“Want me to come with you?”
I smiled at the offer but said, “Absolutely not. I wouldn’t submit you to that torture.”
His jaw tightened and I thought he was going to insist on coming with me but instead, he said, “As long as you’re sure.”
“I am.”
Chapter Fifteen
Tegan emailed me the information I needed for my flight. As promised, he got me a flight Wednesday morning, which meant I probably wouldn’t see my parents until the fundraiser dinner. They’d be at work when I arrived . However, my flight back wouldn’t be until Friday morning. That was irritating. I wanted to get out of there as soon as I could. But he promised we’d have fun. He wasn’t leaving until Friday morning, either.
I didn’t ask anyone for a ride to the airport because it was early and I didn’t want to bug Laney. Porter had to work and while I thought he’d agree if I asked him to, I didn’t want to ask. He had a job.
Though we’d spent the past several days sneaking moments with each other around that job. Laney was busy with her own things and didn’t seem to notice when I wasn’t around. Or rather, she didn’t ask. We were allowed our own lives, after all.
Instead, I called up a ride share and let them battle the Detroit traffic to get me to the airport in time.
Because Porter had insisted I call him as soon as I landed, I grabbed my carry-on from the overhead compartment as quickly as I could then got off and out into the airport. As I looked around for Tegan, I hit Porter’s name on my phone.
“You made it?” he asked.
“I did. Or I’m calling you from the afterlife and don’t know it yet.”
“Not funny.” Something shuffled on his end and a door closed. “Find your brother yet?”
“No.” I scanned the airport. My eyes settled on Tegan leaning against the far wall messing with his phone. “Yes. Just found him.”
“I won’t keep you,” he said. “But I wanted to make sure you got there and all that.”
“I appreciate you. I’ll call you later.”
I made a beeline over to Tegan and kicked his foot before he saw me. “Oh, sorry, sir. You just have incredibly huge feet and they’re out in the aisle.”
My brother was tall, six feet last I heard. I’d guess women found him attractive but unlike me, he looked like Dad. Dark hair, hazel eyes. He worked out so regularly that he made me feel like a sloth most of the time.
He chuckled and shoved his phone into his pocket. “You know what they say about men with big feet.”
I gave him my best disgusted look. “That they smell worse?”
He snorted and reach out for my bag. “You hungry?”
“Uh, of course. The flight you got me left so early, I didn’t have time to eat.”
“You could’ve gotten up earlier.”
“Who are you talking to?” I asked.
Tegan laughed again but led us out of the airport.
My brother tossed my bag in his trunk then slid behind the wheel.
We spent most of the day together. First it was a very late breakfast. Then he had to stop by his office but he didn’t tell me why. He’d taken today off just to hang out with me he said but there was one thing he needed to do. We walked around the city for a while, grabbed something in the late afternoon and went by my favorite bookstore. It was an awesome day. At least. until we had to start getting ready. Just as Tegan promised, I was able to avoid my parents the entire day.
They’d gotten ready for the dinner earlier than we needed to since they had to arrive earlier.
Preparing for this dinner reminded me of just how much I hated going to these things. But I kept reminding myself that it was one night and I was doing it for my brother. He would’ve done it for me. This was only fair.
“Rhian,” he called from down the hall. “Let’s go. We’re gonna be late.”
“So?” I yelled back.
“That’s how you want to start this?”
No. No, it was not. Being late would irritate my mother which would then make her happy family mask slip. She’d still smile, but her words would’ve been like venom.
I turned everything off in the bathroom, grabbed my little purse, and went out to meet him. He’d be driving since I didn’t have my car here.
As I came out of my room, he whistled. “Wow. You look fantastic.” I paused, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “For a little sister.”
“There it is,” I said as I laughed.
He drove us over to the school where the fundraiser was being held. Since it was for the school, that made sense and my mother could turn anything into a well-decorated palace if she had the mind to.
Apparently, she’d had the mind to. This place looked more like somewhere for a wedding rather than a regular fundraiser. But again, since they worked at a prestigious private school, it made sense. The buildings were old brick. Something you’d see in a movie. Hargrove Prep. Even the name made me want to vomit.
Tegan brought us to a stop at the valet because of course they had valet for this. I’d always wondered if they put the money spent on these fundraisers into the school, they wouldn’t then need the fundraiser. Hell, maybe they never really needed the fundraiser to begin with.
“Do you think we’ll be lucky enough to avoid our parents the entire night?” I asked him as we walked in together.
“There you are,” my mother said when we were only maybe ten feet inside.
“Nope,” Tegan whispered to me.
“I was beginning to wonder if you were coming.”
Glancing at him, I plastered a smile on my face as I turned to Mom. “We’re not even late.”
“You weren’t early.”
My jaw tensed. I was going to get through this dinner without a fight.
“Sorry,” I told her through clenched teeth.
“You two are at our table,” she said before turning away from us and walking toward the front of the room. “Come on.”
“Well, she’s in a mood,” Tegan whispered again.
Thankfully, Mother dropped us off at the table and then went to greet some other people.
“Drink?” Tegan asked.
