“It wasn’t made up. We are in a relationship. It was the start of it. You can’t tell me what you saw of us was fake. Can you?”
Maybe it’d be nice to know if the one person closest to him in life saw something opposite of him.
“It looked real to me. But what do I know? She could be an excellent actress.”
The wince couldn’t be held back.
That was true of Natalie.
“We are in a good spot. I promise.”
“You don’t have to promise anything to me. You just need to focus on you.”
“No. That’s selfish and too much like my parents.”
He refused to be like them. He was old enough to acknowledge those traits and reel them back.
“Everyone is selfish in life, Arik. It’s how much you are. You do know your father and Brandi are no longer together, right?”
He laughed. “Nope. How long did that last? Five months?”
“Close to it. Guess your father backed out of a trip she wanted. He came to me looking for a loan and I told him to keep his dick in his pants and he wouldn’t need one.”
His eyes popped open with his mouth wide to the laughter rolling out.
His grandmother would have said that. The exact words too.
“So he couldn’t give her a trip and she ditched him?”
“Sounds it to me. As far as I know he’s on the prowl for someone else. Maybe since his wallet is a little tight he’ll hold off doing anything more than one-night stands.”
“Do you hear yourself?” He couldn’t believe they were having this conversation.
“Hard not to when I’m speaking. At least your mother holds onto her guys longer. What did you think of the latest?”
His mother held on because deep down she still had hope for something permanent but was more guarded.
“He’s fine. Could have been worse.”
Rylie was more like the guy he’d grab a drink with out one night. They got along well, but the thought the dude was sleeping with his mother drew the line at becoming buddies.
“Your mother won’t get any big settlement or fancy vacation from this one.”
“I don’t think that is what she’s looking for,” he said drily.
The conversation still echoed in his head far more than he wanted. His mother talking about her sex life was something no amount of mental scrubbing could erase.
“Off the relationship topic. Yours and your parents. What are you doing with your time?”
“I’m working on an app,” he said cheerfully. “It has to do with puzzles.”
“What kind of puzzles?”
He explained it more. “I’m making more progress than I thought. I’ll be testing it soon. Natalie’s mother said she’d try it out for me. Natalie will too. I’ve found a forum of others that will give feedback on what to improve.”
“You’re not overdoing it, are you? I know how you get when your teeth are sunk in deep.”
“No. I’m not. This won’t make me millions. It’s just something to do for now. I’m having fun with it.”
