I could pretend I didn’t know what she was talking about, but the question was a good reminder of who we actually were. Noreason to ruin the light mood, as long as I took the nudge for what it was. “T is for Todd.”
“Oh.” Was she let down? By my middle name?
Poor baby.
“Disappointed?” Link asked.
I should let him answer her questions, and enjoy my breakfast.
Fallyn shrugged. “I was expecting something exotic like Terrance or Tyrannus.”
My snort slipped out. “Elliot Tyrannus Howard?” Though,king birdwas a pretty cool middle name. I could change it…
“The Third, I assume,” Fallyn said.
Thankfully not. “First of my name. My boring, basic name. Just like King.”
“Kingis not a boring name.” Link looked amused.
“It is when it’s short forPuppy.” Which I wasn’t letting them call him too often if I could help it.
Fallyn shook her head, coffee cup halfway to her mouth. “That doesn’t make any sense, and I’m here for it.” She sipped her drink.
The question was, why else was she here?
There was the obvious—we met a woman online, enjoyed her personality, and thought a week of sex and convention time would be fun.
But that was Kittie, this was Fallyn.
The line between the two was already getting blurrier than I was comfortable with, no matter how badly I wanted to embrace the denial.
6/
link
This was too much fun. When I saw Fallyn yesterday, I hadn’t been sure, but everything that unfolded since…
I was having a blast.
When we finished breakfast, Elliot took King outside, and Fallyn insisted on helping me with the dishes. Not that it took much to stick them in the dishwasher, but there was something sweetly domestic about the whole arrangement.
The three of us reconvened in the living room. “I’ve been wondering something,” Fallyn said.
There was no telling where this conversation was going. We’d run the gamut so far. “What’s that?”
“There’s no Christmas tree in here. No ornaments.” She looked at Elliot. “Do you decorate late, or are you just a Scrooge?” She sounded playful.
Christmas wasn’t a favorite holiday of Elliot’s. I loved it, though, and someday I was going to get him to enjoy it just a little. Even if it was only for a minute or two. “He’s just a Scrooge.”
Elliot’s expression said he didn’t appreciate me taking her side. He’d used RinCon as an excuse to avoid the holiday foryears, but there had been reasons before then, too. He also hadn’t always felt this way. I remembered before…
I didn’t need him to get over his past—I’d never ask that—but I would like to see him make new, better memories.
Expecting that from him was a lot easier than doing it for myself.
Elliot shrugged. “There you have it. I’m an asshole. I hate Christmas and by the way, Santa isn’t real. Do you want to see where you’re staying? Get situated?” Like that, he’d flipped into cool, friendly, and almost professional.
Which was also as fake as he ever got.