The Fix (Carolina Connections #1) (11 page)

“It adds interest and draws the eye vertically – very slimming,”
She said.

I was all for slimming, but still. “You don’t think I look a bit
like…a vagina?”

She gasped just as the doorbell rang. “Shoes!” she shouted.

Oh well, too late. I shoved on the torture devices she threw at me
and headed out to the living room. I paused as I noted for the umpteenth time
this week that the cockeyed board in the hallway floor lay flat where it had
once caused countless stubbed toes as if that had been its sole purpose on this
earth. Nate had fixed it on Saturday and dammit if I didn’t think of him every
time I walked down the hall.
Sigh
. I forced thoughts of Nate aside and
entered the living room where Gavin sat on the couch.

“Doorbell,” he said oh-so-helpfully. Then he looked me up and
down. “
That's a lot of pink. No offense, but you
kind of look like a–”

“You must be Alex!” Fiona opened the front door with a flourish.

I
knew
it! Crap! Too late now.

Alex stepped inside. Annette hadn’t lied – he was super cute. Short-ish
blond hair spiked up in artful disarray and a thin nose held a pair of cool
hipster glasses with black frames. He was taller than me in my heels so that
was good and he had great cheekbones, but no scruff, I noticed. Oh well. He
wore a gray short sleeved button down and black pants. Skinny pants. Huh. How
did I feel about that?

Fiona swept to the side like the little hostess she is. She
motioned to herself. “I’m Fiona, the best friend. That’s Gavin, the brother.”
She spared Gavin the slightest gesture and then motioned to me as if presenting
Alex to the queen. “And this…is Laney.” Jesus, was she going to curtsey next?

Alex’s face broke into a smile. “
Wow,
Laney, you look beautiful. I love pink.”

Cough.
Shut up, Gavin!

“Thanks.
You look nice too.”
Didn't they have those pants in your size? I
guess I’d figured out my feelings about the pants after all.

God, stop being a bitch, Laney!

He really did have a great smile – nice, even
white teeth. But no dimple. Well that’s okay, not everyone can have an awesome
dimple.

Come on, give him a chance!

Fiona looked at me and seemed to be attempting
to communicate the same command.
Let’s do this!
“Well, have fun, kids!”
she chirped and ushered us out the door.

The drive to the restaurant went as expected
for a first date – some overly long silences and some talking over each other
in an attempt to ease the awkwardness. Just normal first date stuff.

“I thought we'd try out this new sushi place,”
Alex said.

“Oh, okay.” A bit of a risk for a first date,
wasn’t it? Not everybody likes sushi.
Shut up! You like sushi just fine.
“Sounds great!”

We arrived at the restaurant and he opened my
door for me. Gotta love a guy with manners. He kept his hand on the small of my
back all the way to our table which, while not prompting the flight of any
butterflies, was nice.

After we were comfortably seated and had a chance to look over
the menu, we placed our orders with the waitress. I stuck to the basics with
California rolls, tuna and the like, but Alex went full out experimental. I
couldn’t pronounce most of what he ordered and I was a bit scared to witness
him eating it. Eek.

“
So Annette says you and Rocco
just bought your house? That's great. Isn't house hunting fun?” he said with a
smirk. Sarcasm, I like it.

“Yeah, it comes in only a close second to doing
my taxes on my list of favorite activities. But now that it’s done I love it.”
I relaxed and sipped my water.

“
I had to get a new place last
year too. I thought my daughter, Allison, would have a hard time adjusting. Her
mom stayed in our old place, you know, and we share custody.”

I nodded understandingly.

“But Allison's been an angel – handling the
divorce like a champ. Couldn't ask for a better kid.”

That’s sweet, I thought. I needed to give this
guy a chance.
“
Wow
that's great for you. I've heard that can be really hard so it sounds like you
lucked out.” I smiled at him. “There’s not even a divorce involved in my move
and I think Rocco is going to need therapy to get over it,” I joked.

“No luck about it. Allison's just the perfect
kid.” Deadpan.

Whoa, back it up there, mister
.
Isn't there some unwritten rule
that you can't call your own kid perfect out loud unless you’re using deep
sarcasm? Before I had to think of a response our waitress came with our food
and the hot sake we’d ordered. I think some of Alex’s meal was still alive.

He picked up his chopsticks.
“
So what do you like to do for
fun, Laney?”

“
Oh, you know, work and take care
of my kid mostly. That’s when I’m not flying off in my private jet to Aruba, of
course.” I popped a California roll in my mouth. Yum.

