Unsocial (30 page)

Saturday
morning I wake up bright and early.  In the kitchen, I find Alex making a
smoothie. I miss her, so I swallow my pride to begin a talk that is long
overdue.  “Good morning.”

“Morning”

“Do
you have time to talk this morning?”

She
looks at the clock. I know the salon doesn’t open until 10:00, but sometimes
she goes for a run in the morning before work. She sighs and walks over to the
kitchen table, sits down, and pushes a chair out for me with her foot. I smile
and sit down, “I miss you, Alex. I hate how weird things have been since
Halloween.”

“I
know, and I fucking hate it. I just can’t believe that you blew me off to go
trick-or-treating with Dylan.”

“I
told you; I didn’t even go with Dylan. I went with Cassie, Michael, and Gabby.”

She
rolls her eyes, “But you spent the whole night with the family. Brooke, that’s
not normal social worker behavior, even I know that.”

I
know that it’s probably not normal, but I have to try to make her understand,
“Alex, this family, they mean a lot to me, and yeah, maybe I go above and
beyond for them and treat them a little special, but they are. They have been
through hell, and I just want to help them come back from that in any way I
can.”

Before
she can say anything I add, “And I know that you think this is just about my
attraction to Dylan, but I swear to you it’s not.”

That
is true, I care about all of the members of the Monroe family, and I have to
find a way to show her that. She cracks a tiny smile, “I know you care about
them, Brooke. You have a huge heart, but I’m just scared of the flirtation
between Dylan and you. You may not see it, but believe me, five seconds in the
same place as you two is all it takes to know this is no innocent attraction.”

“I’m
not going to cross any serious lines, and you have known me long enough to
trust me.”

“I
guess I’ll have to,” she says resignedly.

“Thank
you.  But, I am going to continue to do special things for them. I’m helping
Michael with a spelling bee right now, and there will be other things for the
rest of this year. Just please stop giving me such a hard time. If I feel like
a line is being crossed, I’ll pull back.”

She
still looks unsure, but nods, “Okay, I’m sorry, and you’re right. But you have
to see where I’m coming from. When it comes to men you adjust and change
yourself to fit them every time.”

My
mouth drops slightly, but I smile knowing she’s right. I still argue, “No, I
don’t.”

She
laughs, “Oh, please. You were a good girl with straight A’s, and then Adam
comes along and all of the sudden you are sneaking out, drinking, smoking,
going to races, getting tattoos…”

“Okay,
but that wasn’t all because of him.”

It
truly wasn’t. I was going through a rebellious phase, and Adam just coincided
with that.

“Yeah,
well he helped a whole hell of a lot. Then you meet Billy, and it was a total
transformation. You never wanted to have fun. You just studied and kissed his
ass twenty-four seven. Started wearing your hair in that fucking tight ass bun
and using big stupid words.”

Ouch.
I forgot how much she hated Will. I called him Billy when we would fight
because it drove him crazy, but Alex always called him Billy. He cringed every
time. “Okay, I know I wasn’t myself with him, but I did need a change. Because
of him, I buckled down and…”

“No,
you could have done that without him, and that’s the thing, you just let men
change you.  Now you’re getting it all together, kicking ass at your career,
and you’re starting to have some fun again. Then here comes Dylan Monroe.”

“Alex,
I was young with Adam. We all do crazy shit when we’re young.  And with Will, I
let myself buy into his ideas of being successful.”

“Okay,
just don’t let another guy change you or mess up your life.”

I
know she cares about me, but I hope that this will put an end to the lecturing.
I stand up; she does too, and I give her a hug, “I promise.”

“Okay,
good.”

“Are
we okay now?”

We
both pull back from the hug, and she nods, “Yep. So how has work been?”

“Great,
yours?”

“Pretty
good. I’m getting some great regulars that tip well.”

I
laugh, “Good. Look, I have to get going, but can we please have a movie night
tonight and takeout.”

