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Eric simply chuckled as he threw his arm around her and herded her towards the door. She waited for Nathan to open the front door before she tried to pull away again, but Eric simply tightened his hold around her and pulled her into the house.
She loved Alice, she really did, but she was so damn tired. She hadn't slept much during their twenty-four hour shift on Wednesday and got even less sleep during the next night when they came together and even less during the weekend. It was a struggle just to stay awake at the moment. All she wanted to do was sleep.
"This is too perfect," Nathan said, chuckling softly as he stepped into the kitchen in front of them.
Biting back a yawn, Joe followed him into the kitchen wondering what was so amusing when she saw it, or rather her. Sitting at the table chatting with Alice was a twenty-something bleach blond woman wearing an eye catching blouse that sadly didn't have much cle**age to fill it out and a calculating expression that landed on Eric.
Why hadn't she realized this was why Alice called a family dinner? Because she'd been too exhausted to think straight. Well, it looked like Alice was making another attempt to fix Eric up and she suddenly found herself very much awake and ready to be entertained. Was it wrong to start a relationship by screwing him over?
She didn't think so.
Just because they were free to be with each other and didn't have to hold anything back shouldn't mean that they couldn't have a little fun and judging by the look the woman was sending Eric she was going to have a lot of fun.
"Amber, this is my son Nathan and my Joe," she said, gesturing towards her and she didn't miss the look of dismissal the woman gave her before it shifted right back to Eric, "and my son Eric that I was telling you about."
Joe didn't even bother hiding her grin as she ducked out from beneath Eric's arm and avoided his mad grab. "It's nice to meet you, Amber," she said sweetly as she sent Eric an evil little grin and eyebrow wiggle.
"Very nice to meet you, Amber," Nathan seconded, sending her a wink.
This really was going to be so much fun, she decided as she took a seat next to Alice and gave the older woman a kiss on the cheek. She wasn't too surprised when Eric tried to yank Nathan out of the way so that he could sit next to her, but Nathan was fast. He had his butt in the seat next to hers and his arm draped over the back of her chair in seconds.
Eric glared at Nathan as he reluctantly sat down in the only other chair available, the one right next to Amber. As soon as Eric sat down she shifted her chair closer to him.
"What's for dinner, mom?" Nathan asked.
"I thought we'd order in. What are you in the mood for?" she asked brightly as she watched Amber and Eric with a pleased little smile.
"I could go for Chinese," Joe said, deciding that now that she got her second wind she was hungry.
"Pizza," Nathan said, giving a strand of her hair a playful tug.
She noticed that Amber squished her face up in disgust. Alice must have noticed it as well. "What would you like, Amber? Chinese or pizza?"
"Neither actually. There's too many carbs and fat. But I know a great tofu place," she added with a smile that clearly stated that she always got her way and this time would be no different.
As much as she'd love to screw over the guys, she was not a tofu kind of girl. The one time she tried tofu she ended up slapping a hand over her mouth as she made a run for the bathroom. The matching grimaces on the guys' faces told her exactly what they thought on the matter. Even Alice had a hard time biting back a grimace.
"What about the Chinese buffet on Harrison Street? That has a tofu and sushi bar," Eric said, already getting to his feet. Nathan sighed with obvious relief as he got to his.
"That sounds great," Alice said, latching onto the choice that would save them all from eating things that scared them.
The only one that didn't get up was Amber. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking putout as she explained, "But it's not organic."
"Hmmm," Alice said, looking thoughtful and making Eric look nervous and for good reason. The woman was up to something and they all knew it. The only question at the moment was how hard was this going to make Nathan and her laugh.
"Why don't you take Amber to the restaurant that she feels more comfortable with and Nathan, Joe, and I will grab something to eat and meet you at the movies," Alice suggested.
"Movie?" she said at the same time as Nathan and Eric.
"Since when are we seeing a movie?" Eric demanded, shifting away from Amber as she sent a smug smile his way. Seriously, where did Alice find these women? Even though it entertained her, it was a bit creepy.
"I think it would be a nice chance to spend some time together," Alice said in that motherly tone that none of them dared argue. It didn't matter that they all saw each other at least twice a week, Alice wanted to go the movies then they were going to the movies.
"That sounds like fun," she said brightly, sending Eric another evil little smile that was met with a scowl.
"Fine, but Nathan should bring Amber since he loves tofu," Eric explained as he reached out and grabbed Nathan by the arm and yanked him out of his way. In seconds he was by her side with his arm around her. The glare Amber sent her way was a little concerning, but she shrugged it off mostly because the woman was providing her with free entertainment.
"No, I don't. I love Chinese," Nathan grumbled.
"Don't be silly, Eric. You take Amber out and we'll meet at Emerald Cinemas at nine," Alice said, grabbing her purse off the kitchen counter and heading towards the living room door as if everything was settled, but she knew Eric wasn't about to let this go. Even if they weren't seeing each other now she knew he'd do anything and everything to get out of this.
"Mom, I have something I have to tell you," Eric said, giving her shoulder a squeeze.
"Oh? What is it?" Alice asked, pausing by the door.
"I can't take your friend out because Joe and I have decided to start seeing each other," he explained. "So, as you can see it would be a little awkward taking another woman out and ditching my girlfriend," he pointed out with a helpless shrug.
Amber's glare on her intensified as Alice narrowed her eyes on them.
"Joe?" was all Alice had to say.
She could confirm Eric's story and get the woman who looked close to clawing her eyes out the hell away from her or she could have a little more fun. In the end she knew what she had to do. She loved him and knew how much he hated these little setups of Alice's.
