by S. E. Rose
I lean back in the car seat and look at her. “So, how long is this whole ‘not dating’ thing going to last?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. I don’t have a set time frame or anything. I’m just working on figuring myself out, and then…I’ll figure out everything else later.”
I lean forward and she looks into my eyes. “Just don’t lose who you are in the process, Di, because you are an amazing woman.”
There’s so much electricity between us. I want to lean in ten more inches and press my lips to hers, but instead, I pull back and clear my throat.
“Should I pick you up later?”
She frowns.
“For dinner at your parents’ house,” I add.
“Oh, right. Uh, sure. I can come get you if you like?”
“OK, I’ll see you later. Just text me when you’re ready to go,” I say to her.
She nods as I get out of the car. I watch her pull away and head toward her apartment.
“You sure you don’t like her?” Sam asks.
I turn to find him leaning over the railing of his front porch, his elbows propped on the wood.
“Good afternoon to you too,” I say to him as I start to walk up to my front path.
“Whatever you do, follow your heart,” he calls out after me.
I wave back to him and go inside. Looking around, I decide to spend the afternoon tiling the third-floor bathroom. That should take my mind off women for a few hours.
Chapter Fourteen
Di
I pull all the ingredients for the cake out of my cupboards and set them on the counter. Curly and Moe lie on the sofa, intertwined, and Larry is sitting on a chair in my kitchen, watching me.
“What should I do, Larry?” I ask him as I begin to sift flour.
“I mean, Garrett is really cool…and hot. Larry, you would have died seeing those women asking if he was a model. He looked like a deer in headlights each time.”
Larry meows.
“Yeah, I know. I’m talking to a cat. That’s like next level.” I sigh and continue baking my cake. I decide to pipe a fall motif on it with brown, red, and yellow leaves.
I become completely immersed in my task and don’t even realize the time until I step back to admire my cake decorations. I glance over at the microwave.
“Shit,” I say as the clock reads six.
Me: Hey, I’m just showering and then I’ll come get you.
Garrett: I just showered, so I can come get you.
Me: Fine. I’ll see you in ten minutes.
I grab a super-fast shower and throw on fresh clothes that are not covered in flour. The doorbell rings just as I put on my shoes.
“Coming,” I yell as I make my way to the front door. I grab the cake that I put in my cake carrier and head downstairs.
“Hey,” I say as I open the door.
“Fancy,” Garrett says, as he eyes up my cake carrier.
I laugh. “Yeah, I told you, I like to bake.”
I follow him to his car and carefully set the cake on my lap.
“Have you ever taken a class?” he asks me, motioning to the cake.
“No. I watch a lot of cooking shows, but I’ve never taken a class.”
“Maybe you should,” he suggests as he heads toward my parents’ home.
I shrug. “Maybe I will.”
The street is filled with cars when we pull up and Garrett parks on the curb in front of my parents’ house.
“Wow, is this all for your parents’?” he asks, looking around at the cars.
I shrug. “It’s their big fall party. They have the kids do pumpkin carving and there’s apple bobbing and other unsanitary activities.”
He frowns. “Unsanitary?”
I groan. “Mom likes to play that game where she puts weird items in a box, and you feel around and guess what it is. For the kids, it’s marked like eyeballs, guts, etc. The winner who guesses them all correctly gets a take-home apple pie.”
“Interesting,” he replies as we walk into chaos.
It’s only the first week of October, but already, the kids are running around in costumes and so are some of the adults. He glances toward the laundry room, but the door is wide open. I can see him breathe a sigh of relief.
I lean over and whisper, “Don’t worry, I think we missed the fun. Mom seems preoccupied at the moment.”
I motion to where my mom is handing out small bags of candy to the neighbor’s kids.
Even the dogs have on funny costumes.
“Why now? I mean we have like three more weekends before Halloween,” he asks.
