Constructing Us (New Adult Romance) (8 page)

After his parents left, Tragan
found Andy at the kitchen sink.  She was pulling her hair up into a messy knot at the back of her head, which exposed more of her neck.  He stepped closer, leaned on the counter beside the sink.  “Well, the good news is that my parents had an awesome time.  They absolutely love you.”

“
Oh, good…” Andy said, reaching for the dishwashing soap.

“T
he bad news is that for the rest of her days my mother will now be saying: ‘Why can’t you meet a girl like Andy’?

She gave a laugh at that.  “
Technically you did
meet
me,” she pointed out.

“You know what I mean,” Tragan said.  “S
eriously, I can see it now.  ‘Tragan, that stripper you brought home for Thanksgiving?  Why can’t she be more like Andy?’”

Andy shot him a look
.  “Stripper?  Really?”

He shrugged.  “
You never know,” he said, grinning.

“Personally,
I think you should set your sights a little higher,” Andy remarked, tilting her head at him--then corrected herself.  “I shouldn’t say that, because I don’t actually know… Tragan, are you seeing anyone now?”

He shook his head. 
“Nope, no,” he said, straightening up a little.  “I’m keeping my options open,” he added for some unknown reason.  He felt like an idiot as soon as he’d said it. 

“
That’s good,” she said generically and set more plates into the sink.  As she swished them with soapy water, Tragan found himself thinking about what his mom had said at the door. 

“So
are you always this great to people’s parents?” he fished.  “Or…”

“Or what?”
 

When she blinked at him, waiting, he lightened his tone, made it more joking. 
“Or is there just something
special
about Mari and Jack Barrett?”

H
er gaze returned to the dishes in the sink as she proclaimed, “They’re very easy to talk to, for real.  I don’t know why you were worried.”

“I wasn’t
worried
.”

“Sure,” she said
, teasing him.  “Really, though, I had fun hanging out with them.  Does your mom have a slight accent?”

“Oh, yeah, she was born in
Portugal.  Her family moved here when she was fourteen or fifteen.  She’s been here for over thirty years so there’s only a trace of the accent.  But it comes out a lot stronger when Portuguese relatives come to visit or when she’s talking to my grandmother.”

“You know, you’
re lucky your parents are still together.  When my dad moved to Switzerland, it was supposed to be a year or so.  We didn’t know he’d end up staying forever.”

When her voice trailed off,
Tragan probed, “Do you ever see him?”

Andy nodded.  “
Oh, sure, on Skype.  Emma and I visited him in Zurich about two years ago, and he came to the hospital in Chicago when I was sick.  Plus, we talk on the phone and email a lot.”

“That’s
cool.”

“Yeah, he’s a good dad.  But it’s still not the same as having my mom and him still together
, like yours.”

Selfishly, Tragan was impatient to switch topics. 
He loved his parents to death but he didn’t want to talk about them right now.  And he didn’t want to talk about Andy’s parents, either.  “Hey--are you and Brad serious?” he blurted. 

Andy appeared s
tartled by the shift in subject.  At first she hesitated, without replying.  But Tragan held her gaze anyway, determined to learn the answer.

Finally
, she shrugged.  “Yeah, I mean, maybe, sure, could be,” she floundered, breaking their eye contact to reach for a towel.  Rubbing it over a wet plate, she babbled on, “He’s a great guy and, you know, I’ve known him for a couple years now, um…plus, we’re still young, it’s not like we have to make any decisions right now…but…my mother likes him and…enh.” 

“
Enh?
” Tragan repeated skeptically.  “That doesn’t sound good.”

“No,
no,” she backpedaled, “I mean…Brad’s great.”

“Right, y
ou said that.”

“And he’s very smart--e
xtremely smart.”

“I’m sure
he is,” Tragan agreed (since the guy
was
a doctor, after all). 

“
Above all, though, he’s aware of my whole situation and he’s very understanding about it.”

Tragan t
ipped his head at that, confused.  “What situation?”

Andy
averted her eyes, almost shyly this time.  “Tragan, you know. The Bronsteg thing.” Half-heartedly, he gave a nod, although he really didn’t want to validate that.  She seemed healthy to him, and besides that, he didn’t want to act like she had such a bad situation.  “Who knows, we’ll see.”  She let the dishtowel drop on the counter.  “Wow, I’ve been rambling.  You know what? I’m just gonna finish up these dishes tomorrow.  I’m tired,” she insisted a little too abruptly. 

“Okay.” 
He had to assume that his seemingly simple question had hit a nerve. 

Before she left, she paused.
“Hey, can I ask
you
a question?”

“Sure
, of course.”

“How come you and
Ethan never became friends when he was living here?  I know he can be sort of prickly and elitist, but Ethan’s actually a good guy.”

