Chapter 15 #2
“What’s wrong?” Nastasia lifted her head to look at me as we paused in the doorway.
Having breakfast with my father to avoid his wrath was cowardly in itself and one thing, having it with my parents was another.
They hadn’t met any of the women I’d seen casually over the past few years and it worked that way for all parties.
This was personal. And I wasn’t sure I wanted that with Nas.
Shit could get messy when you mixed family in.
It was nice Cesar liked her, but I didn’t need my folks to.
I peered down at Nastasia, finding her worried and curious. She was here and there was no avoiding it.
“Nothing,” I said.
Nastasia frowned and looked away. Instantly, her energy switched up and she got happy about something.
“I can’t wait,” she said. Her vision had landed on the counter, where a standing advertisement was displaying the annual Belmont Fair. Big red letters gave the dates and times.
“Haven’t been to one of those since I was a kid.”
Nastasia returned to me. “Really?”
“Too busy.”
Again she frowned. “Did you do extracurriculars in high school?”
“No. Not a sports guy. Business was my main interest anyway.”
Some guys often commented I was a waste of height and build, but I just wasn’t into it.
Nastasia poked her lips out, and I hated how I still hadn’t tasted them. “You should go to the fair. Pay and I go every year. We eat bad, drink beer, and sometimes we get on rides and play games.”
The dates lined up with weekend days. BLVCKJVCK hours. It was tempting though.
“Maybe,” I said, noncommittal, as I turned and started for my awaiting parents.
Nastasia bumped her arm against mine, repeating and mocking me. “Maybe.”
My parents were both pleasantly surprised to see Nastasia.
One look at Pops and I knew he wasn’t thrilled to have to forgo tearing into me for missing work.
The fact that my mother was here let me know he hadn’t really planned to get into it.
One thing about Pops, he didn’t really talk business in front of my mother or to her.
He said it was the secret to their lasting happiness and marriage.
They kept his work at the door. Home was home, and as much as I loved working, I’d always admired their rule.
“Well, who have we here?” Pops spoke up with a friendly lilt to his voice.
I allowed Nastasia to slide into the booth my parents had chosen first, so that she was against the wall and across from my father, and I was on the end, across from my mother.
“Mom, Pops, this is my friend, Nastasia. Nastasia, these are my parents,” I said as I swept a hand back and forth across the table.
Nastasia offered my parents a smile. “Hi, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you as well,” my mother said. She snuck me a look, one that could be construed as Way to go!
I couldn’t handle this train of thought from my parents, so I focused on Nas. “Get as much as you want, it’s on me.”
There were large laminated menus placed on the table. Nastasia was quick to scoop one up.
“Ah-ah, it’s on us,” Pops corrected. “But please, eat up.”
Nastasia peered over her menu at Pops. “Thank you. I see where Ezekiel gets his manners from.”
“We try to instill some values into the boy,” Pops joked.
I rolled my eyes and Nastasia suppressed a smile.
“It all looks so good,” she said as she scanned her menu.
The smell of food in the air, the existence of bacon, was mouthwatering.
I abandoned the option of using my own menu and leaned over and began reading Nas’s with her. It did look good, but we’d eaten heavy the night before and there was still some left.
“I think I’ll get the vegetarian omelette,” I said. “I’m going to go easy before I hit the gym.”
Nastasia stopped reading and gazed over at me. “You’re going to the gym?”
“Probably after I drop you off.”
She went back to her search. “Think I’ll go later for my lunch break. For now, these shrimp and grits sound emotional.”
“Pancakes smell too tempting,” I pointed out.
She faced me, pouting. “Yass.”
“Wanna split a stack?”
“Definitely.”
The quiet stood out and I looked over as soon as I felt them. My parents were just sitting there, watching us. The blank expression on Pops’s face mixed with the amused look on my mother’s made me settle down away from Nastasia.
“You guys set to order?” Thankfully, a waiter stopped by our table, pen in hand, ready to go.
We ordered our food and he collected our menus and headed off, promising to bring us our drinks. Coffee for my folks, and water for Nastasia and me.
“So, how did this happen?” Pops pressed.
If Nastasia was uncomfortable, I couldn’t tell. She propped her arm on the table and leaned into it, fully into the idea of talking with my parents.
“We met at the gym,” she said.
“She’s my connection through Paisley,” I mentioned. Hopefully by bringing up Paisley, it would save this from being an awkward breakfast where they skirted around the idea of us being more than friends.
“Paisley,” Pops repeated with a bob of his head. “Guess I should be thanking you, Nastasia, because without you, there’d be no Ladies’ Night. I just seen the numbers and they exceeded my original expectations.”
Nastasia nodded as she sat up. “That’s awesome. I heard it was a smash.”
“You didn’t go?”
Nastasia wrinkled her nose. “We’ve had a busy week at the store and I was too tired.”
“What do you do?” my mother asked her.
“I co-own a women’s boutique with Paisley.” Her shot at me hadn’t gone unnoticed.
I looked away from the table, trying my best to keep the smug grin from my face as I snuck a hand on her thigh. She wasn’t intimidated. She simply brushed me away.
“What’s so funny?” Pops was looking between the two of us, not getting our little inside joke.
“Nothing,” I said coolly.
Nastasia sighed, her shoulders soon sagging. “I do want to apologize for last night. It’s my fault Ezekiel didn’t show up.”
I grimaced at her need to take the blame for my decision. “Here we go.”
She gave me a pointed look and I didn’t fold. Fuck her ex.
Nastasia talked to my father, ignoring my annoyance. “Ezekiel was telling me about the Ladies’ Night event, and while we were on the phone someone came over and they weren’t invited. Ezekiel dropped everything to help me out of a messy situation.”
“It’s not a big deal, I’d do it again,” I let her know adamantly.