I shrug. “Next weekend, Ashton has a soccer game. The weekend after that is Clark’s birthday party. And the weekend after that is my cousin’s birthday. And Halloween is a Friday and no one will want to have a party the next day, so Mom picked this weekend.”
“Oh…your parents have a lot of parties.”
I nod as I grab frosted sugar cookies shaped like pumpkins off the breakfast table and hand one to Garrett.
He takes a bite and groans. “These are really good.”
“I get my baking skills from Mom.”
We make our way out to the deck, where the majority of my siblings are hanging out and drinking beers.
“Wuz up!” Clark says as he sits up from a lounge chair.
“Clark! Are you drinking?” I ask my nearly twenty-year-old brother.
Clark quickly covers the beer label on the bottle he’s holding. “Noooo.”
I put my hands on my hips and glare at him.
“Dad said I could have one beer…so,” he says, pointing to the beer.
I groan as I sit down. “And how many did you have prior to coming over here?”
“Zero. I was driving. Geez, ye of little faith. I’m not stupid or reckless…OK, maybe a little reckless, but not that reckless.”
Kent throws a pretzel at me. “Leave the kid alone. Like you weren’t sneaking drinks every Saturday when you were his age.”
I roll my eyes as Garrett hands me a beer. I notice Kylie and Tabby are the only ones not sitting out here.
“Where’s Tabs?” I ask Kent.
“Oh, she came down with a stomach bug but insisted I come over here and leave her alone with the porcelain god. I’m not going to stay long.”
I frown. “Poor Tabby. Tell her I hope she feels better.”
“I will.”
Ashton runs out of the house as I turn to talk to Lanie.
“Aunt Di, can you come help me with something? You too, Mr. Henley!” he says as he takes our hands and tries to drag us inside.
“Uh, OK,” I manage as I stand up letting my nephew pull us into the house. He takes us down the back hall, past the bathroom and laundry room, and up to the bonus room over the garage.
I look around when we get up there. “What are we helping you with exactly?”
He points to a small kids’ table in the corner. “I want to make a surprise for Mom and Dad.”
“Oh?” Garrett says as he walks over and sits down next to the table.
“What is the surprise?” I ask.
Ashton points to what looks like masks that he’s making. There are feathers everywhere.
“Did you kill a flock of birds?” Garrett asks with a laugh.
“No, silly. It’s from that bag that Grandma got me,” he explains, pointing to a large bag of dark feathers on the ground.
“Oh, I see,” I say. “So, we are making bird masks?”
“Yeah, birds of a feather. Get it?” he says with a big grin.
I laugh. “Got it, cutie patootie.”
“Ugh! Aunt Di, that nickname is not cool.”
Garrett stifles a laugh, and I stick my tongue out at him.
“Ash!” my mother’s voice calls out from downstairs.
“Oh, I’ll be right back,” he says. He turns at the top of the steps. “Just be careful with that glitter. It’s messy.”
I look around but don’t see any. “OK.”
&nb
sp; He leaves us sitting there. Garrett picks up some feathers.
“So, what exactly are we supposed to do?”
I glance at the paper plates and feathers. “Start gluing, I guess?”
We start gluing feathers onto the paper plates that are colored black and have eye and mouth holes cut out of them.
“You have a feather,” Garrett says, after a moment.
“Huh?” I look up at him.
“Just here.” He reaches over and pulls a black feather out of my hair, his fingers lingering at the end of my strands of hair.
“Thanks,” I murmur, trying to keep from gazing into his eyes.
I pick up a bottle of what looks like glue and go to squeeze it and glitter explodes everywhere.
“Fuck!” I yelp as some gets into my eye.
“What’s wrong?” Garrett asks, leaning toward me.
“Glitter,” I say as I keep my eye closed. “In my eye.”
“Oh shit. Uh, come on, let’s go wash it out.” He grabs my hand, leads me downstairs and into the laundry room where there’s a sink. The faucet detaches and he leans my head over and lets water run over my eye.
