Alex - Settling In and Making Friends
Ifinish up my phone call with Tino just as we pull into the garage at the house. He is going to be a little more trusting of Connor but is still leaning towards thinking he’s sketchy. When I tell Connor this, he just laughs.
“At least you tried, babe. I’m going to have to work hard to earn his trust. He did see me running all over your neighbourhood asking everyone about you after all.” he says. “Now let’s get this stuff inside and we can start on the lasagna. I’m starving.”
When I head around to the back of the vehicle, he just waves me off, telling me he’s got it. Really, what he does is grab just one bag and walk into the kitchen with me on his heels. Sitting on the bar stools and at the table, I can see Devon, Travis, Johnny, Aiden, and Ryder. Devon gives me a brief wave, and Ryder jumps out of his seat.
“You found her?” he yells, before running over to hug me. “Now you can stop your bitching.” He laughs over at Connor.
“And for that comment, you can carry all of Alex’s personal bags to the pool house. They’re in the back of the Escalade. Everything comes in here first so we can sort out what belongs in this kitchen.” Connor points to the door that we came in and all the guys, except Devon, get up to help. Since that part is taken care of, I go over and turn on the oven to preheat.
“I didn’t tell them about you when they got here. I told them that Connor went to the gym and would be back soon. I can’t wait to see their reaction when they realize you’re the new chef.” Devon is giggling to himself a bit as the guys to file in, each with a few bags in their hands. They put the bags onto the counter and turn around to grab the rest from the truck.
“Ok, girlie,” Ryder asks when he’s barely even back in the room. “It just hit me that Connor said your stuff is going out the pool house. Why is that?”
“Fuck off, Ryder,” Connor says, laughing. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Actually,” I explain, giving Connor a dirty look. He’s trying to stir up trouble for no reason. “I am a professional chef, and Denise hired me to work here for six months. So I guess we’ll all be seeing a lot more of each other.”
The other guys all express their surprise at this turn of events, and Johny asks, “Will Becca be coming over too?”
“Once all the paperwork is approved, she wants to come and hang by the pool. She doesn’t like swimming in public spaces.”
I busy myself with separating my few bags out from the main pile on the counter and leaving them by the side door.
“What an amazing coincidence, right?” Connor says excitedly. “I was doing everything I could to track her down and today, when I walked in here with Devon to figure out my next move, I found her standing in the kitchen taking pictures of the cupboards.” He walks over and kisses me on the temple while giving me a little side hug. That gets some strange looks from the rest of the guys.
“So, you two are a thing now?” It’s Aiden this time. He’s already started unloading some groceries into the fridge.
I feel my face heat as I think about that. He’s been very touchy with me, even kissed me a couple of times, but there’s been no conversation. “And on that note. Ryder? Grab the bags, please. I’ll come with you to my place. I need to grab my knife roll to start dinner.”
Ryder runs over and picks up all the bags I’ve set at the door and follows me out to the pool house. It’s not that far across the yard but those bags are pretty heavy, and by the time we reach my door, Ryder looks like he’s regretting his decision to carry all the bags at once.
“What the hell did you buy?” he asks me. “And why does it weigh so much?”
“I had to stock the entire kitchen in here. Lots and lots of spices and other staples are in those bags.” I pull items from the grocery bags and putting them into the small pantry. “Can you put the cold stuff into the fridge for me?”
He starts putting things in but decides that now is a good time to ask me a bunch of questions. “So,” he says. “You and Connor, hey? You’ve known each other for a while.”
“Sort of.” Voicing some of my concerns to another one of Connor’s friends seems like it might be a bad idea, but I do it anyway. “We knew each other a long time ago, and now it seems we have a chance to get to know each other again. A person can change a lot in twenty years. He might be very different from what I remember.” I’m worried he’ll be that rock star stereotype instead of the sweet guy I knew, but I’m not about to tell Ryder that part. From what I hear, Ryder is the most ‘rock star’ of the whole band.
“I’ve known Connor for a long time, babe.” Ryder turns to look straight at me while he’s talking. “I’d even heard about you long before last week. Our entire first album is how he dealt with losing you when you guys were kids. I think you should listen to it.”
“I don’t know if I can,” I tell him. “We just figured out today that we had different experiences of what happened when I had to move. He thought I just didn’t call because I wanted nothing more to do with him. I called and the phone number was disconnected, so I thought he’d decided that dealing with my grief from losing my parents was too much trouble. I’m sure there’s a lot of anger on that album that I’m not quite prepared to hear.”
“Yeah, there is some anger. That’s what helped launch us onto the hard rock charts. But there is also a lot of hurt, loss, love, and awe, along with that anger.” He looks at me with a little sadness in his eyes. “I just think that listening to it might give you a little more insight into where he’s coming from. But not until you’re ready, of course.” He tosses me a smile. I can see that he is a heartbreaker. He’s got dark hair and dark eyes and definitely has a ‘dangerous man’ vibe going on. He raises a pierced (with three barbells!) eyebrow at me. “Are you ready to go back to the house? I don’t want Connor to think I’m making moves on you. He may think I’m a slut but I know where to draw the line.” He punctuates ‘slut’ with an eye roll.
I think over that last comment as we put away the last few items and start walking back to the house. I don’t know what exactly it was about the way he said it, but the eye roll makes it seem like he’s hurt by being called a slut? Or by having his friends think he’s a slut? There’s a story there for sure. I’m in no place to get that story, though. I just met the guy. I am a helper by nature, though, so I reach up and touch his arm to stop him before we get to the house.
“Hey Ryder,” I say quietly. “I’m a complete stranger to you, and please tell me to fuck off if I’m overstepping, but if you ever need a friend with a sympathetic ear I’m your gal, ok?”
He looks at me like he can’t figure me out. He thinks for a minute before holding his hand out. “Give me your phone for a sec.” Then he takes my phone and types something before giving it back. “My phone is in the house, so I just texted myself. Now I have your number and you have mine. I might just take you up on that offer, Alex. Making new friends in this business is tough. And my old friends… Well, let’s just say I’m fucking that up pretty well on my own.” He slips his arm over my shoulder and starts walking again. “Now let’s get in there, pal, and see what those assholes are up to. I’ll even help you cook. As you can see, I’m wasting away here.” he laughs.
“Alright friend,” I laugh with him. “How good are you at grating cheese?”
Chapter 35
Connor - We’re All Sketchy Fucks
