“How do you know that’s not Odd?”
Using my pinky, I point to a tiny freckle on his lip in the photo. That I noticed puts a nice little blush on Anders’ cheeks and…damn, I even like how his cheeks blush.
“You never were straight, were you?” I say, knocking into his shoulder as a flash of impatience makes me want to drag him into his childhood room and defile it.
Mrs. Bash sidles up next to us, smiling proudly at the pictures of her boys. “Oh, ever since he was a baby, he would talk about how pretty boys were. Honestly, the big surprise was that he was bi. Odd was always the more egalitarian of the two.”
Anders rolls his eyes and lets out a groan. “Mom!”
She looks between us and puts her hands on her hips. “At least your taste in men has gotten better. This one is gorgeous.”
I freeze, not knowing what to say. Anders buries his head in his hands. “Mom, it’s not like that.”
“This isn’t Omar? The one you have a crush on? He’s definitely got the pretty eyes you talked about.”
I have a moment of panic, not sure what to do, but then Samuel snorts from the other room as Anders goes scarlet. His mom laughs and goes for his ribs, tickling him until he gives in and laughs. She kisses the side of his head and whispers something in Norwegian. From his gentle smile, I’m assuming they’re words of love.
He glares when he catches me looking, which has absolutely no effect on my libido. “Don’t say a fucking word.”
I laugh and shove my hands in my pockets to prevent me from mauling him in front of his mother.
Anders’ dad pokes his head out from the kitchen. “Can we assume his schoolyard technique hasn’t improved in all these years?”
“No,” I laugh. “Not in the slightest, Mr. Bash. If I had pigtails, he’d be pulling them.”
Anders’ mom feigns horror. “Oh, do notMr. Bashmy husband. That is my special nickname for him. It’s Georg and Anja if you will. And to your point, yes, that is the exact method of his madness. Annoy you until you want to throttle him.”
She knocks me with her elbow, and I wrap my arm around her narrow shoulders, deciding for now to ignore the fact that she just told everyone in earshot she calls her husbandMr. Bashin bed.
“That is more accurate than you know. I didn’t throttle him, but I did take a swing at him yesterday.”
His dad is quietly amused. “Not surprising.”
“Hey! I thought you were on my side. And you raised us to be nonviolent—you’re gonna let someone take a shot at your baby boy?”
Georg shrugs and walks back into the kitchen.
I chuckle, trying not to think about the length of rope in the back of my car and whether Anders would let me tie him up. “I’m sorry to say it, Georg and Anja, that was a massive fail on your part.”
Anja laughs, putting her head on my shoulder. “Yes and no. Yes, in that he’s chosen to be a protector of people and with that comes violence. It is unavoidable, but we support him and Odd because they try to do good in the world. However, when it comes to those he considers family or friends…” She pauses for impact. “Or more…he would sooner take off his own arm. He’d sacrifice anything for the people important to him.”
It’s a mom’s prerogative to be proud of her son, but I feel pretty certain she’s telling the truth.
“Lunch is ready!”
On that slightly sentimental note, we retire to the table, where his father has laid out shredded chicken tacos and fixings. We all pile up our plates and chow down.
After eating our weight in tacos, Anders checks on Samuel, who has drifted to sleep. Anders and I got so little sleep last night, I should be exhausted. But I’m not the least bit tired, or the least bit ashamed of what I’m about to do.
I make a big production of stretching and let out an enormous yawn, immediately apologizing to his parents.
Anja pats my arm. “Sweetie, you’ve been through a lot today, and I know you haven’t gotten any sleep. Why don’t y’all go take a nap, take it easy this afternoon, and maybe we’ll see you around here for dinner.”
Parental endearments are my kryptonite, and even if I weren’t planning on taking her son apart at the seams, I’d have been hopeless against his mother’s lovely invitation for a nap.
Though…given the twinkle in her eye, I’m starting to suspect she’s on board with the fact that I’m about to take her precious boy to pound town.
If I thought sleeping with Anders Bash altered my reality, then meeting his parents and their pet alligators makes me wonder if I haven’t stepped through an alternate dimension.
