“Aaaaaargh!”
My whole upper body is being crushed in an embrace so fierce I feel like a car at a wrecking yard, but it’s been a while since I’ve had a Martha hug, so I’ll handle the compaction. And the jiggling. And the general assertion of strength and dominance she need not apply to me, but can’t seem to tone down after being raised by miners.
“You’rehere. I almost thought you wouldn’t come. It’s too good to be true, and I still can’t believe I get to keep a sister for more than a week at Christmas.Aaaaargh!”
I’m jostled around a little longer before I’m finally released, and then I hug her in a calmer, more comfortable manner. Then I show her I can also speak her language by squeezing her as hard as I can… which makes her burst out laughing.
“Little sister, we havegotto get you into the site gym to build some muscle. The guys won’t take you seriously around here if they don’t think you can help with any of the heavy lifting.”
“Bulking up is out of the question,” I say, keeping my face dead-serious. “I need to maintain a certain weak, diminutive look because it makes stronger people feel good about themselves when they can offer to help. Their choice between helping or not helping also gives them a sense of power and control, which most people enjoy, and raising morale aids productivity, so ego boosts are always a priority in my line of work. You see? I don’t need to work out.”
Martha laughs and throws an arm around my shoulders as she guides me toward her trailer. “I love your jokes.”
“I love that you know I was joking.”
She chuckles again and welcomes me inside. “That one was obvious. The truth would be that you don’t need to work out because if you had to move something heavy, you’d use physics to do it single-handedly and in half the time, while you show a whole team of beefy fuckers that they’re the one’s who should ask foryourhelp. You hungry?”
I shake my head.
“Beer, then. And don’t tell me your lack of appetite stems from the two-hour drive with Dad. Did he put you off your food? He doesn’t actually mean to rub you the wrong way. He really tries, Lana. I swear.”
I take the beer she’s offering and watch her drink as she pulls out sandwich fixings for herself.
“Dadcanhave that effect on me,” I admit, taking a drink. “Mostly I still feel full from three flights worth of mile-high delicacies.”
Martha covers her mouth as she rushes to swallow her mouthful of beer before cracking up. “Lana.You made that sound like you fucked big-dicked guys on every plane here.”
I laugh-snuffle a little myself as I scrunch my nose. “Yeah, upon review, I can hear that now. I didn’t do that.”
“Well, duh,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Three flights would likely mean three different guys, and you’re the monogamous type.”
“I am,” I agree with a smile as I sit at her little table and sip my beer. “I did fuck a big-dicked guy last night, though. And I do still kind of feel full inside. Is that normal, or is it a big-dick thing? It’s a big-dick thing, isn’t it? That’s why you made special mention when I said about feeling full of mile-high stuff.”
Martha stares at me. She abandons her sandwich and comes to sit opposite me at the table.
“You fucked a big dick last night?”
“Yes. Twice.”
Martha sips her beer as she processes that.
“Twice, huh? You must have liked it, then.”
“Very much,” I reply with a grin.
Martha tries to suppress her matching smile, then nods. “Good. I’m pleased you found someone decent to help you with that.”
“Me too.” The residual high that had come back at recalling my time with Bates fades when I consider the reality of the situation. “I gave him my email address, but I don’t think he’ll use it.”
“Why not?”
“It’s… complicated. At first I thought he might not want it — he’s older, and I’m… me. We had an amazing time together, but today… today I learned he’s on the rebound from some hard things, and he’s also got a work situation that’ll make it really hard for him to… email me.” I shrug and study my beer.
“But you liked each other?”
I nod. “Ireallyliked him.”
“And his big dick,” Martha says with a giggle.
