by Lara Norman
“Grant?” she said in surprise when she picked it up.
“Yeah, hi, Alex. Are you busy today?”
She paced around her small kitchen and ran a hand over her ponytail. “No, I don’t really have any plans.”
“Do you want to come over?”
She stopped walking. “To your place?”
“Yeah. Or I can come to yours if you’d rather.”
“Uh, no. Just give me some time to shower and get dressed. What’s your address?” She wrote down what he told her and then said she’d be there soon.
After they hung up, Alex raced to the shower and got started on getting ready. She wound her ponytail into a bun and stuck a shower cap on. The last thing she wanted was to spend hours drying her hair. She washed thoroughly but quickly and hopped out, trying to decide what to wear as she dried off. The weather was turning cooler, and she had to wear pants if she didn’t want to be cold. That thought made her stop all movement. She was already picturing this as a booty call and nothing more. She had to be okay with that, she reminded herself. It was what she agreed to. Sighing, she threw down the towel and stalked to her closet, jerking items off the hangers and tossing them on the bed. She was angry with herself for getting any ideas about something progressing with Grant. Relationship wise, they were right where they were supposed to be.
So, she told herself to shut up and got dressed. She glanced at the directions to be sure she knew where she was going and left her apartment. He was only ten minutes away, and her nerves hadn’t had time to die down when she pulled into his complex’s parking lot. Alex rubbed her hands on her jeans to dry the sweat that built there and got out of her car. She found the sign on the building directing her to the correct unit and went for the stairs. She took a steadying breath and knocked.
He flung the door open almost immediately. She smiled to think he’d been waiting on her and drank in his appearance. His beard was neatly combed and he grinned at her.
“Come on in, Alex.”
She followed him into an apartment that was slightly bigger than hers. She saw a hallway with a few open doors, an eat-in kitchen to her left, and a decent-sized living room. It was tidy, and there was nothing too fancy on the walls or shelves, but they weren’t empty. “I like your place.”
“Thanks. Would you like something to drink?”
“Um. First things first.”
Alex stepped up to him and lifting the few inches it took her to reach his mouth. She cupped his face, feeling a thrill when he shoved his hands into her hair. It wasn’t an easy kiss of greeting; she sank into him, pressing her body to his and relaxing as his scent and warmth enveloped her. She’d missed him.
She pulled away, and he pressed two more brief kisses to her mouth before he let her go. “Drink?”
“Yeah, do you have soda?”
“I do. Come on.”
He led her to the kitchen and opened the fridge. She selected a can and sat at the table with him. She liked the windows in there. They brought in a good amount of light. “So,” she said, turning back to Grant.
“So.” He fiddled with his soda can instead of opening the conversation.
“You invited me over, remember? Did you want to . . . talk?”
“Yeah.” He shifted nervously in his chair. “I need to tell you some things.”
“Okay.”
Grant ran his hand over his mouth and pinched his lips briefly, then he cleared his throat and began. “Okay, I know what I said in the beginning, but I was wrong. I hope you agree with me because I don’t like doing the casual thing. You deserve more than that, and I want more than that with you.”
She closed her eyes and let out the breath she was holding through his short speech. “Oh, good.” She opened her eyes when she felt his hand on hers.
“Yeah? You want to have more?”
“I want to make this a real relationship. I was doing my best to abide by the guidelines we set, but it’s just not how I’m built.”
“Me, either.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry I was avoiding you. I didn’t know what to do. I guess I scared myself.”
“That’s understandable. I don’t know why either of us tried so hard to be someone we aren’t.”
“I don’t know. It comes from my friends calling me an old man and boring all the time. I got sick of it, you know? I thought I’d prove them wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed being spontaneous with you, but I don’t want that to be all there is between us.”
“That’s basically what I was thinking, but I was afraid I’d lose you altogether if I spoke up.” She turned her hand over and squeezed his. “I’m relieved.”
“Yeah. Uh, I was thinking we could talk, and I can make lunch for us.”
Her countenance brightened. “That would be great.”
Grant stood and went through the fridge, pulling out ingredients for lunch. Alex decided she might as well be the one to start talking since he was busy.
“On the first day I came to your shop, the first thing I noticed was your tattoos.”
Grant smiled at her over his shoulder. “That noticeable, huh?”
“Yeah. Especially to a horny twenty-seven-year-old.”
That time, he turned fully to stare at her. “You’re older than me.”
Her brows went up. “Really?”
“I’m twenty-five.”
“I’m not old enough to be a cougar, then.” He turned back to the stove. “Oh, well.”
“So you thought I was hot and kept coming back?”
“I guess that was it. I wanted to see you again, but I didn’t know anything about you. I came back thinking you’d have to talk to me and that maybe I could flirt successfully and get your number. But you weren’t biting.”
