Luke bristled at the snide comment practically exuding his hostility. He leaned forward in his chair and growled. “Say dat agin, frère.”
“Boys! If you are going to fight, take it outside. You know it’s not fair to your mother when she has to clean up after your squabbles.” Nate ordered them.
Charles grinned and stood up bouncing around like a boxer before a match. “Come on bro.” He went out the side door into the backyard. Beau and Marie yipped with glee and rushed out after him. Luke took a deep breath, pushed away from the table and headed after the trio.
I looked over at Eva who had her head in her hands muttering, “Just one day. All I wanted was one day with my family with no fights. Is that too much to ask?”
Remi and Dev looked at each other with excitement then at me. They scooted their chairs back and ran over to my side of the table. Remi grabbed my hand. “Come on you don’t want to miss this.”
Dev giggled and grabbed my other hand. “It’s goin’ to be funny.”
Funny? How can a fight be funny? As they pulled me into the backyard, I saw a homemade boxing ring set up on the other side of the pool. Cool, they have a pool. Charles was already in the ring bouncing back and forth from heel to heel trying to get limbered up. Beau helped him lace up a pair of old boxing gloves. Luke stepped in the other side with just his jeans and shoes on. His hair slowly escaped his usual ponytail as he jerked away from Marie and the gloves she tried to get on him.
The boys hauled me over to a bench beside the ring. “Come sit down.” Remi pleaded jerking on my arm.
I took a seat in between the two boys trying to keep my gaze away from Luke’s chiseled hotness. Dev scooted closer to me and whispered. “Daddy will only let them fight like this. It gives them esercise and keeps the induries to a miminal. Least that’s what Marie tells us.”
Marie tried to get Luke to put the gloves on again and he shook his head no. Now, I’ve seen the schoolyard fights where people stood in front of each other and wildly threw punches. I’ve also seen a few of those MMA shows where they are in a cage kicking and punching each other with vicious accuracy. Neither of those prepared me for the sight of seeing two guys attack each other. While the twins were shouting encouragement I kept my head down to keep from seeing the violence. The sickening sound of flesh hitting the floor in a thud made me squeeze my eyes shut.
A hand squeezed my shoulder. “Honey, you don’t have to sit out here for this. The boys will be done in a few minutes. Why don’t you come inside with me to the kitchen so we can get the ice packs ready for them?”
“Thanks, Eva.” I heard another thud and closed my eyes cringing. “I think I might just head on home though. I really appreciated the dinner it was extraordinary. Can you tell them I said bye? I don’t really want to interrupt… that.”
“Oh, honey you don’t have to leave.” She protested as I stood up to walk back to the house.
“I’m going to have to. It’s going to be getting dark here in a few and my parents don’t like me driving at night. I really did have a good time.” I said as we walked back into the house. She had already packed up a few small containers of food for me to take and placed them next to my bag.
“I hope you can come by again. Like I said earlier it was so nice having another female in the house.” She gave me a hug and squeezed my shoulders. “Have a safe trip home, Honey.”
*****
Luke
My knuckles ached in pain. I really should have listened to Marie and put the gloves on. If Charles would have just kept his mouth shut at the table, I would not be hurting right now. Compare me to a child, what the fuck. So what if after the talk with dad I went up to my room to chill out for a bit. I wasn’t pouting that’s for sure.
Charles lay on the padded flooring breathing hard. I walked back to my corner and glanced over to where Roxy sat only to see the twins instead of her. With a frown, I jumped out of the ring and jogged into the house. “Momma, where’d Roxy go?”
She walked in the living room motioning me to come to the kitchen. “I expected you boys to be at it a little longer. Now sit.” I sat on the stool at the center island. She grabbed my hands and inspected the damaged I did fighting bare-knuckle. “You should have worn those gloves. Your little friend went home when you two started fighting. I think the sights and sounds of the fight upset her.” She dabbed a cotton ball soaked in alcohol on my hand.
