by Laney Kay
As soon as he got outside, he went to sit by Daisy, who was still sitting on the glider sipping her drink. He turned to face her. “Daisy, I need your help.”
She looked at him, and she must have approved of whatever she saw in his face. Probably desperation, he figured, but he didn’t care. She nodded. “Okay, shoot.”
“Any ideas on how to convince Lola to give us a chance?”
Daisy put her drink down and leaned back into the cushions. “That’s going to be tough, Jake. She’s only had one serious relationship and it ended really badly, so she’s always sworn she would never do it again.”
“Can I ask you what happened?”
“Sorry, Jake, that’s not my story to tell. But I will tell you that she’s already in deeper with you than she realizes. You’re the only guy she’s ever let spend the night, and more importantly, you’re the first guy she’s ever brought around us.” She leaned forward and snagged her drink off the table as she amended her last comment. “Well, actually we’ve met other guys, but she just brought them because it was convenient. We were already meeting for dinner and she was planning to ‘wear him out, and throw him out,’ as she so charmingly puts it, as soon as we were done, so it saved travel time to bring them with her.” Daisy drained the last of her drink and waved it at Jake. “Damn it, now I’m empty. But Jake, seriously, you are the first guy that is age-appropriate, has a real job, and she was willing to bring you to our house. That’s a big deal, so don’t let her tell you differently.”
He nodded and smiled at her. “Thanks, Daisy. So, bottom line, don’t give up when she tells me to get lost?”
“Exactly.” Daisy yelled to Lola. “Hey Prentiss, where’s that pitcher? My drink isn’t going to refill itself!”
Jake stood up and kissed Daisy’s cheek. “Thanks, Daisy. I’m going back outside with Luke. Enjoy your drink.” He walked outside, just as Lola came out on the porch.
Lola’s brows pulled together and her eyes narrowed as she looked at Daisy. “What were y’all talking about?”
Daisy held out her empty glass and Lola filled it. “Nothing. Just getting to know each other.” Daisy took a sip of her drink. “Ahhh, Lola, this is great.”
Lola rolled her eyes as Daisy ignored her question. “Fine. Be that way.” Lola sat down and Daisy immediately propped her legs over Lola’s so she was turned and could see her face. “Lola, seriously, what’s going on? What ‘security issue’ is Jake helping you with? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
Lola knew Daisy would know something was wrong. “Daisy, it’s not a big deal. I’ve got someone possibly pissed off at me for a change, and Jake owns a security company. I’ll tell everyone about it once they get here.”
Daisy shrugged. “Okay.” She put her drink down and went to stand up. She swayed a little. “I think I need some food to go with my punch. Come with me and I’ll put something together for us to munch on.”
They walked, Daisy slightly unsteadily, into the kitchen. Daisy opened the fridge, took out several containers, and within a couple of minutes had put together a beautiful arrangement of various cheeses, vegetables, pastries, ham sandwiches on little tea biscuits, pimiento cheese and crackers, and an array of various appetizers on two separate platters. Lola was impressed. “Damn, Daisy, even drunk, your stuff is beautiful!!!”
Daisy laughed. “Right?! Everyone needs a talent. I can arrange food while drinking. A-MAZING!!!”
When Daisy went to pick up the trays to take outside, Lola shook her head. “Nope. You might be able to artfully arrange food while drinking, but you’re a spaz at walking while sober, so I’ll take that.”
“Good idea. I’ll get us some tea, so we can pace ourselves a little better.” Daisy poured two glasses and pinched off a piece of mint from a bunch on the windowsill to top them off. She carefully picked up the glasses and motioned for Lola to take the food.
Lola grabbed the trays and they headed back outside and sat back down on the glider with Daisy’s feet again propped on Lola’s legs. Daisy hollered to Luke. “Luke, I’ve got some food for y’all if you want to come grab it.”
“Be right there.”
A few seconds later, Jake came onto the porch, licking his fingers. “Hey ladies. Luke was busy, so I’m here for the food.”
Lola started laughing when she saw that he had a smear of cream cheese frosting over his upper lip and motioned for him to bend down to her. When he did, she wiped off the frosting and showed it to him before popping her finger into her own mouth. “I see you already started on Luke’s stash of cupcakes.”
