by Marika Ray
Esme rolled her eyes and whispered, “Mom is experiencing a midlife crisis, apparently. Vee is making plans to move out and having her last daughter leave the house is sending her into a downward spiral of emotion.”
Izzy shushed her. “You don’t know that. Stop with the psychobabble. Maybe she just wanted us all home because she loves us.”
“You shut up,” Esme countered, resorting to preschool comebacks whenever we all got together.
I snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure it’s our sparkling personalities she misses.”
I left the twins to bicker and moved into the living room, taking off my jacket and freezing when I spotted a familiar blond head sitting in the chair I usually occupied.
Titus.
My jacket fell to the ground and I scrambled to pick it up. Well, shit. There went my panties. The man looked good in his dark jeans and black boots, the kind he didn’t work in. My best friend had no right to be so freaking hot.
“T! What are you doing here?” I laid the jacket across the couch back and headed over to give him a hug. That was totally normal. Right? Oh, shit. Now I was questioning everything. See? This is why just friends shouldn’t make out in trucks in the dark.
Titus stood and hugged me, then offered me the chair, which I took gratefully when my knees decided to give out at the slightest touch of Titus’s hard body against mine.
“Hope you don’t mind. Your mom invited me for dinner.” He rubbed the back of his neck, disturbing the hair that had grown long there.
I smiled at him and then glared at the back of my mother’s head through the doorway to the kitchen. She kept whistling and studiously ignored me. That little troublemaker. She’d set me up on purpose. As I watched her cooking, Yedda came out of the hall bathroom.
“Oh, hello, Amelia.” She smiled, her eyes sparkling as she took in Titus standing right next to my chair. “She sure is pretty, isn’t she, Titus?”
“Oh, for crap’s sake,” I grumbled. Yedda, the town’s unofficial matchmaker. Of course. She must have said something to my mom and they teamed up to instigate a love match that was none of their business.
Vee came down the stairs and sneezed three times in a row, halting conversation. The girl did always love to make an entrance.
“Wow, sorry about that. Must be allergic to all the handsome in the room.” She smiled and winked at Titus.
Anger, the kind that made my skin break out into hives, flared high. Why did she have to flirt with every male in the room? Clearly, she was simply allergic to the inch of cat hair covering Yedda’s entire person. I scrambled to my feet and grabbed Titus’s hand, logic no longer running the show inside my brain. I had to get him out of the room before Vee decided to put on the full-court press.
“Let’s help Mom set the table,” I said, pulling him from the room.
“Your face is talking again,” he whispered as we walked into the kitchen.
I rolled my eyes, but schooled my features. We’d used that as a code years prior when my volleyball coach told me I was good, but needed to watch what my face was saying. I had no idea what she meant. Titus had had to explain to me that my facial expressions said more than my words, which was really saying something because I didn’t usually hold my tongue all that much. When I made a girl cry sophomore year just by sending her a look, I’d had to admit everyone must be right. My RBF was killer.
“Ah, my Amelia,” Mom said, cupping my face and then glancing down at where Titus was still holding my hand. Her head lifted with the most brilliant smile. I quickly let go of him.
“What can we do to help?” I said, reaching to stir the chili.
She slapped my hand away like I knew she would. “You mean, what can you do to get away from your sisters?”
I shrugged. “Pretty much.”
She smiled, but said nothing. “You can help Yedda set the table. Titus honey, you can taste my chili and see if it needs anything.”
I crossed my eyes at Titus, who tried to smother a smile. Of course my mom would want him to taste the chili she wouldn’t let me near. She’d always loved Titus and he could do no wrong. Between Yedda and me, we got the table set and I called in my sisters.
Titus proclaimed Mom’s chili perfect—hey, he was no dummy—and came up behind me to run his hand down my back thinking no one could see. His touch had my cheeks flaming.
“Watch your hands, Jackson,” my dad bellowed, striding into the kitchen and slapping Titus on the back. Oakley, my oldest sister, followed behind Dad. They must have been hiding out talking police crap that none of the rest of us wanted to hear.