Alex shook his head and swallowed his bite. “
You’ve got to make time for yourself. You should take
up running. It's great cardio.”

Was he calling me fat?
“
Running and I don't really mix.”
You can only get hit in the face with your own boobs so many times before you have
to call it a day. “I like hiking, though, but it's hard to take a five year
old. Rocco’s ready to turn around thirty steps in,” I tried to joke again.

“
Allison loves hiking. We also do
a lot of biking together.”

I’m sure she does. And I’m sure your bike
shorts are even tighter than your pants. “That sounds like fun for you guys.” My
appetite was quickly fading. I took a large sip of my sake instead.

“It is. She’s really advanced for her age.” He
took a bite of what looked like a tentacle.

Of course she is. This date was officially
over. Why did he need to date me when he had the perfect girl at home? “Well if
I can get Rocco to sleep in his own bed by the time he's ten I'll count it as a
win on my end,” I ground out as I searched in vain for our waitress.

Completely misinterpreting my mood, he
continued,
“
My ex
and I employed a nurturing concept called the ‘family bed’. Allison sleeps with
me to this day.”

Aaaand there’s that. I was beginning to
understand the cause of his divorce – and also the reason Allison was an only
child.

“
You should embrace Rocco’s
desire for closeness,” he persisted.

I downed the rest of my sake.

Check, please.

***

“So it didn't go great?” Fiona asked, looking
disappointed.

I don’t know what gave it away, my scowl or my
complete deflation onto the couch, vagina dress splayed around me. I was
surprised to see Gavin on the recliner, leaning back in the same jeans and
t-shirt he’d had on when I’d left. I thought he’d be three sheets to the wind
by now at Jake’s.

“
Obviously,” he contributed. “That
guy was a douchecanoe.”

I couldn’t rally myself to protest. “
Is it judgy of me to find it creepy that he prefers sleeping in the same
bed as his seven year old?”

Fiona’s expression crumpled with revulsion while Gavin’s
remained steady. “Dating that twatwaffle could
only end in a
smartphone full of dick pics. Consider it a bullet dodged and move on.”

“Eww”
Fiona and I simultaneously pronounced.

Well, This Is Awkward

Nate

I
hadn’t given up. Several days of flirty texting but no date accepted, I still
had my ace in the hole with a tentative Saturday plan to resume work on her
house.

Nate:
Krispy Kreme again or should I go for Granny’s?

Laney:
Oooh. Tough choice. Surprise me.

And
just like that I had my confirmed invitation to come over tomorrow. It was
Friday afternoon and I had to swing by my parents’ house to get my dad’s
signature on a few documents. I hadn’t seen him in about a week so I was
looking forward to checking out his progress in person. My mom had told me over
the phone that he was making her nuts trying to be too active and he was
chomping at the bit to start driving again. That sounded about right.

She
was also still on her kick to find him a hobby. Bailey had brought over a few
jigsaw puzzles earlier in the week, as requested by our mom, and that had
apparently not gone over well. Some words had been exchanged about nursing
homes and bingo, and an alternative – and quite creative – suggestion was made
as to where to put the puzzles. Bailey’s visit had not lasted long.

When
I arrived I let myself in the front door and was surprised to see that Bailey
was back as well. Clearly a glutton for punishment.

“I
thought you had an appointment this afternoon.” I said.

“Canceled,”
she replied, chugging a coffee from Starbucks like it was her life’s blood.

“Does
Mom know you brought caffeine in the house?”

“I
distracted her when I came in the door so I got away with it.”

“How’d
you do that?!” I had continued to get the pat down each time I’d entered the
house.

“There
he is!” exclaimed my mother, entering the hallway and consuming me in a giant
hug. “My Nathan.”

Looking
over my mom’s shoulder at Bailey I spotted my conniving little sister’s
shit-eating grin instantly. She just shrugged her shoulders and mouthed, “Sucks
to be you.” I flipped her off immediately.

I
was way too familiar with this look from Bailey. It was the same one she got each
time she finagled her way out of trouble by throwing me under the bus. I’d
spent many nights as a teenager, grounded in my room, plotting revenge on
Bailey for just this kind of shit. It didn’t matter that I actually
had
been smoking weed behind the garage or sneaking out my bedroom window to go out
late – it was the principle of the thing. I’d been pretty successful with a few
of my revenge strategies, the best one being the time I got the whole school to
call her “Sabrina” for most of her freshman year. It was short for “Sabrina the
Teenage Bitch” and the best part was that it could be used in front of teachers
– it pissed Bailey off in the worst way. Ah, good times.

