by Brianna Cash
“Like what?” Her voice is quiet again. I have a feeling it’s going to be tough for her at first, but if she wants the more of an honest-to-God relationship like I want, she’s gonna have to push through it and really talk to me.
“Stuff about your past. Like your parents. Like college. Like why you take care of Callie like you’re more her mom than her sister.”
“Hmm,” she murmurs. “That stuff is a lot harder for me to talk about.”
“I know. But if you want the whole relationship thing, you have to let me in.”
Settling back against her seat, she thinks that over as she studies the traffic rolling by outside her window. Eventually, she looks my way, meeting my eyes cautiously. “Ok.”
“Ok?”
“Yeah,” she says, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “I’ll do that for you.”
Feeling the corners of my mouth tip up in a smile, I start up the car. “You must like me.”
“Or I’m looking forward to finding out what real fireworks feel like.”
There she is. I’m laughing as I pull out of the parking lot, because Genny’s back in all her splendid glory, no hint of nerves in sight. Genny’s a very sexual person, and she flaunts it because it’s the only part of herself she’s comfortable with. I’m fine with that as long as she slowly lets me get to know the rest of her, too.
Pulling into Reese’s driveway a few short minutes later, Genny’s nerves come back, but not like when she was scared to talk to me. I’m glad to know she was more nervous about the seriousness of our relationship than she is to meet my sister.
“Can you kiss me again before we go in?”
“I can, but Zeke will probably be running out the door in less than a minute.”
“Then quit wasting time.”
I meet her over the console, sweeping soft, lazy kisses along her mouth until she grabs my shirt and murmurs against my lips, “I want your tongue in my mouth, Friend.”
Christ, the things she says to me… I can’t imagine not giving in to her, no matter what it is we’re talking about when she says things like that. Kissing her the way she wants me to, I quickly get caught up in the taste and feel of her. So caught up in her, I don’t realize Zeke is watching us until it’s much too late.
“Eww, Uncle Walk! You’re kissing a girl!” His little hands slap against my window and I press one last kiss to Genny’s sweet, hungry mouth. My offended nephew glares at me through the glass, like I’m a traitor to boys everywhere for even thinking about kissing a girl, much less doing it.
Picking him up and hanging him upside down, I slam my car door shut and lift him over my shoulder, letting his legs hang down my back. “Am I supposed to kiss boys, instead?”
“No,” he giggles. “You’re only supposed to kiss your mommy!”
“My mommy doesn’t want my kisses. I had to find the prettiest girl around, so I could kiss her instead. Don’t you think Genny’s pretty enough to kiss?”
Zeke studies Genny, who’s cheeks are filling with color as she walks around the car to join us. “Is she the girl from the TV?”
Maybe Zeke did see Genny on the big screen. “Yeah, but you weren’t supposed to see that.”
“You’re pretty when your face isn’t messed up,” Zeke proclaims, totally not understanding how much of a privilege it was to see Genny with a messed-up face. Holding back a laugh, I watch to see how Genny will react to him.
“How was my face messed-up?” she asks innocently.
“Like this,” he says, and I look over my shoulder to see my very young nephew mimicking Genny’s orgasm face, laughing out loud at how wrong this entire conversation is on so many levels.
“Well that’s not how I wanted to look,” Genny explains seriously. “I wanna be a movie star, ya see, but I’m not very good at it. I was trying to look scared. Can you show me how to look scared?”
“Sure,” he says wiggling in my grasp. “Lemme down, Uncle Walk.” When I set him on his feet, he grabs Genny’s hand, tugging it until she’s on his level. Then Zeke gives her his best scared face.
“Wow, that’s really good,” she praises him with wide eyes. “Can you teach me how to do it that way?”
“Yeah!” His little face lights up with joy at the prospect of teaching a grown up something, instead of always being the student. “You gotta make your eyes real big.”
“Like this?” she asks, her eyes going even wider. Zeke’s little hands move to her face, pushing on her cheeks till her jaw drops.
