DECKER

Andi was freaking out. It would have been amusing if that red blotchy rash hadn’t began to crawl up her neck. She pulled the sun visor down, again, to observe the nasty red eruption in the mirror.

“You want me to stop by a drug store or something?” I asked, genuinely concerned. Andi gave her neck a gentle rub, and my visor a not so gentle shove back to the roof.

“No. It will disappear as soon as I settle down.” I had tried every trick in the book to ‘settle her down’, but nothing had worked. Apparently, meeting my parents was scarier than moving across country alone and opening a new business. I guess I was somewhat to blame since I had sprung the parental visit on her less than an hour ago. I had almost forgotten about my mom’s invite to dinner. Andi and I had been enjoying a leisurely day, lying around her apartment, interrupted only by my inability to keep my dick out of her. I hadn’t really understood the concept of the term and song “Afternoon Delight”. I got it now. That moment when lunch is done, you feel all sleepy and lethargic, and then you glance across the room to see your girl lying on a couch, wearing nothing but a shirt and panties, her head stuck in front of a book. I ripped the Kindle out of her hands, plucked her right off the couch, and placed her on the bed where I fucked her slowly and thoroughly. Afternoon fucking delight! When I remembered about the dinner date with my parents, I had all but knocked Andi off the couch in my haste to check the time. Andi had fifteen minutes to change before a forty minute drive to my folk’s house. One hour to come to terms with the thought of meeting my mom and dad. She had already met my dad, but the two of them together, at home, for dinner, was a much bigger deal.

“Country, my folks are cool. Completely laid back and they know nothing about this.” I signaled back and forth between the two of us. “We’re just friends. You’re Bradley’s cousin, and Mom was worried about you being all alone and friendless in New York. It’s just a meal, no pressure.” She rubbed at that damn rash again. “I thought it was the men who were supposed to freak out over meeting the parents.”

Andi gave me an irritated glance. “I’ve never met the parents of a…” She seemed to get lost for words. “I’ve never met a guy’s parents before.” She amended her sentence. The idea that she might have wanted to say boyfriend had me feeling both thrilled and terrified. What we had didn’t have a label, not yet. This was the experimental phase, the tryouts. She was Andi, I was Decker. We weren’t a couple to be labeled. And yet, I liked the idea of Andi and I being more permanent, being stamped with our own ridiculous couple name, like Deckand. I found myself grinning at my own idiocy, and yet somewhat brilliant couple name. Beside me, Andi pulled at her denim skirt. It was short, sexy short, and the lacy top she had matched it with made it difficult for me to keep my hands to myself. One glance at the blotchy red skin on her neck doused my arousal. I hated that she was so nervous she’d broken out into hives.

“Stop freaking out, Country, you’re making me tense,” I confessed as we got closer to my parents’ place. That warranted a sly grin from her.

“I can help with that,” she purred, giving me a look that had my arousal back, firmly in place. And when I say firmly, I mean the almighty fucking Kong had woken and was ready for action. The devil had taken over my dick and mind, as my foot fell from the accelerator and I imaged pulling the car over so Andi could ‘help me’ with my tension. An irritated horn from the car behind me broke the spell I was under. Andi laughed and I couldn’t help but shake my head and smile.

“If I wasn’t so happy to finally have an erection again, I’d spank you right now.”

Her smile dropped. “What do you mean finally have an erection again?”

Oh shit! Did I really just say that out loud? My brain was definitely malfunctioning. The look on Andi’s face told me she wasn’t simply going to let this go.

“I’d been having a few issues.” I didn’t elaborate. This conversation had reached a whole new level of intimacy between Andi and I that I was a whole lot uncomfortable with.

“What sort of issues?” she persisted.

I groaned. “The sort that affected my ability to work.”

Andi was quiet and just when I thought maybe she had dropped it, she spoke. “That’s why you retired.” I cast a nervous glance in her direction, a little surprised she knew I had retired. Her shifting emotions were enough to give me whiplash. She had gone from a bonafied freak out, to seductress, to joyful, back to freaking the fuck out all in the span of ten minutes.

“Yeah, I could have used medication or drugs, but that’s not who I am.” She was quiet, too quiet, too still. Was she worried there was something wrong with me? “Obviously everything is okay now.”

“Obviously,” she murmured with a furrowed brow.

“I mean, it seems okay from my end. Everything okay from your end?”

She blushed and shrugged. “No complaints here.” She smiled, but it was forced.