“Several.” I wasn’t joking with him but knew he’d only get me one glass of wine.
While he was gone, I took a look at who else was with us at the table. There were placards for my mother and father, Tegan and me, and four other people. Fuck. I’d glanced down at the name card next to me and it was none other than Aldrich Webber. Not at all surprising. Irritation rose up at me and it took everything in me not to march right over to her and let her know exactly how I felt about this guy since my previous attempts failed.
“I heard you were going to be here.” He came up behind me. Aldrich’s voice probably made some women melt, but all it did for me was make my constitution strong in defense. It wasn’t that Aldrich was bad to look at. He was moderately tall, dark blond hair, brown eyes. Nothing special stood out about him at all. But just one look at his face and you knew he thought he was better than you.
I only interested him because I didn’t want him. That much I was sure of.
“Yeah?” I asked. “I’m sure everyone is very excited about that.”
“I don’t know about everyone, but I’m not disappointed.” He sat in his chair but also moved it closer to me.
Leave it to Tegan to have perfect timing as a glass of wine appeared in front of me. I was still standing near the table but hadn’t taken a seat yet.
“Bless you,” I muttered and by the way Tegan squeezed my shoulder, I knew he’d heard me.
The guys greeted each other and while my brother sounded pleasant, anyone who knew him would’ve known that his demeanor was anything but pleasant.
The room filled up, Teagan and I sat at our table. Though the other three people hadn’t joined us, Aldrich also took his seat. My mother would’ve been hovering near the state as father took to the podium, making a speech that I cared nothing about. I didn’t even listen as my
mind decided replaying everything from the other night with Porter might’ve been a better use of my brain power.
I snapped out of my reverie once the clapping commenced and our parents joined us at the table for dinner just as the evening’s meal began to be served. I’ll be honest. For these kinds of dinners, the food was usually not so good.
“Your mother was telling me that you’re visiting your friend in Michigan for the summer?” Aldrich asked.
I chewed slowly, giving myself time to not snap at him. “No. I moved there. I live in Michigan now.”
“That’s not how I heard it.” He took another bite of chicken. “But since you’re back, we should go out.” He glanced around. “Something more fun.”
“And what would that be?”
“Rhian.” My mother’s warning tone wouldn’t have caused concern for anyone other than Tegan and me.
I chose to ignore it as did he.
But then Aldrich leaned in close to me, setting his arm on the back of my chair, and spoke softly into my ear. “Depends on what you’re into.” The feel of his breath hitting my ear made me shiver. Not in a good way.
“Horses,” I said. He drew his eyebrows down in confusion. Not the answer I’d bet he was expecting. “I’m a horse girl. Every school has a horse girl. Are you into horses too?”
Tegan snorted into his drink, causing it to spray up into his face.
My mother’s jaw tensed as if she were hanging on every word between us. Who was I kidding? She was. She’d decided that I was to marry Aldrich Webber and that was it. I was to fall in line. But no fucking way. I wouldn’t have married him before Porter had come along and I sure as hell wouldn’t now that he had.
The rest of dinner was a dance of me dodging Aldrich’s innuendo and my mother pushing me into it. It was like she couldn’t even hear what he was saying. Tegan stepped in several times but we both knew it wasn’t going to change anything. I appreciated him having my back though.
Finally, after hours of dinner, the servers began to clear the last plates away. That meant it was almost over. Throughout dinner, several people had given quick speeches about why it was imperative for them to raise the money for a new science building, but I’d ignored them all. I was only there to make us look like one big happy family. Not to donate money, so it didn’t matter to me.
Tegan handed me a second, after-dinner glass of wine while our parents said goodnight and thanked people for their donations. We were so close to the end that I could taste the sweetness of freedom in the wine.
“Well, I think that went pretty well,” my father said once the rest of the guests cleared out.
I snorted. Which I honestly shouldn’t have done.
“You disagree?” my mother asked.
“Nope,” I said immediately. “It was great. So I think it’s time for Teagan and me to head out.” I took two steps toward the door.
“Not so fast.” Mom grabbed my arm before I could get by her. “We haven’t talked about your date tonight.”
I turned to her slowly with wide eyes. “Date?”
“Yeah, date?” Tegan asked. “Do you mean me? Because I think our date went well.” Then he shrugged and added, “As well as it can for a brother or sister. I mean, it’s not like we can hook up now.”
I cringed at the thought but also laughed. Which again was the wrong thing to do. Dad chuckled because everything Tegan said was hilarious to him. Mom didn’t see the humor, though.
“You’re super gross,” I told him.
“Yeah. I know.”
“Mom.” I folded my arms under my breasts. Best to deal with this issue now rather than later. “Tonight was not a date. And I know this because typically both people know it’s a date. So I hope he didn’t think that because if he did, that’s an awkward conversation you’re going to need to have with him.”
“I’m not having any conversation with him.”
“Well, neither am I, so I guess Aldrich Webber just got ghosted.”
“I swear… ” Mom had a vein in her neck that bulged when she was angry. Even if she was still talking in a normal tone. Right now it looked like it was ready to herniate. “Rhian Schwartz, you are too much to deal with sometimes.”