“Hell,
yeah, I think Trevor is going out tonight so we should have the place to
ourselves.”

As
much as I care about Trevor that is great news. I need some space from him and some
girl time with Alex, “Awesome, girls’ night.”

“See
ya later.”

Thank
God she didn’t ask me what my plans were for the day because I doubt she would
have been too happy to know I was spending the day at Dylan’s helping Michael
on his spelling bee.  Unfortunately, well maybe, fortunately, Dylan was called
out of town for the day to meet a guy in Topeka who has some cars for him to
see.  Luke has taken his Tahoe to the shop so he can start customizing it, and he
wants to do some of the work himself.  The four of us left, played with Toby
for a while before Michael and I buckled down with his list of words. I spent a
great day with them, and sometimes it’s hard to believe how well I fit in them.

The
following Tuesday I wrap up my meeting with the Monroe family, well if that’s
what you want to call it.  Somewhere along the way, my home visits with them
have less to do with social work and more to do with socializing.  I just
figure unless some issue has come up, I’m just going to enjoy myself with
them.  So far, so good.  Everyone seems to be doing wonderfully.

Since
getting Gabby the dog she is blossoming, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we
finally witness the great break through and she begins talking.  Cassie is busy
with her cheerleading, and Luke is wrapped up in football playoffs for the state
championship.  At the games that I’ve been able to attend, I couldn’t be prouder
of them. Thankfully Cassie seems to have lost some of her boy craziness, which
I’m sure pleases Dylan.  Luke is smiling more, although he still has a badass
attitude about him, much like his older brother. Since I find that to be one of
Dylan’s hottest attributes, I can’t say it irritates me that much.  I think
it’s just part of the Monroe charm.

Dylan’s
business is thriving, which doesn’t surprise me at all, and I know this because
Cassie and Luke are always bragging about their big brother. They seem to be
getting along a lot better now that she and Luke aren’t being grounded so much
anymore.

All
the kids leave, and I tell Michael I’ll meet him in the dining room to help him
study, and then it’s just me and Dylan left.  He’s on the couch, and I’m
sitting on the floor with my legs folded Indian style. He’s sitting with his
long legs stretched out in front of him, and one insanely muscular arm
stretched out resting on the back of the couch. I can see a hint of a tribal
tattoo on his upper bicep and find myself wanting to trace it, well, all of
them really, with my tongue.  I have to stop this train of thought.

“The
puppy seems to be adjusting well.”

He
laughs. That puppy sticks with Gabby at each meeting and the entire family is
smitten. “Yeah, it was a great idea, Brooke.”

“I’m
glad.” I stand up slowly.  I’m hoping he’ll keep talking, but he’s been quiet
today for some reason.  He hasn’t even invited me to dinner, which he usually
does as soon as I walk in the door.

“Okay,
I’m going to help Michael study his word list.”

He
stands, and he’s standing so close to me that I can barely breathe. It’s amazing
the effect this man has on me. “You staying for dinner?”

I
know I shouldn’t, but I know I will.  I smile up at him. God, he’s tall. “Are
you planning on amazing me again?”

“Of
course.”

And
just because the man smells so damn good, I inhale deeply and get enough of his
scent to tide me over while I’m working with Michael at the dining table. I
quiz him for an hour, and then Dylan calls out that dinner is ready.

Michael
hops up excitedly, “Yes! I’m starving.” He turns to me, “Are you gonna stay?”

I
stand up, “Uh, yeah.  All this brain work has made me hungry.”  I move and
start setting the table with Michael while the others file in.

While
we eat, we make plans for Saturday, which is the day of the spelling bee. I
wouldn’t miss this for the world. It looks like he’s going to have a big fan
section.  I love how pumped he is about it and how confident he is.  This is
like the Super Bowl for nerds.  Then a great idea comes to me.  “How about I
ask Trevor and Alex to come too?”

