Chapter 22 #2
I duck my head, surveying her apprehensive expression. “Everything okay?”
“You introduced me as your girlfriend,” she accuses with a cute scowl that reminds me of a hissing kitten. “And we haven’t actually defined our relationship.”
“Yes, we have. I said ‘Be my girlfriend,’ and you said ‘Oh, yes.’”
Her lips part and she barely stops herself from stomping her feet. “You asked me that during sex and I said ‘Oh, yes’ because I was mid-orgasm.”
Smirking, I pull her into my arms and run my tongue against the seam of her lips, begging for entrance. She makes a small noise that’s somewhere between a moan and a gasp, but she returns the kiss without hesitation.
Pulling back, I tuck a strand of silky-smooth hair behind her ear. “Will you be my girlfriend, Maya? Pretty please?”
She sighs as if put out. “Fine. But only because you so nicely added please onto the end and you give me really good orgasms.”
“While I have absolutely no qualms about using my best asset to get what I want, I am offended that it’s my dick that convinced you and not my charming personality or wicked sense of humor.”
“Don’t make me rethink my answer,” she warns with a wink.
I grin like an idiot as I place my hand on her lower back and usher her toward the table. As we order drinks and appetizers, my family asks Maya the typical get-to-know-you questions, but it’s not until she’s half a glass of wine deep and talking about her job that she really starts to relax.
“I can’t read yet, but I like books,” Violet announces. “Mommy says I’ll learn next year when I’m in first grade. But I can sing the alphabet forward and backward.”
“I like books, too,” Lily adds. “My favorite’s If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Do you know that one? Or what about Monster Math? Grandpa bought it for me to help with my numbers.”
“Oh, I love that one.” Maya gives her a bright smile. Turning toward my dad, she asks, “You’re a stockbroker, right? Cole mentioned it.”
He smiles, always happy to talk about his job. “I am, indeed. Do you know what month is typically the worst in the stock market?”
Darby, Emily, and I groan in unison. His “fun facts” and “interesting tidbits” are quite literally the fastest way to put me to sleep.
Nate and I spent every ride to hockey practices and games listening to him drone on.
Do you know how much of the stock market the United States represents?
What does the Bull and Bear analogy represent?
Did you know that someone used the stock market to understand the Hydrogen bomb?
“Technically September,” Maya responds without hesitation, “although October tends to see the biggest swings. Something called the October Effect, right?”
“You know the market?” I don’t think I’ve ever seen my dad look so excited.
Not when Nate signed with the Trailblazers, and not when I signed with the Bobcats.
Not even the first time he held each of his granddaughters.
His eyes alight with pure joy now that he’s found someone who shows a sliver of interest in his job. God knows it’s not any of his own kids.
“My brother’s about to take his Series 79, so I know a little bit, but I read a thriller a few years back, and the main character was a financial analyst. That’s where I learned about the worst months.”
“You’re amazing.” Risking the chance that I’ll get punched in the dick for extreme PDA, I wrap my hand around the base of Maya’s neck and pull her toward me.
She gasps slightly against my lips as I claim her mouth.
Lily claps wildly. “Now you’re going to have a baby!”
I burst out laughing and struggle to regain my composure thanks to the looks of horror on everyone’s faces. Except for my mom, who looks interested in hearing about the likelihood of that possibility.
“Sweetie,” Zach says, leaning toward his youngest daughter. “She’s not having a baby.”
“Is, too,” Lily argues, arms crossed and pouting. “Mommy said that’s how babies are made. When adults kiss.”
“She also says that Uncle Coley likes to knock people up,” Violet adds unhelpfully.
My heart lurches, and now I’m the one wearing a mask of horror.
Maya turns to me, her face flushed with amusement. “Anything you need to tell me, Cole? Because it’s definitely too early in our relationship for me to be dealing with multiple baby mommas.”
I shake my head and suck in a harsh breath. Only then can I chuckle at the situation. “Em, mind sharing exactly what you’re teaching your children?”
“Girls, babies come from when two adults kiss and do a special hug in private,” Emily says, her face beet red. “And I said that your uncle knocks people out during hockey.”
“Only sometimes”—Darby lifts her wineglass in a toasting gesture—“and only when they deserve it.”
“Darby,” Emily and my mom simultaneously scold.
Dinner continues in a blur of refilled wineglasses, overlapping laughter, and embarrassing childhood stories.
It’s the first birthday I’ve celebrated since Nate passed that’s been even remotely lighthearted.
My mom doesn’t once excuse herself to the bathroom so she can cry in private.
My dad isn’t wasted on whiskey and lost in a rabbit hole of memories.
My sisters aren’t overcompensating with huge smiles and loud laughter.
It’s normal. Nice. And I owe much of that to Maya.