He was far too busy watching her tongue lick the frosting off her finger to answer. Just to mess with him, she stuck her entire finger in her mouth, sucked it strongly, while pulling it slowly out of her mouth, and finished it off by circling her tongue around the tip of it and then releasing it with a pop. Jake let out a small, involuntary groan and Lola started laughing at the pained look on his face.
Daisy rolled her eyes as she popped a cracker in her mouth. “For the love of God, you two, get a room.”
Lola laughed harder and leaned forward to grab a tiny ham sandwich. She took a bite and let out a small moan at the taste. “Damn Daisy, this is delicious. What is it?”
“Tiny little homemade biscuits, sugar cured ham, homemade honey mustard, and a little cheddar from a local dairy.” When Jake heard that, he grabbed one and popped the entire sandwich into his mouth. His eyes widened as he chewed. When he finally swallowed, he grabbed Lola’s tea and took a sip. “Holy shit, Daisy. This is amazing. I can’t believe what a great cook you are. How does Luke not weigh five hundred pounds?”
Daisy shrugged and answered with a straight face. “He burns a ton of calories with non-stop sex and construction work.”
Jake laughed and nodded as he picked up one of the trays. “Good to know. And on that note, I’m taking this out back.” He winked at both of them and headed out the door to the back.
Daisy grabbed a date stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon and popped it into her mouth. She nudged Lola with her foot and said with her mouth full. “I like him. He’s adorable. You should keep him.”
Lola looked wistful for a moment, then she shook herself back to reality. “Forget it. I don’t want one of those. They take up too much time, they’re a ton of maintenance, and they mess up the house. I like my uncomplicated life.”
Daisy rolled her eyes and leaned forward to grab herself a ham sandwich. “I happen to know for a fact you’re not that busy, and you’re about to get even less busy once you quit your law gig.” She took a bite, chewed and swallowed, chasing it with a gulp of tea. “He seems like a great guy, he’s got a real job, he’s hot…” Daisy nudged Lola’s leg with her toes. “I can vouch that his ass is seriously fantastic, and he’s smart and funny. What more could you want?”
Lola shook her head. “Daisy, you know that relationships aren’t my thing. I think it’s better to keep things casual than subject myself to all the bullshit that goes with a relationship.”
Daisy put down her drink and leaned forward. When Lola kept trying to ignore her, Daisy pinched the crap out of Lola’s leg with her toes. Lola grabbed Daisy’s foot and trapped it against her stomach so she’d stop pinching. “Shit, I hate those prehensile feet of yours, you monkey. Quit pinching me. What the hell do you want?”
“I want you to be happy, you idiot. One bad relationship in forty-six years is no reason to completely give up on all men.”
Lola rolled her eyes. “That’s a bunch of shit. I see men all the time.”
“No. You have sex all the time. And it’s always just a procession of pretty, young, male bimbos…” Daisy was still feeling the effects of the alcohol. “Wait. What would that make them? Mimbos? Maybe himbos?” Daisy shook her head to try to clear it. “Anyway, having one bad relationship shouldn’t scare you off relationships for the rest of your life.”
Lola’s face was completely expressionless. “I think it was a little worse than ‘one bad
relationship.’”
Daisy’s patted her arm. “I remember how bad it was, but...”
Lola’s jaw clenched. “Really? Let’s recap. First, I get stood up at the altar in front of three hundred people. Then a few days later, I found out he posed me and took nude photos of me while I was passed out after we were drinking all day at Sara’s bachelorette party. And how did I find that out? When I refused to give him money to fund his girlfriend’s abortion, he sent them to my mother. Uh yeah, I guess you could say that’s ‘bad’.”
Daisy winced and her eyes filled with tears. “Lola, I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. You know I didn’t mean to minimize it.”
Lola felt terrible. Daisy was the kindest person she knew, and she knew she didn’t mean to hurt her feelings. She let go of Daisy’s foot and put her hand on Daisy’s cheek and patted it. “Daisy, I know that. Sorry I snapped at you. That’s just something I never got over, and I really don’t think I ever will.”