“Do this with your mouth,” he instructs, his mouth forming an “o.” Genny does as she’s told, and Zeke gives her a smile. “That’s better. Can you do other faces?”
Reese’s head peaks around the corner of the screened door. “Are you guys coming in or what?”
“We’re coming,” I yell back, loving what’s happening between Genny and my nephew.
Genny stands up but takes Zeke’s hand. “I’ll probably need your help with my other faces, Zeke. You seem a lot better at this than me.”
“Cool! I gotta go tell my mom!”
He takes off, running toward the back door, and I steal the hand he was holding. “I think you have a new friend.”
“Let’s see if his mom is that easy to win over,” she mutters, bumping her shoulder against mine. Moving her mouth close to my ear, she whispers, “Thanks for the kiss.”
“My pleasure, G. Anytime, anywhere.”
As I hold the door open, Genny takes a deep breath, entering Reese’s kitchen with a forced neutral expression. Reese is busy getting the baby gear around and doesn’t immediately turn around to greet us. Zeke’s rambling, telling his mom a very animated story about how he’s going to help his new friend become a movie star, and Reese is half listening to him, nodding her head and making appreciative noises as she packs up the stroller. When my sister stands up to face us, her expression isn’t very welcoming, and I roll my eyes in annoyance.
“Well, if it isn’t the up and coming movie star,” she sneers, sarcasm dripping from her voice. Genny clears her throat, obviously uncomfortable.
Reese is going to hear some not very nice things from me when this is over.
“Yeah, that was kind of an audition clip that wasn’t meant for the general public,” Genny explains. “Zeke tells me I wouldn’t have gotten the part, so I’m sorry you were subjected to the torture of watching my very poor performance.”
Reese simply stares before trying to hide the smile she’s suddenly wanting to give in to. “I don’t know about the quality of your performance, I just didn’t like it being on my TV.”
“I didn’t like hearing about it being there, let me tell you! It’s entirely my fault, though, so again, I’m sorry. I knew Walker was here with your kids and I sent it anyway. It was a really bad call on my part.”
“Hmph,” is Reese’s only response.
I think I love Genny a little bit just for rendering my sister speechless. Reese always has something to say, especially about anyone I’m into. She had plenty to say an hour ago when I called to confirm that she still wanted to meet the girl who graced her TV with such an unforgettable performance.
“Reese?” I catch her attention, giving Genny a brief reprieve. “What can I help you with?”
“Can you get Finn from the living room and I’ll attempt to get this stuff out the door?”
It’s probably safe to leave both girls in the kitchen while grabbing my youngest nephew. I’m pretty sure Reese isn’t going to be a bitch to Genny after that introduction. Hell, I think my sister almost likes Genny, since she’s taking full responsibility for my blunder, and she didn’t shy away from the awkwardness of what happened, just accepted it and apologized first thing. I listen closely anyway as I leave the room, ready to step in if necessary.
“Since you’re here with Walker, I’m going to say your performance couldn’t have been that bad. He gave you the lead role for this part of his life.”
“I think there’s a lot of lead roles i
n Walker’s life,” Genny replies as I grab Finn from his pack and play. He’s clapping his hands and standing against the rail, gurgling his excitement at seeing me. If he’s standing up like this, he’s gonna be walking in no time. Reese is going to have her hands full then, for sure.
Finn and I make our way back into the kitchen where Genny has the diaper bag slung over her shoulder. Zeke is pouting, his little fists crossed over his chest as he voices his distaste at having to hold his mother’s hand once they’re outside.
“I don’t wanna hold your hand, Mommy!” he yells in their driveway. His little angry stance has me trying not to laugh, but Reese just puts her hands on her hips and stares him down.
“It’s either hold a grown up’s hand, or we go back inside and don’t go to the park.”
“I wanna hold her hand!” Zeke says, pointing at Genny.
Genny glances at Reese, who’s obviously not happy about the turn of events, and holds up her hands, showing him they’re full. “I’m pushing the stroller, Bud. Maybe next time, ok?”
