Chapter 7
Reesa
“Alissa, you’re becoming as bad as my brother. Did Jasper put you up to this?” I said into my phone. When my sister-in-law Alissa called so early in the morning, I was worried she’d gone into labor. But she just wanted to check on me. That was sweet of her. But once the small talk was out of the way, the lecturing started and she hopped right on my back about lack of security. So much for us girls talking about Finn. Maybe it was better that we didn’t, and she could help me stay focused on more important, but much less fun topics.
“He mentioned to me that you were walking the streets in a foreign country,” she stated. “I’m a woman with a lot of self-defense training, and even I know what you did, isn’t wise. Jasper loves you. I love you. But you have to understand that there is a difference between feeling safe and being safe. And I heard you went out again last night.”
“But I wasn’t alone,” I said. “I was with a…potential candidate.”
“Funny. I heard you were out on a date. Which is it?” Alissa asked.
Doesn’t anyone have anything better to do than to talk about me?
“It was dinner, and I really enjoyed myself.”
“Nice. Want to tell me about him?” she offered.
I laid back on my bed and sighed. “Are you sure you want to hear it from me and not through the grapevine?” I teased.
Alissa chuckled. “It probably won’t be as interesting coming from you, but at least it will be closer to the truth.”
I rolled my eyes. “You mean boring.”
“Sorry, but I have a hard time believing that you didn’t enjoy yourself at all. Besides, I heard he wasn’t a bad-looking guy. Well, at least that’s what Logan told Jasper. Then again, I’m not sure they even know what women find attractive. Why don’t you start with what Finn looks like?” Alissa suggested.
I had lost some sleep last night thinking of just that. Did I want to share that information with anyone? Absolutely not. But I needed someone to talk to. Someone I could trust. Was Alissa that person? There was only one way to know. Ask.
“Alissa, I appreciate you wanting to know more about my personal life, but I’m leery of these details getting back to my brother. I hear in the US there is something called ‘girl code’.”
She laughed. “I think you’ve been watching too much television, but if you’re asking me to keep what we discuss between the two of us, then yes, I can do that. The only time I would break this promise is if your life were in jeopardy.”
That would suffice. I loved having a sister-in-law, and it was time we built on that relationship and became friends.
“That’s acceptable.”
“Good. Now disclose all the juicy details. I want to hear everything about your date last night,” Alissa prodded.
“I thought you said you wanted to know what he looked like.”
“That falls under the everything,” she said.
“I don’t even know where to start,” I stated honestly. In Tabiq, we didn’t share such things with others. For so many years we were trained to be quiet, not talk, and stay hidden. No woman wanted to be noticed for fear of what could happen to her. Even though that hasn’t been the case for at least ten years now, it was a hard instinct to break.
“Okay, let me help you. Let’s see. How about…what did you notice first about him?” she asked.
“His eyes.”
“Nice. Same with me with Jasper. What color are Finn’s eyes?”
“Green. But not just green, either. They seem to change. When I first met him, they were emerald green. Last night when we were dancing very close, I noticed there are specks of brown.”
“Dancing? Close? I hadn’t heard about that. But we’ll get there in a minute. No need to rush through his looks. How about other things, like is he tall or short? What about his hair? Paint me a picture of him.”
I was surprised that Jasper hadn’t googled Finn already. Maybe my younger brother was finally getting the hint that he was smothering me.
“He’s tall, with a handsomely trimmed beard. And appears to be in overall good health.”
“He’s not a horse,” she teased.