Titus jumped a foot away from me and I would have burst out laughing if not for the real fear I saw on his face. I’d have to talk to him later. My parents loved him, but my dad would always act like an overprotective male. It was built into his DNA.
We all sat down around the extended table and Yedda said grace, naming off five of her cats at the shelter that needed divine intervention, along with thanking God for the Hardware Store coming to town recently. Contrary to their name, they sold butt plugs and sex swings, not hammers and screws. There was a joke in there somewhere about getting nailed, but that was low-hanging fruit in the humor department. Dad nearly swallowed his tongue and Mom snickered. Personally, I prayed for this dinner to be over. Quickly and as painlessly as possible.
We all dug in at Yedda’s amen, and thankfully, the food was so good, we didn’t talk much at first. That all ended when the twins started fighting over whether red kidney beans were better than pinto beans. I didn’t have a dog in the fight, so I asked Oakley how work was going.
“Fine, thanks for asking. There’s rumor I might get a new partner, but no official word, so we’ll see.” She wiped her mouth with her napkin.
“I’d feel better about things if you had a partner,” Dad muttered, a spoonful of chili on its way to his mouth.
“Let’s hope he’s hot and single, huh?” I asked, waggling my eyebrows.
Dad jolted, spilling chili down the front of his shirt. He let out a long-suffering sigh as he wiped it with his napkin. Oakley smiled and gave me a wink. She wouldn’t say it out loud in front of Mom and Dad, but I knew she was thinking the same thing.
“So, Titus. Got any plans this weekend?” I heard Vee ask while my head was turned.
I whipped it back real damn quick, catching her flirty little smile aimed in his direction. What was up with her flirting with Titus? He was way too old for her. And besides, he was mine.
Whoa. Hold up. Where had that thought come from?
“Uh, yeah, actually. I’m starting on a new project and it’s going to take up my weekend.” He coughed. “All my weekends.”
Relief that he deflected her flooded my brain, but I still felt on edge. Was I really going to try this thing with Titus? I didn’t want to go there just because my sister flirting with him made me insanely jealous. Or because he had feelings for me. I wanted to make sure I knew what I felt before I agreed to anything. I didn’t want to fuck this up. For once in my life I’d think things through before jumping.
Titus asked my dad some questions and I sat there quietly observing him. Oakley saw me and raised her eyebrows. I shook my head subtly and kept watching Titus. The way he interacted with my family like he was one of us. The way he filled out a shirt and sat up tall. He was a man. A beautiful one at that. Even with that ridiculous haircut. He flashed a smile, that little dimple he hated popping out, and my heart sighed.
Esme, on the other side of me, leaned in and whispered, “Oh, girl, you got it bad.”
“Shut up!” I whispered back, my face deciding now was the best time to blush.
Esme snickered, and in that way twins do, she filled Izzy in on the situation without saying a single word. Great. Now my whole family was in on me and Titus. They’d pester me until they knew the exact status of our relationship. Like I needed any more pressure in that regard.
I pushed back my chair. “Well, that was fantastic, Mom. We’re going to go out to the garden f
or a bit,” I said, grabbing Titus’s arm and tugging hard.
Titus stood and stumbled behind me before getting his feet under him. He threw his napkin toward the table and it landed on his chair instead. When we got out the sliding glass door, he took over and walked me to the side of the house, where my mom had placed a concrete bench under a giant sycamore tree that dropped sharp round balls half the year. He used the sleeve of his blue Henley to clear the bench and waved for me to have a seat. We both sat down, snuggled tightly together. Either this bench had gotten smaller or we’d gotten bigger. I was willing to guess it was all Titus and those broad, muscled shoulders.
He nudged me. “Sure you’re okay with me being here?”
I sighed, from both my family’s behavior and the fact that butterflies instantly took flight at his simple touch. All the signs were there: increased heart rate, blushing, that rising wave of desire deep in my belly, the jealousy that ate away at me from my sister’s flirting.