Reese grumbles under her breath, grabbing the stroller with more force than is necessary. “It’s fine, just hold his hand tight. He likes to run away when he gets half a chance.”
After glancing at me, Genny hesitantly releases the stroller and reaches for Zeke. He gives her a huge grin as he takes her hand and holds on like he’s trying to steal her from me. I’ll have to watch out for him. I know for a fact he’s can steal a heart in about half a second when he’s trying. It’s impossible not to fall in love with him.
Once getting the ok from his mom, Zeke pulls Genny across the street ahead of us, chattering to her about God-only-knows-what as she attempts to listen to every word that comes out of his mouth. She looks back at me with wide eyes and a happy smile before they disappear into the park, leaving Reese and I in their dust.
“Your girlfriend just stole my first born.”
“She’ll bring him back to you. She might love kids, but she has enough to deal with right now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Reese demands curiously. She’s shielding the sun from her eyes as she looks at me and I wonder if I should tell her anything about Genny. Genny may seem really open, but I’m finding out the opposite is true.
“She just hasn’t had it easy. Don’t judge her until you get to know more about her.”
My sister simply rolls her eyes before zeroing in on Zeke and Genny already on the playground. “No one’s had it easy, Walker.”
“Exactly. You should know everyone has their own story to tell. She knows about Zeke, and she’s not judging you.”
Gasping, Reese turns around to punch me on the shoulder as I’m stretching out the blanket for us to sit on. “You told her about Zeke?”
I rub my arm, wincing. “Are you working out, sis? When the hell did you get strong enough to hurt me?”
“Don’t change the subject!” she warns, getting Finn settled on the blanket, then turning to glare at me.
“She knows.”
Reese eyes Genny cautiously now, getting a little nervous herself. “What did she say?”
“She wondered how you could’ve been ok with me living with him.”
“Hmph.”
Twice now, Reese is speechless. I definitely have to keep bringing Genny around.
Zeke comes running over, holding up something green between his fingers. “Mom, Uncle Walk, look! Genny says I’m really lucky!”
Genny walks slowly behind him, her hands in her back pockets, which only draws my eyes to the curves of her breasts pushing against her shirt. She shrugs, a small smile on her face. “When he fell down, I explained he was in the perfect spot to look for a four-leaf clover. He knows his numbers really well. He counted out all the three leafed clovers before he found the lucky one.”
Zeke beams up at Reese with Genny’s praise. “We made up a song, too, Mom. Wanna hear it?”
“Yes,” Reese confirms, looking over at me. He didn’t cry? she mouths, while Zeke breaks into a song about swings and snakes and four-leaf clovers. Then Zeke takes off, pulling Genny behind him as he races to the monkey bars.
Zeke has been crying over every little thing since Finn was born. Reese tells me it’s because Zeke no longer gets all the attention, and crying is his way of forcing people to fawn over him.
On the second rung of the monkey bars, Genny tickles him until he lets go, falling right into her waiting arms. My sister watches Genny with a laughing Zeke, finally admitting defeat a few minutes later.
“Dammit. I wanted to hate her.”
“Impossible, isn’t it?”
Reese side-eyes me, glaring out of the corner of her eye. “I’m gonna try a little harder. I’ll get back to you.”
Finn’s standing next to Reese and using her knee to steady himself. Holding my hand out, I guide him along as he stumbles his way to me, dropping quickly onto his butt once there. He lets out a high-pitched squeal and Reese looks over, holding up her hands, just out of his reach. After pushing himself back onto his chubby bow-legged feet, he reaches for her, taking a single step on his own before falling down again.
Reese sighs. “He’s so close...”
“You should start catching up on your sleep now. You’re gonna be exhausted when it happens.”
The next time Zeke comes running over, he falls face first into my chest. “Uncle Walk, Genny won’t push me high enough on the swings... Will you push me?”