I hissed at the pain. That burned like the devil. I wonder if I could catch up to Roxy. “How long ago was that?” I asked her.
“Five maybe ten minutes tops. You can wait to talk to her when she gets home though.” She wrapped my left hand in a bandage. “Done. Don’t think about going after her. Your daddy still has your keys.”
I nodded and got up from the counter. My phone was still in the foyer on the table. I picked it up and turned it back on. Phone in hand I went back up to my room and locked the door. Damn, I had six voicemails, eighteen missed calls and over thirty-eight new text messages. All of them were from Christie.
Christie: How dare you hang up on me!
Christie: Where are you really going?
Christie: I don’t believe that family crap for one minute.
Christie: Luke? Please text me back or call.
Christie: Are you there?
Christie: Baby?
Christie: Hello?
Christie: Baby, come on talk to me. I’m getting worried.
Christie: Fine be that way! If you are just going to ignore me then I’ll find someone else.
If only I could be that lucky. I stopped scrolling and deleted the rest of them. Come on man you can do this. I pulled up Roxy’s number and called.
“Talk to me.” She answered.
I closed my eyes and unloaded. “Hey Roxy. It’s Luke. I just wanted to apologize for acting like a bit of an ass today. I don’t know what the hell my problem was I just ask that you don’t hold it against me.”
Her radio played in the background. I heard her take a deep breath and sigh. “Why are you apologizing? You had a bad day. That happens. I actually had fun hanging out with all of you today. Oh and your mom is now my god. I have decided to worship her culinary prowess. A shrine will be erected in her honor when I get home.”
“Ha-ha. I’ll tell her that. If you had fun then why did you leave so early?” I asked stretching out on my bed.
“It’s going to be getting dark soon and my parents don’t like me driving in the dark. See, the deer population around here when the sun sets look at my car and conspire to jump in front of me. ” She explained.
I looked out the window and saw that the red haze of the sunset. “Yeah, please be careful. Don’t need you wrecking your car because of a few suicidal deer.”
She sighed. I could almost see her rolling her eyes at me. “Yes dad. I’ll be careful.”
“So did you get what you needed from Beau?” I asked trying to keep the hostility out of my voice.
“Yeah, I took a bunch of pictures of his face so I could take my time capturing his eyes. I was just going to sketch them but he cannot sit still longer than a minute or two. I also grabbed a few of the twins, Marie and Charles. I have an idea for something for your mom.”
“Really? What is it?”
Her husky laugh sent an instant tingle down my spine as a wave of lust washed over me. “A collage of all of you kids. Which means I need you.”
I inhaled a quick breath as my heartbeat increased. My body instantly hardened my jeans becoming too constricting. Her words drove every coherent thought from my head. I tried to clear my throat to keep my voice normal. “Jus’ how d’ya need me?”
“I need you to pose for a few pictures. I haven’t decided on how I want you yet. I guess I could always just position you how I’d like to take them.”
My head fell back on the pillow as I groaned over the images her words created. “Anytime.” My phone buzzed in my hand.
“Are you getting another call? I could let you go.”
I looked at the screen. Christie. Dammit. That was an instant mood killer. “No it’s just Christie. I’ll call her later.”
I heard the frustration in her voice. “What is her problem anyway? She just came up to me out of the blue and tried to intimidate me.”
“She gets jealous very easily.” Dammit, my phone buzzed again.
“I take it she’s calling again. That’s cool. Go talk to her. I need to concentrate on the road anyway. Laters, Luke.” She hung up before I could stop her.
With a frustrated groan, I answered Christie’s call. “Yeah?”
“Oh thank god. I was getting worried. Why haven’t you texted or called me back? Still spending time with your family? If not we can always get together. It is still early.” She whined.
“Yes I’m still with my family. No, I don’t want to hang out. Christie, we need to have a serious talk.”
“Oh god you’re breaking up with me aren’t you? Fuck! I knew it. There is someone else isn’t there? How long have you been sleeping with her?” She shouted.
