“Don’t be rude.” Paula’s mom moves over to her sons. “This is Paula’s boyfriend, Tristan.”
“What?” Pierce, I think he’s the oldest one, shouts before dropping the bags in his hands.
“I hope there weren’t eggs in there,” Piper whispers and laughs.
Apparently, it was loud enough for Pierce to hear because he glares at her before returning his focus to me.
“I wasn’t aware we were allowed to bring guests on this trip.” His eyes never leave me, and I honestly wonder if I should be scared.
“Your sister told me last week,” Abigail answers. “It slipped my mind.”
The frustration is leaking from him. I don’t even know this guy. Why does he have so much beef with a literal stranger?
Standing I take a few steps until I’m around the sofa and a couple of feet from the group of men taking stock of me. I hold out my hand. One of us has to make the first move and I refuse to be intimidated. I put up with way worse when I was in high school. Being bullied isn’t how this will go down.
The brother who was smirking a few moments ago, takes a step forward and slides his hand in mine. “I’m Parker. It’s good to meet you, Tristan.” He glances overhis shoulder as he releases the greeting. “Don’t worry about them, they are more bark than bite.”
So, he says. The other three look like they want to pummel me. Not that I blame them. Based on the reaction of everyone here, Paula doesn’t bring guys around much, if at all. It has to be a shock to the status quo.
“Nice to meet you, Parker. Paula’s told me a lot about you.”
It’s not a lie, I think he might be her favorite brother. Maybe it’s his devil may care attitude, I don’t know. But I also like him instantly. He’s the least commanding of his siblings, and it means a lot that he stepped out when the others were looking to each other on what step to take next. It seems like he has a mind of his own.
“Of course she did. I’m the most charming brother.” That comment earns a groan from all the siblings, including the sisters behind me. He definitely has charisma, I’ll give him that. It probably also gets him in trouble.
He points to the brothers still in front of us, starting with the one he was standing beside. “That’s Phillip, Peter, and the big ol’ teddy bear is, Pierce.”
“Stop fucking calling me that,” Pierce mutters. His mom doesn’t correct him this time.
Phillip gives a small wave now that he’s not the first to make an introduction. Peter and Pierce are still trying to stab me with their glares.
“He may act like a hard ass, but he’s a softie on the inside.” Parker holds his hand to his chest like he’s giving a vow.
“That’s not even remotely true.” Paula pipes in. “He’s an asshole.”
“Don’t start.” He throws in her direction.
Seriously, he thinks he can talk to her like that. I take a step and feel a touch on my arm. Paula is leaning over the sofa to get my attention, and gives a small shake of her head. Fine, I’ll stand down this time, but the next time he’s rude to her, I won’t allow it.
“So do y’all always line up in age order?” The question slips out before I realize it. At this point, I’m hoping it’ll ease the tension built up in the room. Everything was fine and pleasant before her brothers showed up.
“Not on purpose.” Phillip sighs. “It started out as a way to do a head count when we were on vacation, and I guess it stuck.”
“So, you know our ages, but not our names?” Peter’s voice is laced with annoyance. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s spent his whole life trying to impress his big brother. Maybe one day he’ll realize being salty won’t give him the validation he’s searching for.
Is it an asshole move to be judging them while they’re standing in front of me? Maybe, but I can’t help it. Analyzing people is how I adjust my own interactions.
“I know your names, but they all start with P. I didn’t want to screw it up and look dumb.” Not completely a lie. They’re all a bit older than the photos Paula showed me. But mostly it’s so I can remember how each of them behave.
“That actually makes sense.” Peter agrees. He sets hisbags on the table and moves toward me, slapping his hand in mine. “Nice to meet you, Tristan.”
Well, at least I have three of her siblings on my side. It’d be nice to have all five of them, but I’ll be fine with the majority.
“You too, man.”
Abigail takes the bags from the eldest brother, and sets them on the counter before digging through them. “Did y’all get any actual food?”
“You shouldn’t have sent us to the store. And the rest of them shouldn’t have put me in charge of filling the basket with food while they got drinks.” Parker shrugs and slides around me to sit on the sofa. I don’t want to be stuck with Phillip and Pierce so I follow him and take my place beside Paula.
