“I’m sleepy.” She lets out a long yawn and shows me her tonsils. “I’m one of those people that needs eight hours straight. Seven is unacceptable. Broken sleep is unacceptable. Ten to twelve hours are preferable. Last night was all sorts of broken up.”
“That’s because you kept waking up and sneaking out.” I pour a little milk into the mug and re-cap the bottle. “I told you to stay put. Your escape tricks broke my sleep, too.”
“You weren’t supposed to know I was leaving. I was supposed to get out and flop into my bed at Lindsi’s place. One break in my sleep, problem solved, and no morning after awkwardness.”
I lift her full mug and take a sip of the sugary concoction. My lips scrunch the way hers did, but for entirely different reasons. “I’m not feeling the awkwardness.” I press a noisy kiss to her unsuspecting lips, then drop the mug and move in case she starts hitting. “Are you sure this feels awkward? Because it feels just fine to me.”
“Shut up and mind your own damn business.” She lifts the steaming mug of sugar and takes a slow sip. Narrowing her eyes, she glares over the rim of the cup. “Did you even add sugar? Are you trying to be annoying?”
I shake my head and go about stacking my breakfast pans in the dishwasher. “I nevertryto be annoying. In fact, I never try to be anything. I’m just me, and then everyone around me decides if they can dig that. If not, I enjoy my own company.”
“You enjoy your own hand, too?”
I shrug. “Get’s the job done. I still get to come, and when I close my eyes and pretend it’s you, I come harder.”
Her lip curls with disgust.
“What are you doing today?”
“Going back to Lindsi’s.” She takes another sip. “They’re probably waiting for me to get home so they can leave. He’s taking her somewhere she can forget she’s a mom. I bet he intends to remind her she has a snatch. When they get back, she’ll probably be walking kinda how I’m walking today.” She shrugs. “Then everyone will feel awkward until someone explodes and makes a sex joke… or Benny gets mad. Whichever comes first.” She points a finger. “He’s only sixteen, but he knows what it means when a girl is walking funny. You mark my words.”
I lift my plate of half-eaten omelet and stuff the rest in my mouth. I’m not all that hungry, but I know how many calories I need a day, and skipping the eggs this morning will mean I crash this afternoon. “That kid is a ticking time bomb. You think I didn’t see him giving me the beady eye while sitting with you at the wedding?”
“Nah, I saw it. Then he gave me the talk about how I’m not allowed to hang out with you anymore.” Finally, her sour mood lifts to a small grin. “He’s gonna lecture me when I get home today. And that’s the awkward I wanted to avoid.”
“Sneaking out in the middle of the night wouldn’t change that. He still knew you were in someone else’s bed.” I step around the counter and take her left wrist in my hands. Bringing it higher, I press a kiss where the silver cuff left marks on her skin. “Did I hurt you?”
“No. It was sexy, and since I was trapped, I finally fell asleep and got a solid six hours.” Opening her mouth wide, she gives another yawn and sets off a chain reaction that my body obeys. “Six is better than nothing. I’ll catch some more later, then tonight is movie night.”
“What are you gonna watch?”
Tugging her hand from mine, she turns back to the counter and picks up her coffee. “Don’t know. Don’t particularly care. I’ll probably fall asleep anyway. What are you doing today?”
Ninja wanders around my feet as I take a seat beside Andi’s. “I’m off until tomorrow, so I’ll probably hit the gym, then veg out till then. My mom’s not feeling great, so I told her I’d make her soup or something.”
Like Andi has caught me out in a giant scheme, she flashes a beatific smile. “You’re making soup for your mom. I knew I pegged you. I knew I was right; you’re a mama’s boy.”
I shrug and turn away. “I love my mom, and I’m not ashamed of it. I’m not a mama’s boy, and I don’t have dependency issues. But I do love her, so whatever. Tease away. I’m not ashamed.”
Accepting Ninja’s head butting against her leg like it’s normal to own a mini tiger, Andi drops one hand to scratch her head, and the other, she brings up to poke my shoulder. “I knew I pegged you, and I owe myself twenty bucks and a good time for guessing it. Does she live near here?”
“Uh-huh. Not so far from here. I’ll take you to visit if you want.”
“Woah!” Like I shot her, she backs the fuck up with wide eyes. “I can’t meet your mom, Riley. Jesus, are you insane? I’m not looking for a relationship, and I sure as shit ain’t looking to meet the in-laws.”
Pain twists in my chest, not because of her words – I’m not looking for a relationship, either – but because of her easy dismissal of a woman that deserves more than that. Andi owes my mom nothing. But the world does. The world owes my mom a fuckin’ lot to make up for a lifetime of dragging her through the shit.
Picking up the coffee mug, Andi chugs the still hot remains and hisses at the burn. Dropping it down by my hand, she moves Ninja with her feet and stands. “I’m gonna get dressed and go, okay? You had your fun, used your cuffs, fucked me till I walk funny. But I seriously gotta go.”
A guy mentions his mom one time, and suddenly, he’s a leper.
Andi doesn’t wait for my answer. She snags an apple from the fruit bowl on the end of the counter and darts out of the room, and three minutes later, she comes back dressed the way she was last night, but her makeup isn’t flawless anymore, and her fancy hair is no longer sleek and perfect. She has marks on her neck where I took my time tasting her, and her hands shake like I make her nervous. “I’ll catch you around, okay?”
“That’s that, then? Back to strangers.”
“Not strangers.” She leans in and drops a kiss on my cheek. A cold, strangers-in-the-street, don’t-touch-me-again, kiss on the cheek. “You’re a good guy, Riley. You’re sexy, and funny, and you know how to use your dick. We’re not strangers, and we’re not leaving on bad terms. We’re just… notmore. I’m on duty with the kids this week, then I’ve gotta fly home again.” She grabs my hand and squeezes. “See ya.”
We were sitting at my kitchen counter having coffee and making jokes one minute.