“Not because I hadn’t noticed you, too.”
“Well, I didn’t know that. I don’t know what came over me that day that it was raining. I expected you to jump at the chance to take money from an unsuspecting female who would accept whatever bullshit you fed her about her car. I didn’t expect you to be a gentleman, and when I found you alone, I couldn’t take it anymore. I’ve never done such a thing.”
He came to the table with plates full of what looked like fried rice. “Here you go.”
“What is it?”
“Chicken fried rice. I made it from leftovers.”
“Aren’t you clever,” she mumbled as she took a bite. “Damn, that’s good. I’d never have guessed it was leftovers.”
“That’s the beauty of it.”
“I also need you to know I’ve never slept with a man and not used a condom. I know I said I’m on birth control, but I think I lost my mind with you.”
He rubbed one hand over the back of his neck. “I don’t know what I was thinking, either. I just let you lead and barely even asked.”
She had a few more bites before she spoke again. “After the night in the bar, I was afraid I would never see you again unless I kept coming back to the shop. You didn’t call me or anything.”
“I was trying to make up my mind about you. I thought you were rich, and I equated that with snob. I wanted to be with you, but the guys kept ribbing me about being a predictable octogenarian.” Grant looked into her eyes. “Spending the weekend with you was much more important to me than the times we hooked up. I felt so much for you that it freaked me out. It was actually my sister that convinced me to stop being a baby and take a chance with you.”
“Tell me about your sister.”
Grant wiped his mouth and sat back in his chair. “She’s nineteen. She goes to the University of Maryland, and she’s a sophomore this year. She and I are a combo of brother-sister and parent-child. Our parents were killed in a car accident when we were younger. At seventeen, I had to learn how to care for Reagan and pay the bills to keep a roof over our heads.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“It was incredibly rough. Our parents owed a lot of money to various places. I had to let the estate lawyer sell the house we grew up
in to pay off the debts. It wasn’t quite enough. All the money in the bank, all of their retirement funds and annuities, as well as their life insurance went to their debts. As much as they’d diversified, there wasn’t much in total. With the help of the lawyer, I managed to get most creditors to agree to take a portion of what was owed. Reagan was only twelve at the time, and came really close to being shuffled off to foster care.”
“Grant,” Alex said softly. “Why don’t we move to the couch?” She needed to hold him for this story.
He nodded and stood, leading the way to the couch. They sat together and Alex put her head on his chest and her arms around him.
“I used some of the money to get this place, because if I didn’t have a home for us, I didn’t stand a chance of keeping Reagan. So I made that a priority and got my job at the auto shop. At first, I worked so many hours I struggled to get Reagan to school on time and still sleep and eat. It was rough.” He scratched lightly up and down her back as he talked. “We got a good routine worked out after a while.”
“You’ve always struggled, then, haven’t you?”
“For years, yeah. I skipped many meals to ensure Reagan ate. She got free lunch at school, but I had to feed her dinner. Some days, dinner was the only meal I ate. She wouldn’t eat if I wasn’t eating, sneaky brat. She knew what she was doing. Still, I managed to pay the utilities and rent, and we lived on government subsidies that weren’t quite enough. She learned to be frugal and never was the type to want designer clothes. She shopped at the thrift store.”
“She sounds like someone I’d like to meet.”
“That reminds me, it looks like she’s coming here for Thanksgiving. Do you have plans with your family, or would you be able to join us?”
“I’d love to join you. My parents live in Montana, but my aunt and cousin live here. We do Thanksgiving together, but we can work something out so that we do noon and you do evening, or vice versa. I’ll bring you some of my lasagna.”
He sat forward so that she had to shift, and she looked up at him. “Lasagna?”
“I’m Italian, babe. You’ll be lucky if all I offer you is the lasagna.”
“I didn’t realize you’re Italian. So you don’t have some big family affair for the holiday?”
She frowned. “We used to, but my parents moved for my dad’s job and I stayed here. My grandma passed away about a year and a half ago, and my aunt is divorced. It’s just me and Carmela and Aunt Francesca.”
“Which means Christmas will be interesting, too.” He scrubbed his beard for a second and then kissed her forehead. “We’ll make it work.”
He settled back against the couch, bringing Alex with him. She knew this time that he meant they would make all of it work.
Chapter 16
Alex went to her Aunt Francesca’s for Thanksgiving. She and Carmela had grown up together, and Francesca was like her second mother. They used to have a typically big Italian family, but everyone had either moved away, divorced and taken sides, or passed away. It was hard at first for Alex when her parents moved, but she grew used to it. She spoke to them on the phone and emailed with them pretty regularly. They were happy, and that was what mattered to Alex.