“I believe you,” Tragan said
casually, then shrugged.  “Honestly, I didn’t really know him too well.  He always seemed so serious, I guess.  By the way, why did he want to go to grad school in London anyway?  Why not around here?”

“
He said it was a great program,” Andy replied.  “Also, he’s been talking to this girl online for a while and she lives over there.” 

“Ah
.  That explains everything.”

“What
do you mean?” Andy asked, squinting her eyes a bit.

“Nothing, just…sometimes guys will do a lot for a girl, that’s all.
”  Then, returning to her original question, Tragan edged closer. “But hey, regardless of Ethan… You and
I
are friends…right?”

When she
smiled at him, her face lit up and it almost undid him.  He was about to reach out, pull her into his arms and take a chance--to finally kiss that luscious mouth--when she said, “Yes.  We’re friends.” 

Damn.  Even though he’d stupidly set himself up for that, he hated the sound of it. 

As she headed to her room, Tragan called after her.  “Listen--you really helped me out tonight.  If there’s ever anything I can do for you, just let me know okay?  So we can call it even.”

There was a momentary pause
. “You know what?  There is something,” Andy told him as she walked back to him.

Tragan’s
heart rate kicked up, having the sudden notion that Andy might slide her hands up his chest and press her supple, sexy body into his.  If she did, he would unleash such heat on her, he couldn’t guarantee they’d even make it to the bedroom before they were both going at it like animals. 

“You know
how you tend to pile your dirty, sweaty clothes on the floor--in a, sort of, inconvenient heap that’s blocking the dryer?” Andy said.  “Which is charming, by the way.”

Inwardly, Tragan sighed, disappointed.  So much for hot, relentless sex in the kitchen. 
“Yes…?”

“I was thinking that maybe you could use a hamper instead?
”

Tragan’s eyes dropped down for a second, before returning to hers.  “So th
at’s all you want from me?  My disgusting laundry out of your way.”

“
Well, I wouldn’t call it ‘disgusting.’”

“Fine, I’ll get a hamper.”

“Specifically I was hoping you could use one with a lid--like I have?  I’ll pick you up one.” 

“
Andy, I think I can buy my own hamper,” Tragan said, trying not to sound churlish. 

“If you’re sure.  I have no problem tre
ating you; it could be, like, an early Arbor Day present.”

So she wanted to be a smartass.  “Hamper with
a lid,” he bit out, glaring at her--and fighting a grin.  “Got it.  Anything else?”

“No, that’s it.
  For
now
.”  She gave him a sweet little wave that exuded sarcasm.  “’Night, roomie!”

Watching her go, h
e blew out a breath of laughter, in spite of himself.  He shook his head as he heard her bedroom door close.  Now that he was alone in the kitchen, there seemed only one logical thing for him to do.  In fact, he wasn’t clear on anything else at that moment except for this. 

He stepped up to the sink and did the rest of the dishes.

The following night, Tragan’s friend, Matt, was over watching
basketball.  As the first half of the game neared its end, Tragan leaned back in his armchair, restlessly tossing a rubber ball in the air and catching it.  “Damn, Tray, what is your roommate cooking right now?  And how can we get in on it?”

“No clue,” Tragan
replied, his head tipping toward the ceiling as his eyes followed the movement of the ball.  “But she always tells me when it’s ready.”

Just then Andy’s bedroom door opened and she emerged,
looking different than Matt remembered.  More decked out.  Tonight she had eye makeup on, lip gloss, her hair curled.  She wore high-heeled boots that extended over her jeans--a look Matt usually found pretty sexy.  He glanced over at Tragan and found him noticing her, as well. 

“Oh, hey,
Matt,” she said when she saw him on the couch, and began clicking her way toward the front door. 

“Hey.”

“
Unh
, Andy, you missed most of the first half,” Tragan told her, jerking his head toward the screen.

Her sarcasm matched his, as she snapped her fingers and said, “
Oh,
darn
…” 

Tragan grinned at her.  “Heading out?”

“Yes.  Brad’s downstairs.  But listen, I made quiche lorraine, if you guys are interested.”

“
Let’s see, ‘quiche’ ‘lorraine,’” Matt said, repeating each word distinctly and looking doubtful.  “Sounds kinda girly to me.”

“If Andy made it, it’s awesome,” Tragan said, tossing the rubber ball high
and catching it.  When he caught her eyes, she smiled at him.  “Fortunately, I’m very secure in my masculinity, so I’ll be inhaling that in a minute.”

“Okay, me, too,”
Matt agreed.  Then he looked over his shoulder at Andy.  “Thanks.”

