“Need a hand?”
“Nope,” she answered quickly, popping the ‘p.’
“Sure?”
“I’m sure. Go hang out with Mia, Derek.” And like that I was dismissed.
Mia sat up as I made my way back into the lounge and plopped into the sofa. “I can change the channel if you want,” I offered. I didn’t want to, but I would.
“Don’t you dare!” she declared adamantly, pulling herself upright.
I wasn’t really sure what the hell was going on, but five minutes later, Mia was going off like a firecracker, swearing like a sailor. I wasn’t sure if Mia was aware that the umpires couldn’t hear her, but she was dishing out less than constructive criticism with every passing second. This girl obviously loved her football. Leaning back in the chair, I watched her watch the game. It was far more interesting. It was a shit game. I don’t even know why I had it on, really. Something to do, I guess. It was two bottom of the ladder teams, both seeing who could make the most stupid rookie mistakes. Sometimes when I watched football this bad I wondered how they justified their ridiculously large paychecks. Even I could play better than this. Okay, maybe that was going a tad overboard. I’d probably give myself a heart attack just running the length of the field these days. That reminds me, I need to sort my shit out and get back to the gym. The last thing I needed was a beer gut.
“Are you fucking blind? He had hold of his shirt!” Mia screeched. She was like a banshee. It was entertaining as hell to watch. Right up until the moment that Zoe announced dinner.
“Dinner’s ready,” she sung out from the kitchen.
Mia’s face fell.
She went completely pale.
I was at her side, her elbow in my palm before I had a chance to think about it.
“Shit, Mia, are you…okay?” It was a fucking dumb question. As soon as it left my mouth I knew that.
“I…I just acted like…like that. And I’m not at home,” she admitted, dropping her head, trying to hide.
I couldn’t hold back the laughter that bubbled up my throat and exploded. It felt good. Maybe too damn good. I watched as Mia blushed a bright red. It suited her and made my pants tighten uncomfortably.
Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I led her towards the kitchen, where the smell of melted cheese and garlic were calling me and making my stomach grumble loudly. “Don’t even worry about it, Firecracker. Usually Zoe’s the one acting like that around here.”
“What’s usually Zoe?”
“The one providing the expert football commentary.”
“Ugh! Don’t even get me started.”
After heaping pasta onto the plates, we all sat down and dug in. It was nice. Easy. Drama free. It felt good. Somehow, I had Zoe sitting on one side in her usual chair, and Mia on the other. Twenty minutes was all it took for the plates to be cleared and the food devoured. Mia’s appetite shocked the shit out of me. For a tiny little thing, she could sure put it away. It was refreshing. The last girl I’d taken out, other than Zoe obviously, had ordered some kind of vegan salad with no dressing, then proceeded to pick even vegetables out of it, declaring them too high in carbs or some crap. Honestly, barely five minutes into the meal I zoned out.
“Zoe, that was…wow!”
“Thanks.” Zoe accepted the compliment but I could tell it made her uncomfortable. They always did. No matter how many I dished out, she still cringed every single time.
I burped loudly.
I didn’t mean it, it just kinda snuck up on me and happened.
Zoe dropped the plate she’d been holding, sending the cutlery clattering to the floor before exchanging shocked glances with Mia. Then the girls broke out in a fit of high pitched giggles.
“You’re such a pig, Derek!”
I couldn’t argue even if I wanted to.
“Shit!”
“What’s up?”
“I gotta head to work soon.”