She made two pans of lasagna because she knew that the first would somehow be devoured, regardless of the small number of people in attendance. It was what they did. Francesca invited the guy she was dating, a retail manager named Steve. Carmela invited one of their fellow teachers that had nowhere to go. Her name was Jessica, and she taught freshman science. She was loud and Alex wasn’t really fond of her, but she understood where Carmela was coming from when she invited her. It was hard not to be charitable to strangers that had nobody to turn to on holidays. They certainly had enough food.
By the time she left her aunt’s house at one, she was stuffed. She hoped Grant didn’t expect her to eat a bunch of different things at his place. Maybe he only made a few sides since it was just him and two other people. Then again, she always made too much food regardless of who was coming over, so it was anyone’s guess what he would end up doing. She got out of her car at his complex and leaned back in to get the pan of food from the front passenger seat. She climbed the stairs, noting that it was growing darker out with the cloud cover already thick and heavy. She hoped it wasn’t going to snow. The forecast called for sleet with the possibility of flurries, but Alex wasn’t sure she wanted either.
She was a little nervous to meet Reagan because Grant had clearly placed her on a pedestal. She wanted to make a good impression, and all of the self-inflicted pressure sent her into overdrive with worry. She couldn’t stop all of the numerous thoughts swirling around her head at whether or not Reagan would like her. If she didn’t like her, Alex was afraid Grant wouldn’t keep her around. She was so pleased with the way he’d opened up to her and was more boyfriend-like than he’d ever been before. He called her, he dropped by with gifts, and he kissed her until she couldn’t see straight.
But they hadn’t had sex since the day in the shop.
Alex shifted the pan in her hands and knocked on the door. She heard voices, and then Grant opened the door, smiling at her and taking the lasagna from her hands. She smiled back and leaned in to give him a kiss. Over his shoulder, she saw a blonde girl, shorter than she was and buxom. She was really beautiful. Alex cleared her throat and stepped inside when Grant moved to the kitchen with the food. It smelled so good in the apartment.
“Hi, I’m Reagan.”
The girl walked up and stuck out her hand, so Alex took it and shook. “I’m Alexandra, but you can call me Alex.”
“I’m thrilled to meet you. Grant has never let me meet one of his girlfriends before. I think he said there have only been two.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize that.” Alex felt herself flush hot at the thought that she still didn’t know everything about Grant.
A tall, red-haired man walked into the room from the hallway. Reagan spotted him and beamed brighter than the sun. This was clearly her boyfriend Hudson.
“Hudson, meet Alex, Grant’s girlfriend.”
“Hi, Alex. Nice to meet you.” Hudson stood next to Reagan and didn’t come close enough to shake hands, so Alex gave a small wave.
“Hi.”
Grant came back into the living room and sat on the couch, pulling Alex’s hand so she would join him. Hudson and Reagan took the chair and the floor, respectively. Alex wasn’t sure how she found the floor comfortable, but unless they pulled a dining chair in the room, they would end up with someone squished on the couch next to her. She smiled faintly when she met Reagan’s gaze. She wasn’t sure what to say, and that was a first. Alex loved to talk.
“Grant says you teach. Hudson is a professor at UM,” Reagan said.
“I teach algebra at Jefferson,” Alex said quietly.
“I’m surprised I never met you before. I graduated from there.” Reagan was frowning and looked like she was working out a difficult puzzle.
“I’ve been there for five years.” Alex wasn’t sure how she hadn’t met her before either, but it was a decently sized school.
“I was in honors math class,” Reagan offered.
“They’re on a different hall than the standard classes,” Alex said with a nod.
“That explains it, then.”
They fell silent, and Alex was dying to leave already, which was a shame. She wasn’t feeling like herself.
Grant spoke up. “Alex, did you enjoy your holiday with your family?”
“Oh, yes.” She grew more animated as she spoke. “My Aunt Francesca is funny as hell, and my cousin Carmela has a sharp mouth. They’re quite a pair. I couldn’t go more than a few minutes without being offered more food. They had two guests, and I think they were worried they’d gain ten pounds.”
“Why were they offered more food if they weren’t hungry?” Hudson asked.
Alex frowned a little and shrugged. “It’s what we do. If we don’t offer you food, we don’t like you. It’s like an express
ion of love to make sure you eat.” Hudson looked perplexed, so Alex went on. “My family is Italian. It’s in our blood. That, and yelling.”
Hudson’s faced cleared. “Oh! I had no idea what you were talking about. My family is very stuffy and almost rude. They would never be outright rude, of course, they just couch everything they say to someone they don’t like in backhanded compliments and condescending tones.”
Reagan rolled her eyes. “They’re kind of a nightmare.”
“That’s too bad. My parents don’t live around here anymore, but we’re very close.”