“I understand that. But I hate that you’d let an asshole like that keep you from being happy now, Lola. You’re different with Jake than I’ve ever seen you with another man, and that means something.” Daisy smiled. “Remember when I first started dating Luke and I was freaking out? Here I was, divorced after my long-time husband knocked up his secretary and I’ve spent months all over the news for accidently hitting him with my car, and I had no interest in dating. And do you remember what you told me?”
Lola rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I remember.”
“You told me I was making too big a deal out of everything and that he was asking me out, not to marry him, and I was getting ahead of myself. You told me to relax, enjoy myself, and see what happened. I’m just saying the same thing to you. Just give this a chance to see if it goes anywhere. It may, or it may not, but at least you’ll know. Plus, at the very least, he seems like he will be a damn good time.”
Lola was irritated with Daisy, but she also knew she had a point. She popped another mini ham sandwich in her mouth and agreed as she chewed. “Fine. I’ll quit trying to run him off.”
Daisy smirked and she grabbed another date off the tray. “Good girl.”
At that moment, the door from the kitchen opened and the rest of their friends swept onto the porch, laughing and talking. Between exchanging hugs and deciding important issues like where the beer should go, it was bedlam for a few minutes. Jake and Luke heard the commotion and came around the corner and Daisy introduced Jake as “Lola’s friend.” The porch went silent as everyone turned to look at Lola and then looked back to Jake.
Sara was the first to break the silence. She crossed her arms and smiled at him. “So Jake, you’re Lola’s friend. Really? How old are you?”
Lola rolled her eyes and interrupted before her friends really got going on poor Jake. “Y’all are so damn nosy. He’s forty-seven, he owns a security consulting business, and he’s helping me with a security issue. His brother is Agent Steve Prince and he’s the one who recommended him. Oh, but before y’all get all excited about him, there’s something y’all need to know.” She paused for effect. “He’s a Bama fan.”
Jake laughed at the traumatized look on everyone’s face. “Yep. Sorry guys, but Roll Tide. I went there and I played football there. I’m a pretty die-hard fan. Hope that’s not a deal breaker for all y’all.”
Sara wrinkled her nose. “It’s not a deal breaker, but I really hate to hear it. You seem to have so many other good traits, maybe we can get past the Bama part. For instance, Jake, I hear you have an amazing ass, according to Daisy…”
Lola was mortified that she actually blushed as Jake burst out laughing. “OhmyGAWD! He’s just a friend, so y’all leave him alone.”
Jake came up beside Lola, threw his arm around her shoulders, and kissed the top of her head. “Yeah, but I’m a really good friend, Sara, and I’m really glad to meet all y’all. I’ve heard a lot about all of you. Sorry about the Bama thing, but I can’t really help that.”
Luke rolled his eyes and invited the guys to join him outside. “Come on guys. Harrison, I’ve got the grill hot so we can finish cooking those ribs you brought, and Jack, bring that beer to the outside fridge. Mark, you got anything that needs to come out back?” When Mark shook his head, all of the men turned to head outside. Jake squeezed Lola’s shoulders and leaned over to give her a quick peck on the lips and then whispered in her ear. “Don’t worry. I can take care of myself and these guys all seem to be great guys.”
Lola whispered back. “The guys aren’t the ones you have to worry about.”
Jake laughed. “Yeah, I got that part. Don’t worry about me. I’m pretty tough.”
Lola raised her brows skeptically. “Whatever you say. But my advice is to not turn your back on these women. Especially now that you know they’re all trying to get a good look at your ass. I can’t guarantee your safety.”
Jake grinned, squeezed her one more time, and waved to the ladies as he turned to leave. “Ladies, I’m heading out back with the guys. See y’all in a while.”
Jake turned to go and the women all tried to catch a glimpse of Jake’s butt as he left, but Lola blocked their views. They all laughed, exchanged glances with each other and sat down. Bella and Mo each grabbed a rocking chair across from the glider, and Sara dropped in between Lola and Daisy, wiggling her butt until they moved over to give her some room. Bella poured them all a drink, Daisy passed around the tray of food, and then they all turned at once to Lola and looked at her expectantly.
