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“I think I will too,” she said. “Hot chocolate seems out of place. Tea too.”
“Drink what you want,” he said. “I won’t judge.”
“You mean like you just did over my lack of coffee in the house?”
“Caught,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
She got out the two stouts she’d had. He’d had one at dinner so she figured he’d be fine with it. She poured them into glasses and handed his over.
“We can go sit in the living room. Fred will do what he has to and come join us at some point.”
“That’s nice and easy,” he said.
“It is. It took time to get him that way but so worth it in the end.”
“So, I’ve got to know. What made you go into your field of study? You don’t look like it’s what you do. Not trying to be sexist or judgmental or anything.”
“No worries about it,” she said. “I think I was nerdy in school. At least people said I was because I was smart, but I never looked the part. If you know The Five, then you know Ella. She’s a little fashion plate.”
“I’ve heard but not spent a lot of time around her.”
“That’s right. She would have been in college when you moved to Charlotte.” Faith took a sip of her beer. “Ella was a tomboy when she was younger. She always wanted to keep up with her brothers. But then one day she decided she was going to be a girl. Because we were the only two girls in the family, she wanted to make sure I was girly like her.”
“I find it hard to believe you just followed along like that,” he said.
“I didn’t, but I did look up to her. She’d take me shopping when she was older and we’d have fun. I do like to look nice. Just because I’m smart doesn’t mean I need to wear dull and boring clothing or things that aren’t in fashion or don’t fit. I’m not like Ella and never will be. She has more clothes than a department store.”
He laughed. “I never understood that. There are only so many days in a week and why buy something that is just going to not get worn?”
“You sound a little like my cousin Ivan. He’s pretty basic. We say he’s cheap, but I don’t want to say you are. It’s mean, but it’s a running joke that he doesn’t like to spend money. He went to school for economics. I’m getting off course and I never do that. My point is, how I look doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that I love science. Mason and I bonded over that. If you know The Five then you know Mason is a black belt, right? That he does martial arts?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I hadn’t realized it at first. I mean he was always more cut than his brothers. Brody is just big, but Mason is crazy full of muscles.”
“And has a biology degree too,” she said, holding her glass up to him.
“Guess you put me in my place.”
“No reason for it. You asked a question and I answered. The truth is, I always liked science but never saw myself being a doctor. Not the amount of schooling it would take or dealing with people. I can’t stand being around people all that much.”
“Could have fooled me,” he said.
“I tolerate them when I have to. But if I had to deal with patients I’d go nuts. I’m sure you can understand in your line of work. You had to have been an officer at one point, right?”
“I was,” he said. “And yes, there are some crazy annoying people out there that you have to put up with so I can understand how much worse it’d be with patients.”
“That’s right,” she said. “The only people talking to me are my coworkers and most of them are pretty quiet. Well, not true, but the ones I like being around are. We are a lot alike and focused on our jobs. What about you? Why did you want to go into law enforcement?”
“I’ve seen enough of what I consider wrong in my life. I didn’t want to be that person. I guess it has more to do with wanting to go the opposite route of some things I lived or saw.”
“If you ever want to talk about it, you can,” she said. “But I won’t ask.”
“I’m sure you’ll hear about it if your family finds out we are dating.”
Hmmm. “Maybe you should tell me so I can get it from the source. Though my aunt is a busybody and nosy, she isn’t a gossip.”
At least not mean about it.
“I know,” he said. “I’ll keep it simple. My mother wasn’t the most faithful of wives. My father knew and turned a blind eye more than once. Why, I have no idea. That’s on him.”