What did I miss? How did we have a mood plummet into ice queen territory in less than a minute? It’s not like she was the one whose body suddenly packed it in and turned limp. I would have pressed the issue except I was steering my car into the short driveway of my parents’ modest two story suburban home, complete with white picket fence and yapping poodle. As I slid from the driver’s seat, I noticed Andi was looking ill once again. She didn’t attempt to move, and I walked around to her side of the car. She even sat and waited for me to open her door. Or maybe she thought she could hole up here for dinner without anyone noticing. I grabbed the cake from the floor by her feet, hoping she would follow it where ever it went. It worked like a charm. She quickly scrambled from the front seat.

“Okay, time to chill. You already know my dad, and my mom is just as easy going. We aren’t dating, so there is no pressure. Hell, you could even belch at the table and it would be cool.” She cast me a disbelieving look. “They are going to love you, Andi, there isn’t anything not to love.” She stared at me for a moment, and I stared back while the words that had just spilled from my lips sank in. “Except the puking episode the morning after our unexpected wedding anniversary. And the fact that your furniture doesn’t match, your inability to keep a pet without killing it, and the overabundance of pillows on your bed, they’re ridiculous. And you like country music, which is unforgiveable,” I rambled. Andi’s shoulders seemed to relax, and she gave me a grateful smile as we walked up the porch. Before I could reach for the door, it swung open and I ran into a six foot wall of muscle.

“Fuck me!” I exclaimed, completely shocked.

“Hey, little brother. Miss me?” I looked into the eyes of my eldest brother, Daniel. He wasn’t supposed to be here, he hadn’t even called ahead to let me know he was going to be in town. “Well I’ll be damned. Mom said you were bringing a girl around and I told her she had to be having one of those senior moments when insanity spontaneously sets in. I didn’t think for one second my little brother had it in him to bring a real live girl home to meet the parents.” He turned his blue eyes and dimpled grin on Andi who looked like she was ready to faint. “You okay there, sweetheart? You look a little pale,” Daniel asked with a furrowed brow.

I grabbed Andi’s hand and dragged her forward. “This is Andi, Bradley’s cousin, and she’s not used to family crap, so be calm. And what the fuck are you doing here?”

Daniel grinned at me and stepped aside. “Helping our mom cook you and your girl pie. Come on in.”

“Decker, I missed you so much,” came Mom’s soft voice from behind Daniel. Her hair was thrown into a messy ponytail, her face free of makeup, but not free of flour which was smeared across one cheek. I reached over and wiped it away before she pulled me in for a hug.

“Mom, I was here like two weeks ago, and we spoke on the phone yesterday.”

Mom peeked around my arm and gave Andi a welcoming smile. “Mom, this Andi. Andi, this is my mom, Sarah.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Steele,” Andi replied politely, still looking a little pale and a whole lot nervous.

“Oh please, call me Sarah. While I love my husband to death, his mother is completely crazy. Whenever I hear someone say Mrs. Steele, I automatically head for the wine cabinet.”

“Decker told me she has a little rat problem,” Andi said with an easy smile.

My mom laughed. “Sweetheart, the rats are the least of her problems.” My mom sighed as she took Andi in. “You are absolutely adorable. Isn’t she adorable, Decker? Like a country bunny that you just want to hug.” Then she went in for the kill, enveloping Andi in a big hug. Andi’s eyes widened in surprise before she returned the embrace a little awkwardly.

“Oh, ummmm thank you. Although where I come from we shoot bunnies, so it’s nice to know you cuddle them here.”

My mom laughed as she pulled Andi into the house.

“Mom, what’s Daniel doing in town?” I asked, hoping to get a straight answer from her.

“Oh some engineer’s course thingy, it went right over my head, but he’s only here for the weekend.”

“Yep, the wife only let me come for the weekend, and I’m busy with lectures both days. I think she’s worried you will corrupt me with strip clubs again if I stay too long.” Daniel tossed me a beer from the fridge. I handed it to Andi who took it with a grateful smile. Nothing like a little liquid courage to help get a girl through meeting the parents. “A woman who drinks long necks, my dream come true,” Daniel sighed, holding a hand over his heart. My gaze moved back to Andi, and my head followed her movement, tilting to one side as she leaned over in front of the oven to inspect what was cooking inside, teasing me with a spectacular ‘almost’ view of her ass. Someone clearing their throat caught my attention. My dad stood beside Daniel, both of them wearing smirks. Busted.

“Dad,” I said, matching his smile. He shook his head and gave me a hug.

“Decker, good to see you’re taking such good care of your best friend’s cousin. Bradley will be most impressed with the hospitality you’ve shown Andi.” I’d been in the house for less than a minute, and I’d already been thoroughly chastised right under Andi’s nose.

“Decker has been amazing, Joe, and I’ve already told Bradley. I could never have completely uprooted my life and plonked myself in the middle of a big, scary city without Decker’s help. I have no idea how I assumed I could do it on my own.”

