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"But I didn't want to leave you alone all day."
I felt a smile pull at my lips at that. "Hi, have we met? I'm Dusty and I've been locked in my apartment all by myself, Rocky aside, for years."
He gave me a ghost of a smile at that. "Yeah, but that was your apartment. This is a hotel room you're not comfortable in yet."
"Ryan, really, I might be a bit of a nervous nellie, but I'm a big girl."
He sucked in a breath then, giving me an apologetic smile. "I'm afraid it's too late..."
"Too late for what? Is Eli or Mark coming to hang out or something?" I asked, not entirely opposed to either.
Sometime during my shower, sore in muscles I hadn't used in ages, having beard burn across my chest, belly, and inner thighs and deciding I liked that way too much, I liked him way too much to ruin it, I decided to make some kind of action plan like my shrink always told me about to help me progress, to get better. I didn't get a chance to flesh it out beyond that thought, but I figured socializing with his family was a step forward. If I could get completely comfortable with them, then I could maybe be okay with the idea of possibly handling a family function.
That would be huge.
"Eli and Mark have something they need to do with me today actually. So, ah..."
Okay, seeing him a little stressed was charming. But I knew how that felt so I let him out of his misery. "Who then?"
"Fee and Lea. They're Hunter and Shane's women. They've been wanting to meet you and I thought..." he trailed off, sighing. "I probably should have asked first, but I invited them."
Okay.
That was okay.
No reason to freak.
It wasn't like they were interviewing me as a potential family member or anything. Except, let's get real, they totally would be.
I had a momentary pang of longing for a stash of makeup. Some coverup for the bruises, some lipstick, anything.
"Dusty, they're pretty chill chicks, okay? There's nothing to freak out about. Fee is going to show up dressed like she stepped out of a fucking fashion magazine because that's how she is and Lea is gonna be in jeans, tee, and combat boots because that's how she is. They're both going to curse a lot and likely make highly inappropriate sexual jokes because that's what they do. But they're not going to poke and prod at you about anything. They both have pasts too."
I took a deep breath, figuring I could deal with a little cursing and sexual remarks. I mean, his sister-in-law ran a phone sex business. That was kind of expected.
"Alright," I said with a nod as I forced myself to eat my food.
In fact, the more I thought about it, the more interested I got. I wanted to know about his family dynamic. I wanted to see the people he loved so deeply. And maybe a part of me too was excited about the idea of being around some women for a change. My life had been hyper-masculine since I stopped being able to leave my house. Aside from my seeing the woman who lived below me go about her daily life, and the sessions with my shrink, I literally had no contact with women. I had my uncle and Bry. I had the landlord when I occasionally needed him. Now I had Ryan and a bit of Eli and Mark. It would be kind of nice to have some girl talk again.
"You alright? You're quiet."
I smiled up at him, having momentarily forgotten he was actually there. "Sorry. Quiet is still my default," I admitted. "I'm not used to having someone around to talk to. I'm fine. When are they coming?"
"Knowing them, fifteen minutes earlier than I plan on them being here. Just to be pains in the ass. Though Fee tends to run more toward late with the kids now."
"Oh," I said, feeling another little thrill. "Are the kids coming?" I asked, hearing the eagerness in my own voice.
You didn't go into teaching kindergarten if you didn't like kids. They were loud and crazy and stressful and unpredictable and not everyone found those qualities cute and endearing. I, for one, always had. I loved every minute of being in my classroom- from the way they would light up when they finally learned all their letters to listening to the God-awful off-key way they would sing along to the glitter spills and glue mishaps and fighting over toys. I loved every second of it.
And it felt like a big part of me was missing since I lost that.
"No," he said, looking apologetic. "Not today. I thought maybe that would be a lot all at once. My nieces are cute as fuck, but they're a handful. Becca especially. Fee blames all of us for her. Says we let her get away with anything she wants."
