by Max Monroe
I chose to ignore that.
The wood felt heavier as I dragged it open, the possibilities of a threesome with two Reeds running through my mind and the guilty self-loathing that followed plaguing the lining of my stomach. Thankfully, all thoughts of sex in any context fled as I realized who had actually come calling—because hello, creepy.
There stood my sister and Brian, polished, pressed, and dressed to the nines, while their three kids—with backpacks, rolling suitcases, and sleeping bags in hand—ran straight into my apartment without even uttering a hello.
“Sorry, we’re a little late,” Annie greeted and pushed past me.
Brian followed her lead but stopped to give me a quick kiss on the cheek on his way in. “Hi, Lo.”
Reed stood up, and Annie stopped dead in her tracks.
Her eyes shone in amusement. “Oh, I see you have company.”
I sighed. My sister was far too excited about this.
“Are you going to introduce us, Lo?” she asked with a smile the size of Earth.
Yeah. Annie was too fucking excited. I sighed.
“Reed, this is my sister Annie, her husband Brian, and their three kids, Emma, Lucy, and Henry,” I introduced because I had been left no other option.
Brian and Annie offered the typical, friendly greetings and handshakes, while the kids ran circles around the four of us.
“Is this your boyfriend?” Henry shouted.
“Ohh! I want a boyfriend!” Emma chimed in. “I want a boyfriend just like Aunt Lola!”
“No, not boyfriend. He’s my friend,” I said, refusing to look in Reed’s direction when the word friend left my lips.
“That’s right,” he interjected. By the tone of his voice, I knew he was also getting far too much amusement out of this situation. “I’m your Aunt Lola’s friend. Her best friend,” he added for good measure. I started to feel the familiar urges toward violence prickle my fingertips.
“Friend,” I corrected through gritted teeth and quickly redirected the conversation. “A little late, Annie?” I asked, and she did her normal thing of walking around my apartment being a busybody. I followed her toward the kitchen, past the display of three kids who were now rolling around on the carpet and throwing their sleeping bags in the air. Reed and Brian stayed behind, weighing down both ends of my couch, just in case it tried to fly away.
“What exactly are you late for?”
“I know I told you seven,” she explained and grabbed a glass from the cabinet, “but I had to talk Henry out of bringing one thousand LEGOs to your place.”
“Am I supposed to know what’s happening right now?” I honestly had no idea why they were here, and more than that, why it appeared her children would be staying for an unknown length of time.
Had she finally broken and decided to drop her kids off before she and Brian ran off to Mexico?
“I sent you a text reminder on Tuesday, Lo,” Annie answered and filled the glass up underneath the tap.
“Well…considering you send me ‘text reminders’ about five times a day, it’s easy to understand why that one didn’t stick out to me,” I retorted. “What exactly am I supposed to be doing tonight?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Her voice and eyes turned into something out of The Shining.
Obviously, I wasn’t, but fuck if I wasn’t fearful to admit that now.
“Uh…”
She took a drink from the glass, swallowed, and then closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Please, tell me you can watch the kids tonight.”
“Like just for a few hours, or the whole night?” I questioningly teased. I mean, it was obvious by the backpacks and roller suitcases her kids weren’t here for a short two-hour playdate.
Annoyed turned pleading in a heartbeat. “Please, tell me you can watch the kids.” She clasped both hands together. “Please. Please. Please. I need this. I even bought a new dress just for this occasion. I swear to God, it’s been three years since Brian and I have had a night out together. I’m seriously begging you.”
“Cute dress, by the way,” I complimented and leaned a hip against the counter. “Those Pilates classes are seriously paying off. You look like you could crack a walnut open with your thighs.”
“I know, right?” she agreed with a confident hand to her hip.
“How many times a week do you go?”
“It depends on my schedule, but—” She paused and then pointed an accusing index finger in my direction. “Don’t try to change the subject.”
I feigned annoyance. “I mean, I had a big night planned out, Annie. My dealer should be stopping by any minute. And Reed and I were going to spend the rest of the night snorting coke and playing poker with hookers.”
She grinned. “Just put a movie on. The kids won’t even notice.”
“I guess my final answer really depends on one thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“Did Brian get the president’s approval for this?”
Annie flipped me off, and Brian called from the living room, “Congress gave us the unanimous vote, Lola! The United States government is in full support of our night out.”
“Well, thank God for that,” I teased. “I’m shocked they pushed this one through considering all of the pending approvals you guys are waiting on.”
“Yeah, Daddy, why hasn’t the president told us if we can get a puppy yet?” Emma questioned.
“Thanks a lot, smartass,” Annie muttered.
I laughed and finally dropped the whole “I don’t feel like watching your kids” act. “Fine. They can stay here tonight so you and Brian can get wild and crazy.”
She didn’t waste any time after that, grabbing her purse off the counter and shouting, “Let’s go, Brian!” He hopped up like a man who had finally gotten the approval to get laid after three years of nothing—so, basically, like himself.
