Avery
Iwanted to sink into the ground. Blade looked at me, an eyebrow raised.
“Yes, I suppose that is about the average,” he confirmed, not missing a beat.
“That’s a lot!” Trevor said loudly.
“It’s why you should work out twice a day and limit the amount of alcohol you drink,” Blade replied.
“I don’t understand the logistics. Do you do it in the office?” my stepmother demanded, reaching across the table for the wine bottle. I wanted to take it from her and chug the whole thing myself.
“Avery wasn’t clear on the details,” Cassie said, stabbing the scallop with her fork.
“I’m sure they do it in the office, in the car, in the bathroom, in public,” my father said, wavering in his seat. “She’s just like her mother, a dirty little—”
“Well, this has been a wonderful evening,” Blade said abruptly standing up. “It’s such a shame you all have to go.”
“I’m not done eating,” Trevor complained. His voice trailed off as Blade loomed over him. Trevor stuffed one last bite into his mouth and pushed his chair back.
“I didn’t get to finish my drink,” my stepmother said in shock.
“I’m sure we can arrange a to-go cup for you,” Blade said smoothly as he found my family’s coats.
My grandmother hugged me goodbye, but the rest of them simply took their coats and left.
“We’ll be seeing you at the engagement party next week,” Blade said, seeing them to the elevator.
“You should have just ignored him,” I told Blade after he closed the door behind my family.
“I will not tolerate him insulting you,” Blade said in a clipped tone.
“Sticks and stones.” I shrugged and drained my wine glass. I shook the bottle. “Empty. Figures. Just like my life.”
“I will not stand for it,” he repeated. His face was intense. “You should cut them off. I’m surprised you haven’t already.”
“I can’t cut off my grandmother!” I cried.
“Then keep her in your life and cut off the rest of them. That’s not how you treat people you care about.”
“I need the mansion,” I said meekly.
I was definitely too drunk to do the psychological deep dive into why I still let my family, and especially my father, treat me like dirt. The whole situation was stressing me out.
I picked up my plate of pasta, my usual stress breaker. I sighed. “And now it’s cold. Typical. I’m not even that hungry.”
“Funny, considering you and I have apparently been having sex all day every day. I would have thought you would have worked up an appetite. It’s a wonder we get any work done.”
I grimaced. “They found a partially used box of condoms.” I looked intently at him. “Where are the other ones, anyway? Oh wait, never mind, I don’t want to know. I’m not really your fiancée, girlfriend, whatever. I’m sure you have, you know,needs.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“And that’s totally fine if you need to, you know, partake in a little stress relief,” I said, tugging at my dress.Stop making this awkward, Avery.
Blade reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “Here are the three condoms.”
“You just carry them around like that?” I squeaked.
“Just in case.”