I blink, my eyes tearing at the water and the glitter.
After a minute I lift my head up and grab a towel from above the sink.
He touches my cheek. “Are you OK?”
I blink a few times. I’m sure my eye is fire-engine red right now from the irritants. “Yeah, I’ll make it. Thanks.”
“Let me see,” he urges as he steps forward, his foot hitting the door, so it closes farther as he steps forward and puts his hands on either side of my face.
Our noses are nearly touching as he looks into my eyes.
“I think I’m OK now,” I whisper.
“Are you sure?” he asks, his eyes searching mine. A tear runs down my cheek and he rubs his thumb over it.
“Yeah, just a little sore.”
“Close your eyes,” he says softly.
I close them and all I can hear over the sounds of the party in the distance is our breaths mingling in the air surrounding our faces. My heartbeat quickens at his proximity. He smells like sandalwood and mint. His hands are rough against my cheeks as he holds my head in them, his thumbs making gentle strokes against my cheekbones.
“You’re beautiful, Diana. Do you know that?” he asks me in such a low voice that part of me wonders if I’m imagining his words.
“W-what?” I stammer, my eyes still closed, tears still streaming from the one that had glitter in it.
“You. Are. Beautiful,” he states again, enunciating each word as he speaks.
I know I’m blushing now. A man hasn’t called me beautiful in a long time.
“I-I’m just me,” I offer.
I feel him step closer so that our bodies are touching. I can feel the hard planes of his abdomen against mine. His body heat invades my senses. How come men are always radiating so much heat? It’s like being in the orbit of a sun anytime I’m around one.
My thoughts trail off as one of his hands moves to my jaw, the thumb tracing my lips.
“I’ve wanted to do this since the first time I saw you,” he whispers.
I’m momentarily confused until I feel his warm, smooth lips against mine. Holy fuck! Garrett is kissing me! What is happening? Am I having an out-of-body experience? Did I just enter a parallel universe?
I’m afraid to open my eyes, afraid that if I do, this will all be a dream. Instead, I tilt my head and kiss him back. Our lips are tentative at first, the kiss soft and sweet, but then Garrett’s tongue darts out and caresses my upper lip.
I sigh, and he uses my open mouth as an invitation to explore. Our tongues begin to taste and tangle with the other's. His hand on my jaw moves down the length of my body to my breast and squeezes it. I groan, having missed the feel of a man’s body against mine.
What was I thinking? How can I give up romance and love? I need this like I need oxygen.
No, no this is a bad idea.
Warring thoughts start popping into my head as Ashton’s voice fills the silence of the room.
“Aunt Di? I found Aunt Kylie. I…”
All of a sudden, my eyes pop open as the door opens, revealing a very surprised Kylie and Ashton. Kylie’s hands go to Ash’s eyes, covering them as her mouth gapes open.
Then, very, very slowly, her lips form a smirk. “Ash, run along. I think Aunt Di needed some medical assistance. It’s a good thing Garrett was here.”
“Oh? OK?” Ash says in confusion as he runs upstairs. “I’ll put more feathers on the masks. Aunt Di! I told you to be careful with the glitter! Ugh! Grandma is gonna kill me!” he yells from the top of the stairs.
“So…what’s going on here?” Kylie asks with a giant smirk on her face.
“I-I…” I start to explain but words fail me.
“Uh, well, Di had glitter in her eye, and…” Garrett attempts to explain but words apparently fail him too.
Kylie bites her lip as she stifles a laugh. “Jesus. You two idiots are so fucking hard to set up. Please, please tell me that I just walked in on you two making out in Mom and Dad’s make-out room!”
“I…wouldn’t call it…” Garrett starts to speak but trails off again.
“Kylie…it just sort of…I had glitter in my eye and then…”
Kylie puts up one hand to stop me from speaking while the other covers her mouth which is emanating laughter. “Dude, just stop.”
