Page 50 of Want Me
“That’s anSfor you, boss,” I told Ross in passing, who muttered ayeah, yeah. “Pretty sure that was for you,” I said, since Eric still had bewilderment written all over his face.
“It was,” Lexi confirmed.
Eric blinked back over at them. “Uhhh, thank you.” And then the fucker blushed. Actually blushed. It wasn’t full-on, but a tinge of pink loitered in his cheeks and he turned away from the twins only to run into me.
“Watch where you’re going, dude,” I teased, taking a step back and bouncing the ball a couple of times before passing it hard to him. “Didn’t know a couple of girls could get you all discombobulated.”
“What the fuck do you say to that without coming off as a perv?” He passed the ball back to me and fumbled at my return pass.
“You are a perv.”
“Yeah, well, notthatkind of perv.” Eric rolled his eyes and took his shot, whiffing it by at least two feet.
“Keep it coming, girls,” I called over to them, then wiggled my brows at Eric.
“Ass. I’ll get you back for that.”
“We’ll see,” I smirked and didn’t miss the flash of heat that passed through his eyes. If we hadn’t been surrounded by rug rats, I imagined that whole exchange would’ve ended differently. I mentally bookmarked that fantasy to revisit later.
* * *
“So haveyou started job hunting yet?” Mrs. Finley asked, of course catching me as I shoveled a bite of mashed potatoes in my mouth. I swallowed fast and shook my head.
“Not yet. I still have a while to look and see what’s out there, but I’ve got some places I’m eyeing.” Right. I was supposed to be thinking about my future since that would happen at some point, rather than getting fucked underneath a basketball net.
“DC,” my mom chimed in. “We have a senator friend who said he’d be interested in interviewing Nate once he was closer to graduation.” She beamed with pride, as if it was all a done deal when it was far from it. I had no idea where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do with my degree yet.
Under the table, Eric’s foot nudged mine. It was light enough that it could’ve been accidental. But the hand that brushed over my thigh wasn’t. I banged my elbow hard on the table as I set my fork down, and saw Eric smile from the corner of my eye as he let his hand fall away. I coughed out an apology and then picked up my glass of water, taking a quick swig. “DC is one of the places I’m looking at, yeah.” I should’ve known better than to sit next to him. “I mean, yes, ma’am.”
Mrs. Finley turned to Eric next, her smile bright and polite, oblivious. “And how about you, Eric? You’re majoring in structural engineering—did I hear that right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, and God did he do manners well, that faint whiff of an accent catching on the vowels and shooting straight to my gut in a bolt of aural lust. Was it normal to find someone’s voice boner inducing? “And I’m not sure yet either. I like the idea of contract work, but something steady that keeps me in one place could be good, too. So I guess it just depends.”
“On a girlfriend?” This time it was Lexi’s twin, Leena. She was bold, I’d give her that. But no match for Eric’s prowess at evasion.
Eric grinned. “Who knows?”
“So do you have one?” Leena was undeterred, and it was almost funny except for the cramp that had started in my side along with a feeling of breathlessness. Possessiveness, desire, and anxiety simmered in an uncomfortable brew.
“He’s too old for you,” Mrs. Rosen chided with a little laugh.
“Not in ten years.” Jesus Christ, this girl was relentless. Even my mom looked humored now, sending a quick wink Eric’s way.
“I uhhhh…no, not really…” Eric scraped his fingertips down the side of his jaw, lighting on the spot I’d cleaned up for him earlier, and before I could think—really fucking think—about what I was doing, the bottom dropped out of my stomach, my mouth opened, and…
“You’re looking at him. Meaning me. He’s my…he’s mine,” I stammered out, just lobbed the awkward clusterfuck of grammar and poor syntax on the table to sit there alongside the stupid turkey centerpiece. Why I couldn’t sayboyfriend, I had no idea. It sounded too cutesy for a guy who regularly turned me inside out in amazing and obscene ways, whileloversounded too fucking bourgeois.Minewas maybe too possessive, but since Eric pretty much owned my body and all my thought processes, it seemed a fair claim in return.
Someone dropped a piece of silverware against Grandma Barbara’s china. I didn’t know who because my vision had gone blurry, even the turkey centerpiece swimming in a sludge of brown feathers. I literally felt the sweat break over my forehead and saliva pooling in the back of my mouth. Mrs. Finley’s smile dimmed, then brightened again. Maybe I imagined it. For a second I thought I was going to puke. My eyes darted over faces, locking onto my parents—both of whom had their heads tilted to opposite sides in an eerie reflection of each other. Eric’s gaze burned into the side of my face, and I knew if I looked, I’d see surprise. So I didn’t look.
“That’s kinda hot. So who—”
“Lexi,” Mrs. Rosen hissed, and Eric cracked up, his hand sliding over my thigh again, his thumb making that sweeping arc like he’d done on several occasions before. It floored me how much that tiny bit of motion soothed me. Not completely; I was still sweating like a fool, my heart sprinting like it was on a mission to break free of my chest, but the nausea ebbed. I didn’t dare look at my parents again, certain I’d shocked the hell out of them. They’d never given me any sign or inkling whatsoever that they were homophobic, but then again I didn’t think I’d ever given them any sign that I was anything other than a Grade A skirt chaser.
The baby burst into a loud cry, breaking through the weird tension and forcing me to take back the mean thoughts I’d had about the little hell-raiser earlier as Mrs. Rosen picked him up andshh’dhim.Thank you, grumpy baby.
“This centerpiece is fantastic, Lana. Is it an antique?” Mrs. Finley asked, and my mom sounded grateful as she launched into an overly enthusiastic spiel about how Grandma Barbara had made it herself with real turkey feathers. My dad kept quiet, though, and I could feel his stare like a shadow in the desert falling cool across one side of my body.
Blindsiding parents at Thanksgiving dinner wasn’t the suavest of tactics, but the more I sat there and thought about it as conversation resumed, the more it seemed like maybe the best time. If I’d tried to make some formal announcement to them, who fucking knew how long it would’ve taken me to work my way up to that? I wanted to be with Eric, I knew that without a doubt. This was just the beginning of the proving grounds.