Lola finally broke under their scrutiny. “What?!”
Bella took a bite of cheese and smiled at Lola. As usual, she was the most diplomatic of their group. “So. He seems nice, Lola. Definitely a hottie. And we all already know his brother, so that’s all good.”
Mo leaned forward and patted Lola’s leg. “And it’s certainly a big plus he has a nice ass. And his own business.”
Sara took a gulp of the rum punch and dove right in. “So Daisy says he stayed the entire night with you? And he’s age-appropriate and not some dumb pretty boy…”
Daisy interrupted. “Oh wait, we were discussing Lola’s preferences before, and couldn’t decide on the correct term. Would a male bimbo be a mimbo? Or maybe a himbo?”
Mo grabbed her phone and typed in the question. “Urban dictionary says either is correct.”
They all nodded, and grabbed another appetizer off the tray. Sara started back on her original point. “So, he spent the night?”
Lola crossed her arms across her chest and raised her chin as she answered. “Yeah. So?” Daisy, Bella and Mo looked at each other with raised eyebrows, but Sara didn’t say anything, she just stared at Lola and smiled. Lola couldn’t take it. “So he spent the night. We were just up late and we overslept.”
Sara nodded. “Uh huh. Where did he sleep two nights ago?”
Lola refused to react, but answered the question. “My place. With me.”
Sara kept nodding. “Hmmm. Interesting. And where did he sleep last night?”
Lola smirked. “Ha. His place.”
Sara raised an eyebrow. “And where did you sleep?”
Lola rolled her eyes. “Okay, his place. But it’s only because I’m having a security issue.”
“So there’s no sex involved? Right? He’s just taking care of a security matter for you.”
Lola snorted. “Of course there’s sex involved. You saw him, right? Like we’re going to spend all this time together and I’m not going to at least get some action out of this?”
The other women’s eyes bounced between Lola and Sara like they were watching a tennis match. Sara leaned forward. “So let me get this straight. There’s nothing going on other than he’s doing some security work for you and y’all are sleeping together because it’s convenient and he’s a hottie. That’s it?”
Lola stared at Sara. “Yep. That’s it.”
Sara smiled and patted her leg. “Bullshit, but good for you. I like him. He’s funny and he’s not intimidated by you.”
“Or us.” Mo added, as she took a gulp of her drink. “Well, mostly you and Sara, but still.”
Bella decided to change the subject. “Ladies, is there anything we need to do before dinner?”
It turned out all of the side dishes were ready to go, so there was no prep work to do at all. Daisy grabbed another blue cheese stuffed date and offered the rest to her friends and hopped up to take the platter to the kitchen to refill. “Y’all want anything while I’m in the kitchen?”
Mo nodded, her mouth full of ham sandwich, and pointed to the tray. “More ham sandwiches?” Lola asked for more stuffed dates, and Sara asked if Daisy had any deviled eggs. Daisy rolled her eyes at Sara like she was an idiot. “Of course, I have deviled eggs. Anyone want any tea?” Mo and Bella raised their hands, but Sara shook her head.
Daisy went inside and refilled the tray, made two more glasses of tea, and brought all of it outside on a huge tray.
She then went outside to see if the guys needed anything. They were all seated around the huge picnic table under the pavilion area at the end of the outdoor kitchen. They’d already finished all of the cupcakes and most of the appetizers from the tray. “Y’all didn’t like the stuffed dates?”
Harrison and Jack both leaned forward to get a better look. Harrison pointed to the dates. “Is that what those are? Jack said he thought that’s what they were, that he’d had them before, but I wasn’t too sure.”
Daisy looked at it more closely. “It’s a date stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon. What did you think it was?”
Harrison shrugged. “I thought it was a treat for the dogs, so I’ve been feeding that to them.” He waved his hands at the dogs who had been half-asleep, but had now perked up at the possibility of Daisy bringing them more treats. Well, everyone except Diego, who was completely passed out on the lounge chair next to Mark. When Daisy saw him, she rolled her eyes. “Okay, whose beer did Diego get ahold of?”
Jake looked pained. “Uh, sorry, but that was me. I swear, he knocked it over and had lapped up most of it before I realized what happened.”