“No problem.  Let me know how it is. 
Also Tragan, would you do me a favor?  I forgot to set the
DVR
up, but there’s a movie on
LMN
I wanted to see.  It starts at midnight.  Can you record it for me?”

“Sure.  Um, d
on’t you think you’ll be back by then?” he asked, sounding nonchalant though Matt sensed the question wasn’t completely casual.

When Andy
flipped a blonde wave over her shoulder, she revealed a sparkly earring dangling from her ear.  “No, Brad and I are actually going out with another couple.  They work at the hospital and they got tickets to see the
Pops
.  Then we’re all doing dinner and they might show us their new townhouse, so I doubt it.”

Though
Tragan said, “Cool, have fun,” his tone was flat.  He’d stopped tossing the ball now, and seemed to be absently compressing it in his hand. 

“Thanks, bye, guys,” Andy said with a wave,
continuing to the door.

After
she left, Matt remarked, “So Andy’s cool.”

“She’s got a boyfriend already,” Tragan said abruptly. 

“Uh, yeah--I kind of put that together myself,” Matt replied sarcastically.  She’d basically said as much when she’d detailed her plans tonight.  Besides it wasn’t like Matt was thinking of hitting on her; it was just a harmless observation. 

Suddenly Tragan rose from his chair.  “Want another beer?” 

“Um, sure.”

As Tragan headed toward the kitchen,
Matt sensed his friend’s mood had changed.  Tray seemed curt all of a sudden--irritable. 
Oh, no
.  With a quiet sigh, Matt shook his head, hoping he was wrong.  That Tragan wasn’t jealous of this guy Brad.  That his friend wasn’t catching feelings for Andy.  Because what were the odds it could end well?  As Matt had learned himself once: falling for a girl with a boyfriend was simply asking for trouble.

“Guys, I need a favor--quick!”
  It was the next evening and Andy’s plea was addressed to Tragan and Bardo, who were slacked out in front of the TV.  For half a second, she became distracted by the screen.  “Oh, my gosh,
more
basketball?” she said.  “Is it ever not on TV?”

“It’s March,” Bardo explained
, holding out his hands as though the logic was obvious--yet this didn’t appear to clarify anything.  

“What’s up?” Tragan
broke in, getting back to the subject of her favor. 

Andy said:
“My mom’s on her way up.  We’re supposed to go shopping for my nephew’s birthday presents and then out to eat.  But she wants to come up and use the bathroom first.”

“
And you’re out of toilet paper?” Bardo ventured.

“No.”

“Hand soap?”

“Can you just let her talk?” Trag
an said, silencing his friend and muting the game with the remote.

“The thing is…she doesn’t technically know about you, Tragan.
”

“Which part?”
he asked, confused.

“Mm, the part about you existing.  See, she thinks I live with a girl. 
It was just easier to tell her that.  She’s been here before, of course, but never when you were home.  So I always just told her that ‘Helga’ was out--”

“
Who?
”

“Oh, yeah, I told her that my roommate’s name was Helga,” Andy explained, then gave a hapless shrug.  “It was the first name that came to mind when she asked me.”

“Wow, Helga’s kind of a manly name for a girl,” Bardo remarked, then looked encouragingly at Tragan.  “You should be flattered.”

Suddenly there was a light rap at the door and Andy almost ju
mped.  Her blue eyes went wide and pleading, gazing mostly at Tragan.  “Please, just play along, okay?”

Tragan nodded and Bardo gave her a thumbs-
up.

“Hi, mom!  Come in,” Andy said warmly and led her mother into the apartment.  Immediately Tragan saw a res
emblance between the two women--the pretty blue eyes, the blonde hair, the petite frame.  Though, Andy’s hair fell loosely past her shoulders, while her mother’s was pulled back into some coiled, uptight-looking hairstyle. 

“Guys, this is my mother, Kathryn.  Mom, you know my roommate, Helga?”

“No, unfortunately I still haven’t met her,” Kathryn stated, cautiously eying the two men in the living room.

“Well,
I just meant--this is Helga’s boyfriend, Jamie,” Andy said, pointing to Bardo. 

“Hey, how’s it going?” he said, tipping his head back to
look at her.

“And that’s Jamie’s friend, Tragan,” Andy finished.

Unlike Bardo, Tragan bothered to rise up, walk around to her and extend his hand.  “Hi.  Nice to meet you,” he said.  When Kathryn took his hand, she smiled more graciously at him than she had at Bardo, who remained seated, with his arm spread across the back of the sofa.

“
Um, the bathroom’s right there,” Andy threw in with a little, nervous-sounding laugh.  “Well, you’ve been here before, so obviously you know that.”

“I’ll just be a moment.” 
Then Kathryn paused and said, “Actually, is Helga home today?  I’d love to say hello finally.”