I liked Titus Jackson.
Titus slid his palm against mine, tangling our fingers together. “Lia, I want to do this thing right. I’ve spent a lot of time with your family and I know your dad may not like me much, but I think even if he didn’t give me the evil eye all the time, I’d still want to take things slow and do it right. I want to date you, Amelia. For real.”
His blue eyes held a seriousness not often seen on his face. My Titus came by his laugh lines honestly. I’d stared at him many times over the years. I’d seen his jaw change shape and grow stubble as he hit puberty. Fine lines had fanned out from the corners of his eyes as he got older. His face was familiar and looked brand new as I stared at him now. I felt like I’d had foggy glasses covering my eyes until today. The things the girls had said to me took off the glasses and left me with twenty-twenty vision.
“I’d like that too, T, I’m just a little nervous, I guess.” I squeezed his hand and watched his eyes clear, felt his joy spread across his face like it was my own.
He turned toward me, his other hand joining in to squeeze me tight. “What’s got you worried? Whatever it is, let’s talk it out.”
I loved how much he wanted to know what was going on inside my head. It was a dangerous place and most people didn’t want to go there. “I just don’t want to ruin our friendship. You’re my very best friend, and as dramatic as it sounds, I don’t know if I could go on without you in that role. I don’t like to depend on anyone ever, and yet I find myself needing you.”
Titus let go of my hands and pulled me into his chest, his arms wrapped around me tight. I could hear his heart thumping below my ear as I laid my head on his chest. His rough voice drifted over my head. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
I didn’t do nice. And that scared me. I wasn’t usually a nice person, and I just swore to myself not to get wrapped up in a man again. Here I was doing both. I pushed against his chest and untangled myself despite how nice it felt in his arms.
“No, I’m being serious. I have dreams I want to achieve in life, and it’s come to my attention today that I have some growing up to do. I can’t do that if I’m tied down to someone. What if we try dating and then I feel smothered, so I inevitably break up with you and then you hate me and then we can’t ever be friends again?”
Titus’s eyebrows drew together. “Whoa. Slow down there, speedy. First of all, I have no intention of tying you down—well, unless you ask me to.” He winked at me and I bit my lips to keep from smiling. “And secondly, I have dreams too. That’s the whole point of dating. We can grow together, side by side.”
I started bouncing my knee up and down, debating what to do. My heart wanted me to throw caution to the wind and say yes already. Hell, my lady parts were already putty in Titus’s capable hands. But there was one tiny little part of me that remained afraid. Scared Amelia didn’t know what to choose.
Titus let out a quick breath and cupped my face, his callouses scraping gently along my cheekbones. “Lia. Listen to me. I’m not like Daire who wanted to mold you into whatever woman he happened to want that day for his own purpose. I want you, Amelia Waldo. And every single future version of you. Grow right next to me.”
My eyes started burning again and I had to blink rapidly to hold it together. The icy exterior of my heart began to melt under his gaze, no match for the steady heat of Titus on a mission. I sucked in a deep breath, and while staring into his intent eyes, I replied in the smallest of voices. “That sounds really nice.”
Titus didn’t move at first, just scanned my face to make sure I spoke the truth. He would know. He could tell when I told a lie more than my dad, the chief of police who was professionally trained to spot a liar. When he’d seen the bald truth I didn’t let anyone else see, he closed the distance, sealing his lips to mine in a sweet kiss that just kept melting that ice.
My heart felt like it wanted out of my chest, which was damn inconvenient. I thought they said this lovey-dovey stuff felt good. Bunch of freaking liars. This felt like delicious pain. Like the real me, the pale version who hid behind tough words and adrenaline seeking, was being forced out into the blinding sunlight for the first time. It was fucking scary.
Titus pulled back, a grin sneaking into every crevice of his face.
“Go on a date with me Friday. I’ve got it all planned.”
His enthusiasm was endearing. Last time I saw him this excited he’d won first prize in our science experiment senior year for building a suspension bridge out of sticks from the woods that surrounded the north end of Auburn Hill.
