. What in the world caught her attention?
Then I feel it. The awareness that people are staring at you, and you don’t know why, or what to do about it.
Slowly, I turn toward the back of the couch.
Four guys have their focus on me. All but one are scowling at me.
The one has a smirk on his face, and I can tell he’s waiting to see where this goes.
I guess introductions aren’t quite over yet.
“Who the fuck are you?” One of the guys asks.
My mind goes back to the notes Paula sent me on her siblings, trying to remember which one this is.
I guess nobody got the memo I was coming.
Maybe Paula didn’t send the text to her parents like she said.
Or, they didn’t think she’d actually bring me.
Either way, this trip has been interesting from the jump.
“Don’t be rude.” Paula’s mom moves over to her sons. “This is Paula’s boyfriend, Tristan.”
“What?” Pierce, I think he’s the oldest one, shouts before dropping the bags in his hands.
“I hope there weren’t eggs in there,” Piper whispers and laughs.
Apparently, it was loud enough for Pierce to hear because he glares at her before returning his focus to me.
“I wasn’t aware we were allowed to bring guests on this trip.” His eyes never leave me, and I honestly wonder if I should be scared.
“Your sister told me last week,” Abigail answers. “It slipped my mind.”
The frustration is leaking from him. I don’t even know this guy. Why does he have so much beef with a literal stranger?
Standing I take a few steps until I’m around the sofa and a couple of feet from the group of men taking stock of me. I hold out my hand. One of us has to make the first move and I refuse to be intimidated. I put up with way worse when I was in high school. Being bullied isn’t how this will go down.
The brother who was smirking a few moments ago, takes a step forward and slides his hand in mine. “I’m Parker. It’s good to meet you, Tristan.” He glances over his shoulder as he releases the greeting. “Don’t worry about them, they are more bark than bite.”
So, he says. The other three look like they want to pummel me. Not that I blame them. Based on the reaction of everyone here, Paula doesn’t bring guys around much, if at all. It has to be a shock to the status quo.
“Nice to meet you, Parker. Paula’s told me a lot about you.”
It’s not a lie, I think he might be her favorite brother.
Maybe it’s his devil may care attitude, I don’t know.
But I also like him instantly. He’s the least commanding of his siblings, and it means a lot that he stepped out when the others were looking to each other on what step to take next. It seems like he has a mind of his own.
“Of course she did. I’m the most charming brother.” That comment earns a groan from all the siblings, including the sisters behind me. He definitely has charisma, I’ll give him that. It probably also gets him in trouble.
He points to the brothers still in front of us, starting with the one he was standing beside. “That’s Phillip, Peter, and the big ol’ teddy bear is, Pierce.”
“Stop fucking calling me that,” Pierce mutters. His mom doesn’t correct him this time.
Phillip gives a small wave now that he’s not the first to make an introduction. Peter and Pierce are still trying to stab me with their glares.
“He may act like a hard ass, but he’s a softie on the inside.” Parker holds his hand to his chest like he’s giving a vow.
“That’s not even remotely true.” Paula pipes in. “He’s an asshole.”
“Don’t start.” He throws in her direction.
Seriously, he thinks he can talk to her like that. I take a step and feel a touch on my arm. Paula is leaning over the sofa to get my attention, and gives a small shake of her head. Fine, I’ll stand down this time, but the next time he’s rude to her, I won’t allow it.
“So do y’all always line up in age order?” The question slips out before I realize it. At this point, I’m hoping it’ll ease the tension built up in the room. Everything was fine and pleasant before her brothers showed up.
“Not on purpose.” Phillip sighs. “It started out as a way to do a head count when we were on vacation, and I guess it stuck.”
“So, you know our ages, but not our names?” Peter’s voice is laced with annoyance. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s spent his whole life trying to impress his big brother. Maybe one day he’ll realize being salty won’t give him the validation he’s searching for.
Is it an asshole move to be judging them while they’re standing in front of me? Maybe, but I can’t help it. Analyzing people is how I adjust my own interactions.
“I know your names, but they all start with P. I didn’t want to screw it up and look dumb.” Not completely a lie. They’re all a bit older than the photos Paula showed me. But mostly it’s so I can remember how each of them behave.
“That actually makes sense.” Peter agrees. He sets his bags on the table and moves toward me, slapping his hand in mine. “Nice to meet you, Tristan.”