She turns to Garrett. “Garrett, I’m really fucking sorry, but I only asked you out to get Di’s head out of her ass. I needed her to admit she likes you. And vice versa. I figured, throwing myself in the mix would totally help this whole thing along. So, I’m glad you all figured this out. And, Garrett, although I’m happy to get coffee anytime, I think maybe, you should take my sister for coffee and discuss why you are making out in the laundry room of our parents’ home.”
She claps her hands together. “OK, well, my work here is done. Happy kissing,” and with that, she walks upstairs to join Ash.
Garrett and I look back at each other, our mouths gaping open in surprise.
“Did she…”
“Yeah, that little monster set us up,” I finish.
“Fuck…well…I wasn’t expecting that.”
I shrug. “She has a point. We probably should discuss what just happened. But not today. I need to get my bearings first.”
He nods back at me. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you. That was overstepping my bounds.”
I put a hand on my hip and give him a pointed look. “Are you really sorry?”
His sheepish grin is more than an answer. “No, not really.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“Aunt Di! I need a vacuum!” Ash’s voice comes from the bonus room.
“Shit. Let’s talk about this later.”
“On the way home?” he suggests.
I shake my head. “No. No. On the way home, we are gonna pretend this didn’t happen. Then after I sleep on it. We’ll discuss.”
“Oh, OK then.”
“Glad we had that talk. I need to go find the vacuum.”
I quickly exit the room. I find a vacuum in the front closet and make my way back to Ash. Kylie is picking up feathers off the floor.
“Here, buddy,” I say as I plug in the vacuum and grab Kylie’s hand, dragging her back to the laundry room. Only the door is shut, and I hear my parents inside.
“God damn it!” I mutter and drag her onto the side porch instead.
Once I close the door, I turn to her.
“What the hell are you playing at?” I ask her.
She sighs. “Listen. I could tell you liked Garrett when he came last time. I knew you wouldn’t go out with him because you have this ‘new rule’ in place. So, I figured if I pretended to like Garrett, then maybe you’d actually admit your feelings. Only, then you didn’t. I thought for sure I was gonna have to go on some awkward coffee date with the guy. I mean, he is cute, but he
’s not my type. You can imagine my relief when I found you two in the make-out room.”
I pull on my ponytail out of pure frustration. “First, we both know that Mom and Dad are doing way more than making out in there.” We both grin at each other because we know exactly what our parents are doing in there. “And second, I love you but stop meddling in my love life. I really am taking a break and now I don’t know what to do.”
“I think you were on the right track,” she says, her grin widening.
I roll my eyes. “I’m serious.”
“Di, face it. You love guys and romance. It’s OK. That’s who you are.”
I shake my head, unwilling to believe her words. “I gotta go check on Ash. But from now on, no more playing matchmaker.”
“Whatever. You can thank me later,” she mutters as she pushes past me and goes back inside, leaving me to stew in my own thoughts on the porch.
I need to think. I go help Ash and decide I need to talk with my grandmother. Gran Tilly always knows what to say.
Chapter Fifteen
“Mom?” I ask as I enter the kitchen.
“Yep?”
“Where’s Gran Tilly?”
“Oh, she left a bit ago. You know her. She doesn’t like to drive after dark.”
“Fudge. OK. Thanks.”
I decide I need to bail early. I need to find my grandmother.
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I look down.
Lanie: What the hell is Ash talking about?
Me: Huh?
Lanie: Why did Garrett have to give you CPR?
I stifle a laugh.
Me: Uh…we need to talk, but later.
Lanie: Oh. My. Fucking. God. Did you make out with him in the laundry room?
Me: Maybeeee
Lanie: What? You better tell me now.
Me: A lady doesn’t kiss and tell.
Lanie: First, since when are you a “lady” and second, we shared a fucking uterus, so that rule doesn’t apply.
Me: Yes, OK! Yes! But I’m all fucked up in my head now. I need to talk with Gran.
Lanie: Go sort your shit out. I’ll quell the troops.