“Agreed.” I turned and started walking toward the door knowing that Tegan would follow. “So you should stop dealing with me. And next time you decide to set me up on a date, you should know that I’m seeing someone, so it’s a really bad idea.”
“Seeing someone?” she asked, though her voice was much closer than I would’ve hoped. It meant she was following me too. “I seriously hope it’s not that man you brought with you before. He’s good enough for you.”
I stopped mid-step and turned to face her.
“Porter isn’t beneath me, if that’s what you’re implying, Mother. He’s one of the most honest people I know and while you treated him like he had the plague, he still wants to spend time with me. Knowing that he Could have to deal with this bullshit”—I yelled louder—“and he still wants to see me is a fucking miracle.”
“How dare you speak to me this way?” Mom yelled back.
“That’s enough,” Tegan snapped to Mom. “We’re leaving and you brought this on yourself. Aldrich Webber is the one you’ve decided Rhian is going to marry? If you knew half the shit he’s done with every daughter of your friends, I’d hope you’d think differently.”
Tegan grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the door.
I would’ve stayed and fought for the rest of the night if he’d let me.
Chapter Sixteen
“I can’t stay there,” I told him once we were in the car.
“You can’t leave tonight.”
“Wanna bet? There’s got to be a bus or something.”
He snorted. “I know you’re pissed, but a bus to Michigan would take you like twenty-four hours.”
“I don’t care.”
“You care.” He pulled out of the parking lot. “How about we go drink and leave first thing in the morning? You can stay at my place. I’ll drive you and get you there safely.”
“I’m for drinking.”
He chuckled and instead of heading home, he turned in the direction toward the bar district. That was what we called it anyway because there were so many bars in one small area.
Tegan must not have been in the mood for any of the places we might’ve seen someone we knew because he passed all the regular bars and pulled into the parking lot of one that had seen better days. One my parents never would’ve thought to look for us at. One that you really didn’t want to have to use the restroom in.
Perfect.
We chose to sit at the bar because that was where the alcohol was. Faster service, faster refills.
Tegan held up two fingers. “Tequila.”
Two shots slid in front of us. We tossed them back like they were water, but I winced a little at the end and held up my hand for another round.
“Why are they like that?” I asked, then I threw back the second shot.
He shrugged and did the same. “They think it’s love.” As the bartender passed, he said, “Can we get one more and water?” It didn’t take long for the glasses to appear before us. “Mom and Dad want us to do what they think is best because in their minds, that will make us successful. It’s their version of love, I guess, though I don’t know if they actually understand love.”
I snorted. He wasn’t wrong. They had never abusive physically but maybe a little mentally. “Leave it to the doctor to think practically,” I told him tipping my water toward him. A tiny bit spilled out the side. I might’ve been getting a little sloppy.
“I’m not a doctor,” he said.
“Might as well be.”
Shot number three went down much easier than the first for me. Whoa. I hadn’t had more than a drink or two in a really long time, so I was feeling the three shots. Tegan had been thinking ahead with the water. I downed half of it. He’d moved to a scotch. No idea why he loved it so much.
&nbs
p; “I’m going to feel this tomorrow,” I said. “Can I get a Cosmo?” I asked the bartender.
“You are gonna feel it.” He sipped his scotch. “You know the saying. Wine before liquor will make you sicker.”
I giggled. It wasn’t even all that funny, but the alcohol was kicking in and everything inside me began to relax.
“You know I’m going to cut you off at some point? No way can I let you get alcohol poisoning.”
“Two drinks,” I said, much louder than needed. “You’ve had two drinks, too.”
He chuckled. “I’m also at almost twice your bodyweight.”
“True.” Thinking over what he’d said, I took small sips of my Cosmo to slow things down. If anyone could drive me to drink, it was my mother.
“Now that you’re settled in,” he began, “tell me. What’re you doing in East Branch?”
“Mostly Porter,” I answered then slapped a hand over my mouth. “Holy shit. I didn’t mean to say that.”
His body shook with laughter. “First, that’s disgusting. Second, I’ll take you to my place when we’re done. Mom and Dad can’t see you this way.”
“Please don’t.” I didn’t know why I was talking so loudly. It was like there was no volume control on my body whatsoever. “Don’t let me text or call Porter, either. Who knows what I’ll say?”
“Give me your phone.”
I pulled my purse up from where it hung beside and once I figured out how to open the damn thing, I gave him my phone. It was safer that way. I surprised myself when I realized I’d remembered to grab my purse from Tegan’s car. I’d left it there for the fundraiser.
“Porter, huh? That his real name?” he asked.
“No.” I held up a finger. “But if I tell you his real name, I’d have to kill you and I don’t want to kill you, Tegan. I love you.”
The humor playing on his face told me that I was in fact well under the effects of alcohol. For some reason, my body wouldn’t stop moving, either.
“Ugh.” I made a disgusted sound in my throat. “I swear I never want to come back here if I don’t have to.”
A Little More Touch Me (The Fallout Series Book 2) Page 13