“I’m better than Genny at something? Finally! I thought you weren’t gonna play with me anymore!” Jumping to my feet, I catch Genny around the waist and deposit a quick kiss on her surprised mouth. Then I race after Zeke, letting him beat me to the swings. Hopefully, Reese doesn’t try too hard to hate Genny when she’s sitting right there with her.
Pushing Zeke on the swing as he chants Higher, higher! I watch my sister with Genny. I want them to get along. I want Reese to enjoy Genny’s company because I want to bring her around. A lot. I want her to meet my parents and join our family gatherings. I want to weave her into every part of my life.
The things I want with Genny are a little shocking. Normally, it’s months before I let anyone I’m dating meet my family. Normally, even when I let it happen, I’m only doing it because it’s expected. And I usually know them a lot better than I know Genny.
It feels like I’ve known Genny for a long time, but I really haven’t. When I’m thinking about her, it’ll take me by surprise that I have no idea what her favorite color is. Whether or not she wore braces as a kid, or what she meant when she said she was into music. Does that mean she liked to listen to music, or did she play an instrument?
I feel like I know her. I can guess her reaction to things, I can tell when things offend her or make her happy even when she doesn’t show it. Maybe I know Genny as a person, but I don’t know all the details that made her who she is.
I know she was horrified to find out Kane saw her picture, but she played it off like it was no big deal.
I know she really wants Reese to like her.
I know that not knowing what Callie and I are planning is secretly killing her.
And I know that she’s afraid to tell Chad she won’t have sex with him anymore
Knowing how she’s treated sex for the last three years, I can understand how it would be scary. She gets weird migraines when she’s stressed, I’ve seen how weird they can be, so I can understand how it would be really convenient to have someone on speed dial when life gets stressful. But why is Chad the only one she’s afraid to tell?
I don’t know the answer to that question, but I need her to give him up in order to trust that she’s really in this. That she really wants this.
I turn my attention back to Zeke, who’s pumping his little legs as hard as he can, trying to go even higher than I’m pushing him. As he swings back to me, I grab the chains and ignore his grumbling complaints when I slow him down. “Hey, Zeke, you like Genny, right?”
“Yeah,” he answers, enthusiastica
lly nodding his head as he looks around. “She’s almost as pretty as Mommy, but she’s funner than Mommy.”
“That’s because mommies can’t always be fun. I bet if Genny had to yell at you for misbehaving, you wouldn’t think she was as fun, either.”
“Genny won’t yell at me. I’ll be good for Genny.”
Ruffling his hair, I tell him that’s good to know. Maybe I’ll have to convince Reese to let Genny come over the next time I watch the boys. It’ll take a hell of a lot to convince her to let that happen, but I can try, right?
“I think we should go back and tickle Genny until she surrenders, what do ya think?”
“Yeah!” Zeke yells, taking off again for home base.
I jog after him, wanting to get there about the same time, hearing him giggle at our secret plan before he’s even half way there. Reese yells for him to watch out for his brother, so I pick Zeke up in my arms, falling to the ground beside Genny. Zeke immediately reaches for her and she holds her arms out to him. That’s when the sneaky little guy gets out his tickle fingers and pushes them against her belly.
“Hey!” she laughs, trying to push his hands away. My nephew is relentless, though. When I join in from the side, she starts squealing in between her laughs. She tries desperately to move away from us, but with Zeke on top of her, she can’t roll away. Finally, she yells, “Stop!”
Zeke freezes, thinking he’s in trouble, but she wraps her arms around him and holds him close as she tries to catch her breath. She whispers in his ear and he nods his head against her breast. She whispers again, and he breaks out into a smile, obviously reassured he’s not in trouble.
Lying on my side facing her, one arm still on her thigh while the other props up my head, I watch as Zeke climbs off Genny and comes at me with his tickle fingers. Genny wasn’t telling Zeke he wasn’t in trouble. She was telling him to get me next.
Genny isn’t as comfortable touching me under my sister’s watchful eyes, so it’s easy to push Zeke’s hands off me and roll away from her. I jump up and jog away from them, turning around to find Genny chasing me and Zeke rolling on the blanket laughing.