I followed her toward the living room and watched as she hugged her kids good-bye, kissing them each on the forehead and saying, “I love you. Be good for Aunt Lola. If I find out you were an asshole, no iPad for a week.”
Her parenting tactics were on fleek.
“Please get them in bed by ten and call me if you need anything.” Her eyes distinctly belied her words—don’t call me unless they’re dead. “We’ll pick them up by nine tomorrow,” she instructed and pulled me into a tight hug.
I sighed when she released me. “I guess I’m going to have to call my dealer and cancel.”
“Don’t forget the hookers,” she added with a smile. “I hear you have to pay the full amount once they show up.”
“I thought it was hourly?”
Annie laughed. “All drug and hooker jokes aside, you’ve got some serious explaining to do tomorrow.”
I quirked an eyebrow.
She nodded toward the room where Reed was busy occupying her three menaces. “You know exactly what and whom I’m talking about.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I expect a full report in the morning. All the details.”
“I also expect a full report from you in the morning,” I countered.
She scoffed. “About what?”
“Like I don’t know you got all dressed up just to do your most favorite thing in the whole world.”
“Having dinner with my husband that is sans children saying ‘Mommy’ every ten seconds?”
“Nope.” I smirked.
“Is this the point in the conversation where you start talking about blow jobs and I leave?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, then. Have fun tonight. Thanks again.”
“You too and don’t forget—”
“Shut up, Lola!” she shouted before I could get another word in. She yanked Brian by the suit jacket into the hallway, and the door clicked shut a few seconds later.
I turned around to find Reed leaning against the wall, staring back at me.
“Yeah… Don’t feel like you need to hang around. I will completely understand
if you’re ready to haul ass out of here.”
He shook his head. “I’m not leaving.”
“You’re not?” I couldn’t hide the surprise from my voice. I could hide the flutter of excitement in my belly, though. I’d heard the secret was to bury it with ten pounds of junk food.
“Emma put the Minions movie on, and Henry just pulled out a stack of bingo cards from his backpack. Things are about to get exciting,” Reed pseudoexplained.
“Are you being serious?” I searched his eyes for the but in his statement. Reed was a wild card. He could turn even the simplest statements into a lie.
He grinned. “Actually, yeah, I am.”
Reed was choosing to spend his Saturday night babysitting my sister’s kids with me.
I refused to read too much into it.
I wouldn’t think about how amazingly sweet it was that he was now helping Emma get comfortable on the couch with a blanket. Or that he was letting Lucy climb all over him like he was an actual jungle gym. Or that my mind was whispering, He’s perfect.
I wouldn’t think about any of those things.
Nope.
I wouldn’t.
“Come on, Aunt Lola! It’s time for bingo!” Henry shouted and started jumping on the couch like a banshee.
“Wait…before we play bingo, did your parents feed you dinner?”
Or maybe I should’ve asked, how much sugar did your parents feed you for dinner? The Reynolds kids were so hyped, even Louie had resorted to hiding out inside his neon sand castle.
“Nope.” Emma and Henry responded in unison, but Lucy said, “Yes.”
Lucy was the Reynolds kids’ version of a human lie detector.
I raised an eyebrow, and Henry sighed. “Lucy! You weren’t supposed to tell her that!”
“Ugh! Lucy!”
She just shrugged, not the least bit intimidated by her brother and sister.
I looked at a pouty Henry and Emma. “Are you guys actually hungry?”
“I am!” Henry exclaimed and Emma nodded.
“Do you want me to order a pizza?”
“Yes!” all three agreed.
“Okay. Pizza it is,” I said.
“And chocolate chip cookies!” Lucy added with a smile. “Please, please order the pizza from Golden Gate Pizza. They have the best chocolate chip cookies, Aunt Lola!”
The fact that Annie’s kids had a preferred pizza delivery place solidified the fact that I wasn’t the only Sexton sister who wasn’t skilled in the art of cooking.
I glanced at Reed, who was now sitting on the couch beside Lucy and watching the opening credits of the Minions movie. “Pizza and cookies sound good to you?”
He grinned. “Sounds perfect.”
There was that word again.
Perfect.
One Minions movie, an entire large pepperoni pizza, and a half-dozen chocolate chip cookies later, everyone had full bellies, and the kids were starting their third round of bingo.
“Stop cheating, Henry,” Emma said and threw one of her bingo markers at him.
“I’m not cheating, Em,” he responded and glared in his sister’s direction.
“You are cheating! You keep winning. You have to be cheating,” Emma refuted and threw another cardboard marker in his direction.
“All right…All right…that’s enough. Emma, your brother isn’t cheating, so stop throwing your markers at him,” I announced with a frustrated sigh. “If you guys can’t get along, then we can’t play any more games.”
The sigh actually had nothing to do with them fighting. Siblings fought; it was a certainty of life. My frustration stemmed from the fact that I was secretly jealous I had to be the one to call the numbers. I fucking loved playing bingo.
“Stop fighting!” Lucy chimed in. “I want to keep playing.”
“We’ll be good, Aunt Lola. Promise,” Emma added with the sugary-sweet smile she unleashed when she was desperately trying to get what she wanted.
