His eyebrows rose. “Why what? Why didn’t I say anything about sex?”
My cheeks heated. “No. Why do you want us to stay with you?”
He shrugged. “I like being around you guys. I’d kind of like to have you in my space… to see what that’s like. Never wanted to take a woman home before, but you… I don’t know. I’d like to try it out. It’s not about sex, Carly. It’s about you. No, it’s about you and Trent. I can’t explain it, but I want to try this. It’s important. Come stay with me.”
“In your spare bedroom?” I asked for clarification.
“Absolutely. No funny business at all. Unless, of course, you can’t keep your hands to yourself. Then that’s on you, but I wouldn’t necessarily kick you out of my bed. Unless you snore.”
He was trying to lighten the mood, but I couldn’t get past the implications of him wanting us in his space. But hadn’t I wanted the same thing when I’d invited him up here? Then again when I’d opened my bedroom door to him?
“Come on. It’ll be fun.”
Oh, I was sure it would be all sorts of fun, and that’s what I was afraid of.
Wasp
CARLY AND TRENT were in my house.
Of course they were, I’d invited them. Hell, I’d practically begged them. When Carly said no, I’d even met her in the break room on her lunch again, and kissed her into submission until she agreed to stay.
“Why is this so important to you?” she’d asked me again.
“I don’t know, but it is.” I needed to see what it felt like to have her and Trent in my space. To see where they fit in,ifthey fit in, or if I’d come to my senses and realize I was making a huge mistake.
Carly finally relented, so I picked them up after work, and we hit a bowling alley not far from my house. Trent was a first-time bowler, and Carly hadn’t bowled in years, so we put the bumper pads in and made a go of it. Carly managed to somehow swing gutter balls (despite the bumpers), and Trent bounced his ball from side to side until it ran out of steam and died inches in front of the pins. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in my life.
More important than my enjoyment, were the sounds I heard coming from Carly and Trent. We’re talking crazy amounts of belly laughter. Every time one of them doubled over, I felt lighter and more significant than I’d felt in years. Making them laugh had become my new goal in life.
Now, the three of us were sitting on my sofa snickering at campy old-school cartoons. They were in my space, and instead of coming to my senses, I never wanted them to leave. Having them here felt so damn right and comfortable, I was starting to see the appeal of doing the family thing.
“All right, time to brush your teeth and get ready for bed,” Carly said, nudging Trent.
“But I’m not sleepy,” he complained between yawns.
“You have school tomorrow. You promised that if we stayed at Wasp’s you’d go to bed on time, remember?”
Trent’s shoulders dropped. He looked as though he was carrying the weight of the world (or at least the weight of a bed time) on them. His gaze met mine. “I have to go to bed.”
“It’s getting late,” I said by way of confirmation.
“But I’m having fun. And mom says tomorrow we have to go back to our place.”
He sounded so miserable, I stood and took pity on him. After all, I wasn’t too thrilled about them leaving, either. “Come on, buddy, I’ll help you brush your teeth.”
After we finished, Carly took him into my spare bedroom and wrangled him into pajamas. Then I came in, stretched out beside him, and read the book he’d brought along. By the time I finished, he was fast asleep, probably worn out from all the fun we’d had at the bowling alley. Setting his book on the nightstand, I went out to the living room to find Carly curled up on my sofa looking at her phone.
“He’s out?” she asked, setting the phone aside.
“Of course, he is. Dove, I’ve got mad skills with kids. I used to babysit my cousins a lot.”
“Well, it shows. You’re great with him.”
Chewing on her compliment, I went to the fridge and grabbed us each a beer before sitting beside her. “He makes it easy by being such a fun kid, but you know who else I’m good with?”
“Who?”
“You.”
