My mother, in all her infinite wisdom, shrugged and spoke. “Well, at least they’re doing it right.”
It’s easy to tell where I got my twisted sense of humor.
That was the match that lit the powder keg.
Frank lunged for Guy. Guy’s hands went to shield his own face, knowing the beat-down was coming.
“It’s not what it looks like!” Guy objected.
Frank’s fist didn’t let him finish that sentence. My stomach curdled, and then I was weirdly touched. Frank loved me enough to defend my honor? It wasn’t really warranted, but I was pretty surprised at my brother’s willingness to come to blows over it.
“What was that, punk?” Frank said between hits. Dad stood back, watching with his arms crossed over his chest and his jaw clenched. Mom clutched Dad’s arm. I could tell he wanted to get a swing in there, but he was letting Frank do the dirty work.
My freshly minted boyfriend was getting beaten up by my brother.
“Frankie!” Mom yelled over the fight. “It’s just Guy! Why are you so upset about this?”
Frank whirled on his heel to face Mom, gesturing at Guy, who now sat back on the bed. “He uses girls, Ma! He’s told me himself, he hits and quits! I’m not letting him do that shit to my sister, when he’s always said we’re all ‘best friends’—”
“I love her, Frankie!” Guy shouted. “I always have. We’re just actually getting together now.”
Frank’s face reddened further and his eyes narrowed. He whipped back around to face Guy. “Easy to do now, huh? You ruined her in high school. Couldn’t stick up for her then but you can love her now? You should know better, Kitty. You know how he is.”
I felt like the wind was knocked out of me. “You knew? About him being the reason everyone called me a slut?”
Frank dragged a hand down his face, then examined his busted knuckles. “I didn’t want to make you feel worse,” he sighed. “It wasn’t my business. And you two seemed to work it out.”
Guy touched a hand to his bleeding lip. “I didn’t date her because of you, Frank. I was afraid you’d . . . do what you just did. I didn’t want to lose all of you if something went wrong.” He sucked in a breath, glancing at me. “And because my dad—”
“Oh, sweetie,” Mom said. She stepped away from Dad to hug Guy, grabbing a tissue to dot on his lip. “You’re not him.”
Right, Eva probably would have told Mom about his dad. Hell, that was probably how they got so close so quickly. Mom doted on Guy how Eva would have, and I think it calmed Frankie’s fury. We were most of what Guy had left for a family. We couldn’t be fighting like this.
“Is it true?” My dad’s quiet voice rang out in the room. “You love her?”
Guy’s eyes watered and met mine. He nodded and turned to my dad. “I do.”
My dad twisted his lips and looked at the floor between us, grinding his teeth. That didn’t look like a major endorsement to me. It was the face he made when he was mulling something over.
Frankie hissed as he tried to make a fist. I went to his side, examining his hand.
“Guess you love me, huh?” I said softly. “You’re willing to beat up our best friend for me?”
Frankie chuckled. “Don’t get too used to it, sissy.”
My arms circled his waist and he hugged me back. “I can fight my own battles. But I appreciate ye,” I said in Mom’s accent.
“She hasn’t pulled any punches,” Guy joked.
He and Frankie hugged it out, but Frankie stepped back and pointed at Guy’s face. “You’re on thin fucking ice, though. And get that condom off your foot, weirdo.”
“Okay,” Dad said, clearly uncomfortable.
“Why don’t we give Kitty and Guy some time to get theirroom ready to check out?” Mom said with a wry smile. “We’ll go get some coffee while we wait.”
My parents and brother filed out, and the door closed. I locked eyes with Guy. “I think I can safely say that is the first and last time I’ll call you daddy.”
* * *