“Fine,” I said and got ready to call out the numbers for bingo game number three.
My eyes met Reed’s, and he smirked like he was in on a secret I wasn’t privy to. I tilted my head to the side and mouthed, “What?”
“Call out the numbers, Aunt Lola!” Henry urged, and I pulled a number from the bowl.
“B-15.”
“Yes!” Lucy exclaimed with a fist pump, and Henry and Emma groaned their frustrations.
Before I could call out the next number, my phone pinged with a text notification, and I grabbed it off the coffee table.
Reed: Having fun?
I glanced across the room to find Reed smirking back at me.
What the hell?
Me: How did you get this number?
Reed: I programmed our numbers into each other’s phones while you were having your kitchen meeting with Annie.
Me: There’s no such thing as a “kitchen meeting.”
Reed: Sure there is. I witnessed it. Now, I asked…Are you having fun?
What a weirdo, I thought, but I realized there was probably more to this text. Reed never did anything without underlying motives.
Me: Uh…yeah. Are you having fun?
Reed: I am…but are you sure that you’re having fun?
What in the hell was he trying to get at?
Me: I’m sure, ya weirdo. Stop texting me from the same room.
Reed: So, you mean to tell me you wouldn’t be having more fun if you didn’t have to be the one calling out the numbers and you actually got to play?
Jesus in a peach tree. Did he have the ability to read my mind?
I love your penis, I thought as a test and stared at his face for a reaction. That was the best sex I have ever had, I added for good measure, and his expression never changed.
Thank. God.
Me: Am I that transparent?
Reed: Right now, you’re like a real-life version of the movie Big. You’re literally Tom Hanks in this scenario. A child inside of an adult’s body.
Me: Are you saying I can’t adult?
Reed: At least when it comes to bingo, you can’t.
Me: I’d like to refute that, but it’s useless. Sometimes, I really am a sad excuse for an adult.
Reed: I know. You’re fucking adorable.
Fucking adorable… Why does he keep saying that?
“Stop texting and call the next number, Aunt Lola!” Emma demanded.
“Yeah, I’m ready for the next number,” Henry agreed.
Reed got off the couch and walked toward me. “All right, I think Aunt Lola should play with you guys while I call out the numbers,” he said with a smirk and promptly took the bowl from my hands.
Was it weird that I felt like clasping my hands together and saying, “My hero”?
“You’re totally going down, Aunt Lola,” Henry said with a mischievous grin.
“Bring it on, little muffin,” I retorted and he glared.
“Stop calling me that!”
“What? You’re my little muffin, buddy. You’ve been my little muffin since you were a baby.”
“Ugh,” he sighed. “Stop calling me muffin.”
“Okay, muffin. I’m sorry. I’ll try to stop.”
Reed chuckled and shot a knowing grin in my direction.
Hey, you had to get creative when it came to shit-talking with humans under the age of ten. And I have no qualms about using whatever weapons I have to get into their little heads so that I can win. Bingo is serious business.
Ten rounds of bingo later, all three kids were falling asleep on the couch as they were halfway through their encore showing of Minions.
“I think I need to get them into bed,” I whispered to Reed and nodded toward a drooling Henry.
A soft smile tugged at the corners of his plump lips. “Where are they going to sleep tonight?”
“I’m just going to let them sleep in my bed. I’ll take the couch tonight.”
Reed stood up and gently picked Emma up off the couch without stirring her awake.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
“Just keep your bingo-winning ass on the couch,” he responded in a hushed tone. “I’ll carry them into bed.”
And without another word, I watched him carry each kid to bed.
What a demanding, kind, and thoughtful bastard…
The light to my bedroom was turned off, and the door clicked shut behind him as he moved back toward the couch and sat beside me.
“Thanks for doing that.”
“Thanks for letting me crash your sleepover.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and tucked me into his side. I probably should’ve disliked how good it felt.
“Banana!” the Minions shouted from the TV, and we grinned at each other.
“Want to stay and finish the movie?” I asked without hesitation.
I wanted him to stay.
“Like I’d miss opportunity number two to watch the Minions search for their evil dictator.”
I knew I was treading dangerous territory with Reed Luca, but I couldn’t help myself. I craved him—time, body, perspective…all of it. It was like everything I had originally assumed about him was completely off base.
He could’ve spent his Saturday night out doing a million other things, but he didn’t. He chose to spend his night with me.
His actions tonight spoke louder than any words ever could, and if the flutter in my chest was evidence, my heart had taken notice.
The sun had risen and found its cozy spot within the sky, and if San Francisco were Montana, and we were on a farm filled with livestock, the roosters would’ve crowed over four hours ago. We weren’t on a farm with livestock, but we were in a small apartment with children, and now that I’d experienced it, I was pretty sure it was the same.
The sounds of a trolley car ringing its bell filtered from the street and through the open windows of Lola’s living room. A few seconds later, a police siren sped by—its shrill noise overpowering the rowdy laughter coming from the three kids running amuck—and I smiled.