I
swear I see Dylan’s lip twitch in irritation when I say that, but I’m sure I’m
mistaken. I mean he just had a boy’s day with Trevor, and according to Trevor,
it was a pretty good time. Michael gets even more excited, “Yeah! I’m going to
have the most people there cheering for me out of everybody!”

I
laugh, “That’s what I’m counting on.”

After
dinner, I head home, and when I get there, Alex and Trevor are eating at the
kitchen table. Trevor stands up and pulls a chair out for me to join them.  I
look at the food, spaghetti, salad, and breadsticks. “Wow. Who cooked?”

Trevor
smiles, “We ordered this.”

I
shake my head, “You guys know how easy spaghetti is to make?”

Alex
takes a sip of wine, “No, and I don’t want to know.”

Trevor
pours me a glass of wine, and I take a drink. “Thank you.”

“You’re
welcome.”

I
sit and visit with them while they finish eating.  Alex tells me that she got a
call from her mother. “She’s super pissed that we won’t all come down for
Thanksgiving, but I told her we just can’t do it for Thanksgiving and
Christmas.”

“I’ll
have to work the next day, unlike Christmas where I have a few days off.”

“I
know, and I told her that. She just really misses us all, but I think I calmed
her down.”

“Trevor
and I were talking, and we decided since we can’t go to Florida the three of us
should have Thanksgiving. Sound good?”

I
nod, “Of course. I’ll cook.”

Trevor
laughs, “We were counting on that.”

“Okay,
so Thanksgiving dinner here.  Hey, do you guys have plans Saturday?”

Alex
nods, “I have to work during the day.”

I
turn to Trevor, “You?”

“Nada.
Why?”

“Well,
I’m going to Michael Monroe’s spelling bee. I’ve been helping him prep like
crazy, and it’s finally here.”

“A
spelling bee?” He fake sleeps, and I smack him.

“It’s
going to be fun.”

He
pats my leg under the table and lets it linger a little too long, but then
says, “You know I’m in for you, Brooke.”

Alex
has a huge grin on her face, “Aw, that’s so sweet.”

I’m
still confused why Trevor continues to flirt so hard after I told I wasn’t
going to have some casual fling with him.  I want to think it’s just because he
can’t help but flirt, but sometimes I swear he is about to make a move or
something, and I dodge it quickly. I try like crazy not to send mixed messages
because I want no part of it.

“Okay,
we can ride together. It starts at 2:00 and I don’t want to be late.”

“No
problem.”

Saturday
arrives, and I drive Trevor and myself to the school for the Johnson County
Elementary School Spelling Bee. When we arrive, I immediately spot Dylan and
Jackson. They are hard to miss in a room full of older yuppie parents, but you
just have to follow the line of sight of all the women in the room, because
they do stand out.  We join them as well as Cassie, Gabby, and Luke. Cassie
gives me a big hug. The guys all greet Trevor with what I call the bro hug.
Luke and Jax seem much more relaxed with Trevor than Dylan, who seems tense. We
all sit, and somehow I end up between Trevor and Dylan.
Perfect
.

The
competition starts, and I see Michael walk out and sit in his assigned chair.
He looks so handsome in dress slacks and a button down shirt, and Dylan leans
over and whispers into my ear, “He obsessed over what to wear. We almost had to
call you.”

His
lips skim my ear, and I can barely form words to answer him back. I swallow a
little too hard and turn to face him. I quietly answer him. “Well you could
have, but he looks great.”

He
grins, and then we both turn back to pay attention to the spelling bee. Being
this close to him is torture, and for the next three and a half hours, I’m
feeling fidgety.

Michael
ends up with second place, and afterward, he walks over to us all as we stand
in a big group waiting for him. He has his head down and looks disappointed.
Dylan musses his hair, “Great job, man. You were awesome.”

Everyone
agrees, but Michael keeps his head down and just shrugs. I step closer to him
and lift his chin with my finger, “That was amazing. You should be proud of yourself,”
I look around, “I know we all are.”