“Usually am.” She wore a smug grin, which I kissed until it dissolved into something far more lustful. I ruefully pulled away with a groan when I heard my video chat pinging. Naomi laughed as I hurried to tug on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. I winked in her direction before turning on my laptop to accept the call.
“I thought you forgot.” Denver looked annoyed as soon as her face came up on the screen. The second she got a good look at me, her eyebrow raised.
I cleared my throat, realizing I still wore an uncharacteristically happy look. “I didn’t. Just needed to get ready.”
My sister eyed me with suspicion. “You’re usually up and running somewhere by this time. Who is she?”
In my peripheral vision, Naomi paused as if she was already in the web cam’s frame. I glanced in her direction to see her mouth, ‘sorry’ when the floorboards creaked under her feet as she tried to tug on her clothes.
“I’d like to meet her…if she’s dressed, of course. Not trying to make this awkward or anything,” Denver said.
“You already have,” I mumbled and then flashed Naomi a questioning look. My sister would go on about this until she got her way.
“Is this okay?” Naomi whispered, coming closer.
I smiled and nodded. “Of course. Come here.”
She accepted my invitation, eyes growing wide when I pulled her into my lap. It made perfect sense to have her this close. Having Naomi crouch uncomfortably was out of the question. I placed a firm, possessive hand around her waist. I couldn’t remember if I’d had a girlfriend before. And if I had, I didn’t know if I ever introduced her to my folks. So, this felt like an important milestone in which I needed to show Denver I wouldn’t accept any judgment. My family was free to complain and talk about me. If it happened with Naomi, it’d get shut down in an instant. As long as I lived and breathed, no one would make her feel like she had to act a certain way to be accepted.
“So, you’re the reason my brother’s face has stopped looking like a statue?” Denver asked with a teasing smile.
I shot her a warning look.
Naomi laughed. “Yeah, I suppose so. I’m Naomi.”
“Denver. How long have you two been together? Or is this a fuck buddy thing? No judgment either way. I thought he was too afraid to start another one of those.”
Naomi shifted uncomfortably in my lap.
My expression clouded over. “I’m not afraid to end this call—”
Denver held up her hand. “Relax, I’m only teasing. Glad to see you’re finally getting back to normal. Maybe now you’ll stop pretending not to remember family dinners?”
“I’m not…” I started in a hard tone, but Naomi’s gentle hand on my thigh made me relax a little. “Pretending.”
“Right.” Denver nodded, obviously not believing me. She thought I was pretending solely to get out of coming home. And I probably would have maintained some sort of ignorance to keep space between myself and my family. Obligation felt like a knot in my stomach, twisting tighter any time I thought of interacting with them. Before, I didn’t know if this was normal. Now, I had a strong inkling it wasn’t. Sometimes, you don’t click with people even if you were related. It’d taken me half the semester to realize that the guys and Naomi felt like home. Nothing else made me feel safe like they did.
“I heard something about tutoring,” Naomi swooped in when silence lasted for a second too long.
“Finn fancied himself a know-it-all when he promised to help me study,” Denver explained. “I figured I’d put his brain to good use.”
Denver held up a textbook with calculus written on the front. I winced at the sight while Naomi’s eyes brightened.
“I’m actually a math major,” she said with excitement in her voice. “And I happen to be a tutor at the school, so maybe I could be of some help?”
“No, it’s fine,” I said at the same time Denver gasped, “Oh, yes, please.”
My jaw tightened at the pleading pout on Denver’s face. She clasped her hands together as she begged for my girlfriend to sacrifice her morning.
“She’s got enough on her plate,” I said with a shake of my head.
Naomi looked at me with an honest smile on her lips. “It’s fine, I don’t mind.”
“I do,” I whispered.
“Come on.” Naomi teasingly shook my shoulder. “I can spare an hour. Besides, shouldn’t you be prepping for your game?”
She had a point. I’d woken up far later than I originally planned. By this time, I was supposed to be showered, dressed, and have my bag packed for the drive.