But
that was then – this was now, and she would pay – as soon as I found out what
the hell she’d done this time.

“Hi
Mom,” I said a bit warily, returning her hug with a tad less enthusiasm.

She
released me momentarily and took my face in her hands. “So handsome.”

Oh
shit. This was worse than I thought.

“Now,
tell me all about her. I can’t wait to meet her! Bailey said she has a son.
That’s just wonderful! I miss being around kids.”

Jesus
H. Macy
.

Skewering
Bailey with my best “you are fucking dead” glare, I stopped her in her tracks
as she’d been attempting to slink away.

“Let’s
go have a drink in the kitchen and you can tell me all about her and her little
boy,” my mother cooed.

Trying
desperately to get out of this conversation I asked, “Where’s Dad? I really
need him to sign some papers for me.”

She
waved me off and ushered both Bailey and me toward the table. “He’s in the
shower. He’ll be down in a bit and then you two can take care of that. Sit.”

With
little other choice I sat and mentally planned my sister’s very painful death.
Do
they still have the rack?
No, that’s too good for her.

Cups
of decaf all around and the inquisition began. “Bailey said you met her at
work? Is she Catholic? I’ll bet she’s Irish, isn’t she? Oh, no matter – I’m
sure she’s wonderful either way.” Her eyes passed between me and my sister.

At
this point Bailey jumped in and tried to save herself. “That’s just what Mark
said. I don’t really know much about it except for what he told me.”

That
bastard
. Mark was too nosy for his own good and I should
have known he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He had seen Laney at the Old Oak
Ridge site, though, so there had been no avoiding talking about her. Every guy
there had been talking about her for a week, much to Gavin’s annoyance. Which
only made the guys talk more shit, of course.

“Okay,
slow down, Mom. I just met this girl and we haven’t even gone out on a date so
hold off on the wedding plans, please.”

“But
you’ve been spending time with her, right? That sounds to me like dating.
What’s she like? I’m sure she’s really pretty, isn’t she?”

“Her
name is Laney. She’s beautiful.” I couldn’t help it – it just came out.

Bailey
shot me a surprised glance, totally unused to me saying word one about a woman.
Why did I feel like I was shooting myself in the foot?

“I
knew it.” Our mother smiled. “And how old is her son?”

“He’s
five, I think. His name is Rocco.”

“Awww,”
came the two female voices simultaneously.

Jesus
.

“I
know!” My mother straightened up suddenly. “You should invite them over for
Sunday dinner! Then we can all meet them. And it would be a great distraction
for your father.”

Before
I could protest that nothing of the sort would be happening, Bailey cut in,
“Not this again, Mom. A girlfriend or a potential grandkid is not going to keep
Dad from going back to work. You’ve got to stop with this hobby thing too. You
saw how he reacted to the puzzles. What’s it going to be next, synchronized
swimming?”

Bailey
looked to me with a sudden smirk. “We’ll have to add that to the list, Nate –
can you imagine?” She started to snicker before she realized that she’d just
fucked us both.
Have I mentioned what an utter pain in the ass my sister is?

Our
mother’s good mood evaporated instantly and the air turned thick. Her hands
gripped her coffee cup so tightly her knuckles turned white. “So, you two think
this is all a big joke,” she said with a quiet intensity we’d never heard
before. “You just wait until you see the person you love more than anything lying
on the ground afraid and in pain. Then you see how funny it is to wrack your
brain trying to think of any and every thing in your power you can do to keep
them with you – to not lose them. Laugh all you want but if puzzles or grandkids
or goddamned synchronized swimming will keep your father with me for one more
second you better believe I’ll pull out all the stops. Now, if you’ll excuse
me, I’m going to get your dad’s medicines ready for him.”

Imagine
the shittiest you’ve ever felt in your life and multiply that by ten. That’s
how pathetic Bailey and I felt sitting at the kitchen table after the
well-deserved beat-down served by our mother.

“God,
we’re such assholes,” Bailey said.

“Yup.”
She hit the nail on the head.

“I’m
going after her.” Bailey rose from her chair and left the room.

I
continued to sit and drown in the guilt. I had even lost my desire to punish Bailey,
it was that bad.

Ten minutes later,
Bailey poked her head in to tell me she was taking off and that she had
apologized and tried to smooth things over with our mom.