My mom and dad both gave Andi a dreamy look, and Daniel couldn’t help but raise his ring finger and not so discreetly rub his chin with it.

“What’s for dinner?” I asked, quickly changing the subject.

My mom jumped to attention and began clanking pots and pans. “Shepherd’s pie, garden vegetables, and garlic bread.”

My mouth was already watering. “Could you boys set the table? It’s almost ready.”

Being back in my parents’ house like this was almost as if I had never left. I knew where everything was, and Daniel and I moved around the kitchen with ease, throwing things at each other accompanied with the occasional your momma joke that Mom, justifiably, took offense to. Andi sat at the breakfast bar, watching with fascination. The only thing missing in this scene was my other brother, Drew. The three of us together would have destroyed Andi, she would have run fast and far away from the crazy Steele household. My heart broke a little when I remembered Andi was an only child. She wouldn’t have had family meals like this. I quickly understood the look of sorrow and wonder that consumed her. I gave a tug on her hand and drew her over to the large dining table, sitting her between my mom and me.

“Rub a dub dub…” said Daniel, sitting in front of his full plate.

“Thanks for the grub,” I finished for him, grabbing my fork, digging right in.

“So, Andi, Dad tells me you own a book store,” Daniel somehow managed to get out of his mouth stuffed with food.

“I do. It’s been officially open for almost two weeks now.”

Daniel swallowed his food before speaking again. “You do know the only reading Decker does is scripts, and trust me, the scripts are real easy to follow,” he said with a smirk.

“Not at the table,” my mom growled.

“I’ve heard he’s quite the star,” Andi said with a wink, but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Daniel looked a little surprised. “You know about the porn?”

Andi looked a little surprised herself as she looked around the table. “Ya’ll know about the porn?”

“It’s okay, Andi, we know about Decker’s career. While we don’t love what he does, we do appreciate that he at least does it well,” my mom said with sarcasm.

“It’s disturbing that your bare ass has graced my bedroom TV screen,” Daniel grumbled, pointing his fork at me.

I shrugged. “Hey, I’m not the one watching porn while trying to entertain a lady,” I said in my own defense. “Maybe you need to up your game if you need a little skin flick assistance.”

“Boys!” my mom snapped.

“Isn’t the kitchen table a sacred place? Perhaps we shouldn’t be using the word porn so much at a sacred place,” my dad muttered.

“I thought your sacred place was on the crapper?” Daniel said thoughtfully.

“Oh good lord, can we stop talking about porn and crappers at the table, please?” Mom yelled, and I knew this was a direct order from the boss herself. At that moment, Andi started laughing. It started like a quiet low chuckled and ended up an almighty roar.

“I’m sorry,” she finally coughed out between fits of laughter. “Decker said it would be alright if I belched at the table, and I was doubtful, but I see he wasn’t kidding now. Ya’ll remind me of holidays with Bradley and his family. This is great.”

We smiled at Andi’s apparent good spirits at the Steele dinner table.

“If you think this is entertaining, you should have been here two years ago when Decker’s other brother, Drew, came home as well. All the boys together under one roof for one weekend, it was chaos. I decided to go all out. I cooked a pot roast, fried chicken, buffalo wings, and an apple pie to finish it off. I spent the entire afternoon cooking while the boys went out to celebrate the fact they were all together again. When they got home, they were all as hammered as a bent nail. We sat down to dinner and Drew just up and vomited in the kitchen sink, and Mr. Sensitive Stomach here decided to join him.” Mom was glaring at me as she remembered that god awful night.

I raised my hand in self-defense. “Hey now, you were well aware of my sympathy gag, that was all Drew’s fault. And who took everyone out to dinner the next night and paid?”

Mom shook her head and smiled. Dad and Daniel laughed at the memory that really wasn’t so pleasant.

“Porn and crappers is lightweight table talk, and I probably should have warned you, my family knows about my career,” I said, giving Andi’s shoulder a gentle nudge with mine

“Ex-career,” Mom said, glaring at me with a look that brokered no argument.

I kept my mouth shut and averted my gaze. My mom had this uncanny ability to draw guilt from me with nothing more than a look. And right now, her look was making me feel all kinds of shame. The truth of the matter was, I still hadn’t made a decision. A sideways glance in Andi’s direction had me realize she was also watching me intently. Her sparkling green eyes looked curious and careful. Her brow was slightly creased, her perfect full lips cast in a small frown. I found myself admiring the small splash of freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks. She was like a breath of fresh air, wholesome, new, exciting. Would it always be that way though? Would we tire of each other? My parents didn’t appear to have outgrown their affection for one and other, but marriage and relationships were fickle creatures. Some lasted decades while others crashed and burned in weeks. Could I give away my career for Andi? Could a take a chance on something that might be nothing? I found myself believing I could.