I don’t know if it was just the emotional rollercoaster of a day I’ve had or because I was finally talking with Roxy that made me do it. I took a deep breath and finally ended my misery. “Yes. There is someone else. I’ve been hooked on her for a while now. She in fact just left my house. I am planning on trying to see her tomorrow after church.”
“What!” She screeched in my ear. I pulled the phone away so I could regain some of my hearing.
“You heard me. There is someone else.” I calmly repeated.
“I think I’m going to be sick.” She blew her nose before demanding, “Who is it? What is that bitch’s name?”
“She’s not a bitch.”
“Yes she is. She took you away from me.” She sobbed.
“No she didn’t. You pushed me away with the incessant whining and bitching, going up to random girls threatening them and then spreading rumors about them if they didn’t listen to you. Plus, we have the constant calling and texting every ten minutes. You smothered me. I got tired of it.” I stared at the framed picture Roxy gave me and smiled. “When I first saw her, she entranced me with those beautiful green eyes. Then I started to talk to her I found out she was funny, intelligent, and sweet. She is everything that you aren’t and I love that.”
Her voice hardened in her anger. “So it’s like that huh? Well, you aren’t the best thing either, Luke. You flirt with any and every female you see. Your hair is all shaggy and greasy looking. You constantly belittle my feelings and then expect me to cater to your stupid need to put that rank ass family of yours first. I’m glad we are done. Now I can go find a real man. Bye Luke. I hope you rot in hell.”
I glowered at the phone in my hand after she ended the call. My hair isn’t greasy looking. Yeah, I might be in need of a serious haircut but it has never looked greasy. I’m finally free though. Gawd, I feel like a ton of weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
*****
Roxy
I pulled up to my house just as the sun finally set. The one story ranch inspired house seemed tiny now that I’ve seen the Savioe’s place. The car crept up to the garage door. I dug into the center console to find the ancient garage door opener. This thing had to be older than me and it always took forever to work. I slapped the side of it and tried again. The door groaned and squeaked as it opened. I parked the car, turned it off and collected my things. The garage door opener button seemed to stick as I pressed it to close the door. I put it back in the console and got out of the car to use the wall unit.
“Roxanne is that you, Sweetie?” My mom yelled in my direction.
“Yes mom. I brought some food home if you are hungry.” I placed the containers on the kitchen counter. Mom walked in wearing a Vera Wang evening gown putting in her earrings.
“I’d love to eat with you, Sweetie, but your father and I have reservations at Nox’s. We thought you’d be gone longer. Well, to be honest I thought you’d be gone longer with that little hottie. I know if I was your age I’d have stayed out most of the night with him.” She laughed as dad walked in the room wearing his custom tailored Armani suit adjusting his cufflinks.
“Stayed out all night with whom?” He asked kissing her on the cheek.
“I was just telling Roxy that if I was her age I would have stayed out most of the night with the little hottie she saw today instead of coming home early.”
“Who exactly is this young man you saw today?” He lifted a container to his nose and smelled it.
“Nathaniel Savioe’s second oldest. Those are from his wife Eva.”
His eyes lit up. “He’s a great criminal lawyer. Met a few of those boys too. Good people. You ready to head on, Jamie?”
“Yes, love. Don’t stay up too late, Roxy.” She leaned her head next to mine and whispered, “Invite him over. Your dad and I will be back in the morning.”
“Mom! I’m not even dating him.” My father raised his eyebrow at me. I explained, “She wants me to invite him over tonight.”
“Go for it. Just be safe.” He winked at me before leaving the house.
Oh my God! My parents are so embarrassing. I grabbed the containers of food and walked to the fridge to put them in when I overheard their conversation outside the open window.
“I am glad our daughter isn’t really like that.” My father joked.
“I know she’s such a good girl.” My mom purred at him. “Must have got that from you.”