“Oh, you know what?  She’s not,” Andy said quickly.  “
She
was
here, but…then she ran out to get a pizza for Jamie.  He was hungry.”

At that,
Kathryn made an unmistakably disapproving face and even slid Bardo a chastising look, albeit brief.  “Hmph, well, times have sure changed,” she muttered under her breath (though Tragan managed to hear it), and then stepped into the bathroom. 

As
Andy walked back toward the sofa, Bardo whispered to her: “Hey, wait--you didn’t make me look like a good boyfriend.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s true, Andy,” Tragan agreed, sitting back down.  “Sitting on your ass while you send your girl out for pizza?  That’s kind of a scumbag move.”

“Yes,” Bardo agreed, slapping his own thigh, “
that’s
what I’m saying!”

“I’m sorry!” she said softly, checking over her shoulder for signs of her mom.  “I wasn’t thinking.”

With some measure of concern, Tragan looked up at Andy’s face, and met her eyes.  “So…you really think…your mom wouldn’t be cool with me?” he asked.  A beat passed before he qualified, “I mean, you know, as a roommate.”

Andy’s expression seemed to soften, as she tilted her head and studied him.  “Tragan, it’
s not personal, believe me.  She’s just protective.  She didn’t even want me to move out, but she was being supportive.  She’s sort of old-fashioned, you know?”

When Kathryn stepped out of the bathroom, Andy beamed a smile at her.  “Ready?”

On their way to the door, Bardo piped up.  “I’ll tell Helga you said hello!”  Tragan nearly rolled his eyes.  Apparently his friend was futilely trying to convince the woman that he wasn’t a jackass boyfriend.  “We have a very good relationship,” Bardo insisted with a smile.  “She, uh, always gets my pizza just right.”

Kathryn Delphin’s smile seemed strained.
“Isn’t that nice?” she gritted out, as Andy led her to the door.

As soon as they left, Tragan burst out laughing. 

“What?”

“Nothing, bro.  Oh, game’s back,” Tragan said, reaching for the remote.

“Did I make it worse?” Bardo said.

“Nah, it doesn’t even matter,” Tragan told him as he un-muted the TV.

After a few moments, Bardo said, “So, buddy…do you have a thing for Andy now?”

Slanting his friend a suspicious look
, Tragan sort of ducked the question.  “Why would you say that?”

Bardo shrugged, still facing the screen.  “I don’t know, it just seemed like you wanted her mom to like you.”

At that, Tragan barked out a laugh.  “
I
did?  Man, what about you?  ‘I’ll tell Helga you said hello’?”

Bardo held up a hand to explain.  “Hey, if Helga existed--and was into me--and was willing to pay a
little attention to detail--I’m sure she
would
get my pizza just right.”

Amused
, Tragan said nothing, because if Bardo’s logic made him happy, who was Tragan to argue with it?

~

An hour or so later, Matt and Pellican showed up with two jumbo cartons of Buffalo wings.  As everyone descended on the food, Pellican announced, “Just a reminder--
don’t forget
--you guys are helping me move on Saturday.”

“Yep.”

“We know.”

“And just so you know, it’s going to be back-breaking and intensive work,” Pellican went on, “so plan on being there all day.”

Matt snorted as he pried off his bottle cap.  “You’re really selling it, man.”

“I just want to be upfront with it
and honest,” Pellican said.  “I’ve got a lot of stuff, so be prepared to lift more than just pillows.”

Impatiently, Tragan interrupted, “I lift heavy shit all day long.  I think I can handle it.”

Meanwhile Bardo pressed two fingers to his throat, looking mildly distressed.  “I think I’m coming down with a touch of something.”

“Bullshit,”
Pellican said with a warning tone.  “Your ass better be there.”

Bardo slumped in his seat, accepting his fate.  With a chuckle,
Matt tapped him on the arm.  “It was a decent try.”

“Oh, by the way,
” Pellican said, relaxing his tone now and reaching toward the carton.  “My sister’s helping, too, and she said she’ll probably bring her friend, Hailey.  Tragan, I think you might be feeling her.”

“
Really?” Tragan said, though he was not particularly interested. 

“
Yeah, Hailey’s really cute,” Pellican told him.  “You know that girl Mia you used to date?  Hailey sort of looks like her.  I think she’s your type.”

“Okay,” Tragan said
with an acquiescent shrug, which was his way of saying “we’ll see.”  Deep down he knew it wasn’t going to happen.  Even if Pellican’s sister’s friend was cute as hell, Tragan was already way too into somebody else.  As frustrating as this whole Andy thing was, right now she was the only girl he wanted--and the only girl he could picture as his.