Well, at least I have three of her siblings on my side. It’d be nice to have all five of them, but I’ll be fine with the majority.
“You too, man.”
Abigail takes the bags from the eldest brother, and sets them on the counter before digging through them. “Did y’all get any actual food?”
“You shouldn’t have sent us to the store.
And the rest of them shouldn’t have put me in charge of filling the basket with food while they got drinks.
” Parker shrugs and slides around me to sit on the sofa.
I don’t want to be stuck with Phillip and Pierce so I follow him and take my place beside Paula.
“I think that went pretty well.” My words are a whisper and I hope she’s the only one who can hear me.
“If that’s what you call it.” She snuggles into my side. Part of me wonders if this is part of the act, or if it’s real. It can’t be. She’s already said multiple times she’s not looking for a boyfriend. Except…this feels right.
“I didn’t think we’d get a room to ourselves.” I set my bag next to the dresser in the small space.
“Well, I usually share with Piper.” Paula digs through her bag. “Since you’re here, she’s taking one of the bunks.”
“Now I feel terrible. I’ll sleep out there with your brothers. How is that fair to your sister?”
She shrugs and pulls out a top and some shorts. “Both of us agreed it’s probably safer if you didn’t.”
A pit of dread fills my stomach. “Why? Are they going to feed me to the fishes?”
A bubble of laughter bursts from her lips. It’s becoming one of my favorite sounds. As annoyed as she can get, and seem uptight at times, she is not afraid to live in the moment. Not giving a single damn about who can hear her joy.
“If they got the chance…maybe.” My eyes widen at the seriousness in her voice. “I’m just kidding. But they do like to play pranks on people. Especially those they think they can push around.”
“Parker seemed to like me just fine.”
“Are you kidding me? He’s the biggest prankster of them all. You’d think it wouldn’t be so bad because he’s one of the youngest, but he was a terror growing up. And that’s coming from someone considerably older than him.”
That doesn’t fill me with confidence. Was his solidarity all for show? Maybe he’s biding his time to pounce.
“You’re making me happy I didn’t ‘grow up’ with my brother. I can’t imagine stuff happening to me all the time.”
“It wasn’t all the time.” She rolls her eyes. “At least, not with me. He tended to pick on the rest of the boys more than me and Piper.”
“Why?”
“Because we would snitch. Or I’d hit him. It was a toss-up on what the outcome would be.”
“Remind me not to piss you off.”
“For your information, I’m only like that with my siblings. It’s totally normal.”
“If you say so.”
She moves to the door and cracks it open before peering down the hallway. “Ugh, I swear my sister takes a million years in the bathroom.”
“You can always go to your parents room, if you have to use the restroom that bad.”
“I just need to change.” She closes the door and leans against it. “Can you turn around?” She twirls her finger in a circle to mimic the action.
“Sure.” I do as she asks. There’s nothing more appealing than staring at an off-white wall. “What are we going to do the rest of the time we’re here? I mean it’s not like any of the attractions are open in the dead of Winter.”
“I’m sure my mom has a whole itinerary for us.” She says as I hear a garment hit the floor.
“Oh.” So they are that kind of family. The one who does everything together and know pretty much everything about each other. There probably aren’t many secrets.
“Don’t worry.” She grunts. Another piece of clothing on the floor. “I won’t leave you alone with them. I wouldn’t do that to my worst enemy.”
“So, I’m not an enemy?”
“If you were, I wouldn’t have invited you. You’re a…friend.”
Friend. The word I’m coming to loathe. I know it’s what we are, but based on the amount of texting we’ve done since she asked to participate in this farce, I was hoping maybe it would be a bit more than that.
“Okay, I’m done.” She’s bent over picking up her discarded clothes from the floor.
This woman is going to fucking kill me. The shorts barely cover her ass. The shirt hugs every curve of her body. She expects me to sleep next to her like that?
“Let me grab some pillows and a blanket. I’m sleeping on the floor.”
“You don’t have to do that.” She scrunches her eyebrows together.
My gaze travels up and down her body. She doesn’t realize how tempting it is to crawl between those sheets with her.
“No, I really do.”
“Oh, okay.” Her face falls and she climbs into bed while I make a makeshift sleeping area next to the bed.
There’s no way I’m going to survive this trip without falling head over heels for her.