“Got it all planned?” I was confused. I literally just agreed to go out with him. “Cocky much?”
His smile grew. “Nah. Just had sixteen years to plan it.”
13
Titus
“For our second date we’ll go somewhere fancy. Figured for our first, we’d want to be somewhere we could be comfortable exploring what this could look like.” I laced my fingers through hers the second after I got the picnic basket out of the back of my truck. Wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to touching her like that. “And I kind of wanted you all to myself.”
Amelia smiled at me, pulling dark hair away from her face and tucking it behind her ear. The wide expanse of the coastline spilled out behind her, creating a backdrop that, while gorgeous, could never compare to the beauty of Amelia. While I was all in on this dating thing, I knew she was hesitant. I intended to show her tonight why she and I together was a very good thing.
“I’m in agreement on the alone part of this date. Last thing I want is everyone staring at us and placing bets on whether we’re on an actual date or not.” She bit her plump bottom lip and I almost dropped the basket in the dirt.
She’d made that gesture before, many times over the years, and I would grit my teeth and remind myself over and over we were just friends. Now that I knew what she tasted like and felt like against my lips, there was no way I could control myself around her. It was like a switch had been flipped in my body after our first kiss. There was no going back for me, which meant I needed to court her properly. I had one chance at this and I wasn’t going to screw it up.
I held firmly to the basket and her, steering us down the path to the beach. The sun was about to set and I wanted to see it with her in my arms and the ocean waves roaring in front of us. We made it down the hill in time, Amelia inhaling the ocean air as if she hadn’t taken a deep breath since the last time we’d been down here. Keeping her facing the orange ball rapidly sinking into the Pacific, I wrapped my arms around her from behind and rested my chin on top of her head. She snuggled into my body and then stood still, watching until the last strip of orange had disappeared from the horizon.
Amelia sighed. “That never gets old.”
I smiled and kissed her head. “Nope. Some things are absolute perfection no matter how many times you see it.”
She whirled around and wrapped her arms around my neck, reaching up on tiptoe to get it done. “Like me?”
I feigned l
ike I had to think about it. “Yeah, I guess so…”
Fast as a snake, she whipped her arms back and pinched me in the side. I yelped and jumped back. “Hey! How about you spread out the blanket while I get the firewood?”
“Oh, I see how it is. I gotta work on this date.” She snickered and jumped out of the way when I swiped at her, intent on payback for that pinch. “Go! I’m going to be freezing in two point five seconds.”
I rolled my eyes. “True. You never dress warm enough for a night at the beach.”
She smiled smugly. “Maybe I just want a handsome man to snuggle with me.”
Considering I was the only one she snuggled with—sans Daire the Douchebag a few times—that made me feel taller than my already tall frame. I hustled up the path to my truck and came back down with an extra blanket and a huge stack of firewood. No way would I end this date due to lack of heat. I’d prepared for this date like a Y2K prepper, minus the canned meat. I had enough firewood in my truck to last the whole night. While I got the fire raging, Amelia spread out the blanket and unpacked the food.
“Umm…I like where this is going, but it’s a bit unusual for a first date picnic.”
I spun around to see her holding something purple in her hand, an expression I hardly ever saw on her face. Mild embarrassment. I walked over, intrigued by anything that could make Amelia blush.
“What is it?” Mild nerves hit my gut because this was the one detail of the date I hadn’t done myself. I was a horrible cook, so I’d enlisted the help of Lenora and Finnie to put together a basket of food for us tonight. They’d been eager to help, but now that I thought about it, maybe a little too eager to help.
Amelia plopped it in my hands. “A vibrator. Again, I ask. Cocky much?”
I threw my head back and burst out laughing. I laughed so hard I had to sit right down in the sand to collect myself. Damn Lenora, the vibrator fairy. Forcing her sex toys on unsuspecting friends. Amelia was smiling, but she wasn’t laughing with me. I needed to clear things up. I wiped my eyes and tried to quit laughing.