“Who wants to sing some karaoke?”

I spun my head in my mom’s direction and began shaking my head in a vigorous no.

“Oh my god! You have a karaoke machine?” squealed Andi.

I turned and shook my head at Andi. NO!

I sat and watched in stunned silence as Mom dragged the microphone and music DVDs out, setting it all up in front of the large TV screen in the living room. Dad and Daniel sat beside me.

“Wow, a girl who knows your background and still likes you, drinks beer, and enjoys karaoke. How the hell did you get so lucky?” Daniel asked. He wasn’t joking though, the wonder in his voice and the awe on his face as he watched Andi talk and laugh with my mom so easily, was clearly evident on his face.

“No idea. I thought you were the lucky one.”

“I am, my wife rocks, but it appears your little Texan kinda rocks a bit too.”

“I can’t believe they’re doing this,” I murmured gruffly as Mom flipped a coin to see who would start. Apparently they both wanted to kick off this musical escapade, so the coin would sort it out for them. Mom won and belted out Katy Perry’s “Firework” and I’m proud to say my mom sounded like a rock star. She has an amazing voice, hence her compulsive desire to drag guests into the lounge room for karaoke. Andi jumped up the moment she finished, clapping loudly. She flicked quickly through the song list and gave me a wink that went straight to my groin. I shifted conspicuously to hide the suddenly rigid member beneath my jeans. I laughed as “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers began. Andi was destroying it. She was fucking terrible. Like, worse than terrible. That sexy as hell voice had a hard limit and it was singing. Andi didn’t care though as she sung the iconic karaoke must-have. My dad was laughing as he gave me that ‘look’, the one that radiated approval and admiration. The one that was reserved for ‘the one’ and for just a brief moment, his smile disappeared and his look became serious. Now it was that look that screamed, ‘don’t fuck this up’. I gave my head a small shake. I wasn’t sure if I was telling him I wouldn’t or if I was telling him he was being ridiculous. Whatever he read into it was satisfactory as he turned his attention back to Andi. It was nearing midnight by the time we left. As I pulled in front of Andi’s place, I walked her to the door and watched as she unlocked it and quickly disarmed the alarm. I wanted to go in, I wanted to stay with her for another night, but I could see the exhaustion creeping into her eyes. I had kept her awake most of the previous night and had done little less than maul her the entire day. She needed a break. I needed a break.

“I had a really good night tonight. Your parents are really cool,” she said a little nervously from the doorway.

“See, you got all hivey for nothing.” Her hand reached for the now flawless skin of her neck. We stood there, unmoving and silent that reached into uncomfortable silence. I stepped away from the door. “You look beat. Go get some sleep. I’ll wait until you’ve locked up and reset the alarm. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

She nodded and went to pull the door closed. “You are retired, right?” Her voice was suddenly small, missing her usual confidence. My heart hammered hard in my chest. My hesitation made her eyes widen and I saw the panic setting in. “You said you retired because of technical difficulties,” her eyes dropped to my groin, “but everything seems okay now, so I just wondered if you’d be working again.” Her turn in mood when we had arrived at my parents’ place suddenly made sense. “I mean, it’s not like we’re dating or anything here. You couldn’t really call this a relationship, so if you were going back to filming, it’s not really any of my business, except, I guess, I wouldn’t really want to be doing whatever this is while you’re doing that.” She rubbed her palms nervously against her thighs. “And now I’m rambling.”

“I’m considering a proposal my dad presented me with. It would mean some extra study to get my architectural license.” Her relief was palpable. Those big trusting green eyes shot to mine, and her posture relaxed.

“That’s awesome,” she whispered with a breathtaking smile. Before I could feel the full impact of my conscience punching me in the gut, Andi launched herself into my arms and kissed me soundly. With her legs wrapped around my waist and arms around my neck, her lips moved in a gentle dance against mine, her tongue dipping and tasting, teasing my own. When she finally pulled away and released her hold on me, I lowered her to the ground, my erection pressing hard against her stomach as her feet became planted firmly back on the ground.

“It’s Sunday tomorrow, would you take me somewhere?” she asked.

“I’ll be here at nine,” I said without even considering where I would take her. I’d fly her to the fucking moon if she asked me to right now. That beautiful glowing smile was the last thing I saw as she reset the alarm and made her way to the apartment. I drove away from the book store with a lovesick smile on my face, yet a sickly feeling in my gut. I’d lied to her, sort of. By omission of the truth I had, in fact, lied.