The sounds of them kissing made me want to gag. Couldn’t they do that later when I wasn’t nearby and do they really think I’m that much of a good girl? If they only knew what I thought about and what I talked about with Jess. They’d really be surprised then. I grabbed a cherry cola from the fridge and locked the doors. I placed my drink on the coffee table before I plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV. Every channel had pretty much the same show on it, just some cheesy ‘reality’ show that was obviously scripted to appeal to a broader audience. I settled on a random movie and leaned back on the cushion to watch it.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and looked at the photos I had taken today. The ones of Beau and the twins turned out perfectly. Marie and Charles’s photos were a bit blurry. Damn, I need to grab some new ones of them. Clearing the screen, I pulled up my texts. I quickly typed out one to Luke.
Me: Just looked at a few of the pics. I need to grab some new ones of ur sis and Charles.
I placed my phone on the table and picked up my drink. I still can’t believe that I just spent time with the Savioes today. Jess would not believe me if I told her. Oh shit Jess! I leaned forward and snatched my phone off the table to call her home phone. Jess had one of those pre-paid phones that she used only in case of an emergency. Like the other day when she needed me to wait for her.
“Hello, Frasier residence.” Her father answered the phone in his thick New York accent.
“Hi Mr. Frasier. This is Roxy can Jess talk?”
“Of course. Hold on a second. Hey Jessica phone!” He shouted.
I heard a click from another phone. “I got it Dad. Hello?”
“Hey girlie you would not believe what I did today.”
“What’d you do? Did you finally have sex?”
“Um… no. I spent the day at the Savioe’s house.” I said with a smile on my face.
“What! Oh my god! Tell me everything. Wait no hold on a second.” I heard her put the phone down and leave her room. Her voice was muffled in the background. “Dad can I go to Roxy’s and stay the night? Her parents are not at home and she doesn’t want to be by herself.”
“Of course get your stuff together and I’ll drop you off.” He replied.
I heard footsteps run back up to phone. She was out of breath when she told me. “I’ll be over in a few. I want every and I mean every little detail.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in a few.” I hung up the phone tossed it back on the table and got up to get the guest room ready. This is going to be one interes
ting conversation with her. I know I’m going to have to make her promise on her life to not say anything. I really didn’t need another ‘conversation’ with his girlfriend if my day at his house became known.
My phone rang when I was changing the sheets on the small twin bed. I groaned and ran into the living room to grab it from the table. Completely out of breath and practically panting, I answered it. “Why are you calling when you should be heading on your way here?”
The deep Louisiana drawl greeted me in apparent amusement. “I didn’t know I was invited.”
“Luke?” I squeaked embarrassed beyond anything.
“You got it, chèr. I take it you were expecting someone else.”
“Just Jess. She’s on her way over to stay the night.” I knew he could tell I was embarrassed because he chuckled.
“Here I was thinking you might actually want me to come over. Got my hopes up for nothing.”
“Uh… I’m sorry?” I said confused.
“That’s alright. You’ll just have to make it up to me.”
“Just what did you have in mind?” I sat down on the edge of the couch.
“What are you willing to do?”
My eyes widened at the blatant innuendo. “Depends.” What the hell am I saying here? Playing his game. That’s what. He obviously thought this was funny.
“On wha’?” He whispered his accent becoming more pronounced.
I decided to talk to him like how I’ve seen my mother do to my father when she wanted to unnerve him. Lowering my voice an octave, it took on a husky seductive quality. “On just what you would want me to do.”
I heard his breath catch before he cleared his throat. “I really don’ tink ya wanna know da answer ta dat right now, chèr.”
“Fair enough.” I said normally falling back onto the couch. “So…. I take it you got my text.”
He cleared his throat again. “Yeah, I did. Ya can come back over tomorrow if ya wan’.”
“I don’t know Jess will probably be with me all day.” I pulled a strand of my hair in front of my face and looked at the ends to see if I needed a trim.
Tangled Up In You (A Savioe Family Novel) Page 7