Looked like it was my
turn. I found her folding my dad’s t-shirts in the laundry room.

“Mom, I really owe you and dad an
apology. Making fun of your efforts was cruel,” I began. “I think…I think we
were joking around and being assholes because we didn’t want to acknowledge
that maybe the strongest man we knew wasn’t the superhero we’d always made him
out to be. And even harder to imagine is
him
admitting that fact too. Sure
he’s human but just because his heart wants to slow down doesn’t mean he’s not
the same bad-ass ball buster and problem solver. But you’re right – he needs to
tone it down. And we need to be more cooperative in helping you accomplish
what’s best for you both.”

She looked up at me and said, “I
accept your apology, but next time, please try not to use so many curse words.”
She gave me a side hug and I kissed the top of her head, relieved to be
forgiven. “This is hard on all of us – so many changes to consider,” my mom
said.

“Yeah, the changes are definitely
throwing me. You know I’m all in with the company, right?”

“Of course. And you know we
appreciate it so much, Nate.”

In for a penny, in for a pound.
“It’s just that, ideally speaking, I would really love it if Dad comes back to
take over the administration side of things and I can take over the other side.
But I understand if it can’t happen. I just want you to know I’m there for you
either way, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss using my hands on a daily
basis.”

She set the t-shirt she was holding
on the pile. “Nathan, you and your father are different men. That’s no secret
to any of us. He’s spent his career working out how to fit the figurative
square peg in the round hole while you’ve spent yours
literally
fitting
the peg to the hole. You don’t have to become your father in some effort to
rescue everyone. That can only end with you being unhappy and probably
resenting us. And that is the last thing I want for any of us.” She put her
hand to my cheek. “We’ll work it out. And I’ll bet if you open your eyes and
start looking around you’ll see that there are a lot of people who work with
you and your father who’d be willing to step up a bit.”

Well shit, why hadn’t I thought of
that? Why had I automatically assumed the bulk of the responsibility?

“So” she smiled at me and picked
the shirt back up. “What time can I expect you all on Sunday?”

Aaaand checkmate goes to my mother.

***

I’d decided on Granny’s since I
secretly loved jimmies – or “sprinkles” to the uneducated. The front door
opened before I even had the chance to climb the first step, and Rocco burst
onto the porch. “Is there chocolate?”

Ah, a man after my own heart. “Of
course,” I told him as if only a complete idiot would arrive without a
chocolate doughnut. He snatched the box and ran inside.

“Rocco! Manners!” Laney appeared in
the doorway.

“Oh yeah, thanks Nate!” came the
quickly receding voice muffled by what I assumed was a chocolate doughnut.

I paid zero attention to Rocco at
that point, however. Laney stood before me in what I can only describe as the
outfit that would have caused teenage Nate to sequester himself in his room for
two straight weeks. The white tank top was thin, the pink lace bra playing
peek-a-boo in several places, and her currently tightened nipples were
straining the fabric. The tank was snug at her waist as well, and her hips
flared out in a denim skirt which stopped mid-thigh. How I was going to get
through this morning without putting my mouth on several parts of her body I
had no idea.
Did she wear this fuck-hot outfit for me? She must have, right?
I was going with yes and pushing my luck as soon as the opportunity presented
itself. With Rocco around, though, it was going to be a long morning working
around the giant boner in my pants. How did this woman make me revert to a
seventeen year old with one look and a tank top?

I stepped through the doorway and
made sure to briefly place my hand on her waist and kiss her cheek. She smelled
like coconut and a hint of flowers. Her sharp inhale did not go un-noticed. This
was happening.

I spent the morning mildly flirting
with Laney and placing casual touches on her arms and back as often as
possible. Rocco decided to resume his position as my helper but lost interest a
bit more quickly this time. When Gavin returned home from the gym and offered
to take Rocco for pizza the kid dashed out the door without a backward glance.
Perfect. Alone time with Laney.

However, my normally confident air
around women was a bit more elusive today, and I realized the reason with a mix
of dread and uncertainty. My insensitivity with my mother yesterday had me consumed
with guilt and I knew I was going to have to bite the bullet and embarrass the
shit out of myself with Laney. I was going to ask a girl to meet my parents
when she hadn’t even agreed to go out on a date with me. Was there any way I
could come across as more douchey or creepy than that?

Before I could stress any more
about it, though, Laney walked into the bedroom with a basket of laundry and
dumped it on her bed. “Can you tell me what the point is of folding laundry?”
she asked.