God, this was awkward. More so than I’d initially anticipated when I told Maya we’d be picking her up from the airport. Even with Knox and Manny’s presence holding me down, I was still having a hard time keeping the conversation with her running smoothly. I’d ask a question, she’d answer, and boom, silence. Granted, I knew this had to be a lot for her to adjust to, but it was a lot for me, too, as it would be for my boys, and the silence didn’t help one bit. It made me anxious and gave me far too much to think about a dozen possible negative outcomes, something we all knew I was great at doing.
“So… Think you’ll miss New York?” I asked, as Knox pulled up to one of the last lights before our community.
He squeezed my hand as though that wasn’t the smartest question to ask, and I didn’t realize why until way after the fact. Oh well, too late, not like I could retract my query and ask something else.
Maya cleared her throat but answered anyway. “Probably not. When we first moved over there, I fell in love with it, especially since we were right in the heart of the city. But then this nightmare with Dimitri started, and little by little, I began to hate it.”
“Understandable,” I said, catching view of her in the side mirror.
Her brown eyes were glued out the window, as they had been for most of the drive. She really did look so much like Bernie, it was scary. I’d been expecting similarities based off the few pictures I’d seen, but she was literally his twin. Her personality, however, was not. Bernie would’ve been back there initiating conversation, putting everyone at ease and giving us all a good laugh. It only occurred to me then...if she was having a hard time communicating with me, how was I ever going to ensure she’d be okay with Manny, alone. I wasn’t expecting her to tag along everywhere I went, and I certainly didn’t want her to either. Apparently, though, she was so terrified of her husband, she wanted someone with her twenty-four-seven, and that’s where Manny came in. But they hadn’t said a single word to each other. Not a good sign, if you asked me. I could feel Knox’s eyes on me, prompting me to give him my attention. The look he gave me told me he knew exactly what I was mulling over silently. It also said be patient. I mean, I guess he was right. We just met the girl not thirty minutes ago. Did I really expect this all to be like wham bam, thank you, ma’am?
“Anything you missed about L.A. while you were up there?” Knox questioned as he made the turn into our complex.
About time, babe…
“The palm trees. The beaches too. New York beaches just aren’t the same.”
“I’ve heard they’re beautiful, though,” I added.
“Oh, they are, but there’s nothing like the Pacific.”
“You’re right about that,” Manny agreed, which led me to wonder if I’d been thinking out loud.
The entire ride here, I’d be the one pulling teeth and nails to chat with my old man’s daughter, and now that we were parking in front of our building, these two were magically jumping in.
Assholes.
I chose to stay quiet on the short walk up to our floor. No point in dragging out the conversation when it wasn’t likely we were all going to sit around and shoot the shit once we made it inside.
“Where do you want these?” Manny asked me as we filed into the living room, the question swinging Maya’s eyes to where I stood too.
“Guest room.” I smiled. “Babe, can you show them? I’ll be right there, I just wanna get the veggies chopped.”
Knox flashed me one of his usual killer winks and I blew him a silent kiss as I retreated into the kitchen, then blew out a deep breath between puffed cheeks like a deflating balloon. I know I said it already, but God, this was fucking awkward. My late coach’s daughter, who hadn’t spoken to him in almost a decade because he didn’t approve of her relationship, was now staying in my home because her husband actually turned out to be the scum her father – aka said late coach – had warned her about. That was a damn mouthful. What would Bern have to say if he were here? Would he be happy to have his baby home or would he be hitting her with the ‘I told you so’ lesson. Somehow, with the man Bernie was, I think it’d be a mixture of both. He wasn’t someone that enjoyed dwelling on the negative, but when errors helped you understand your mistakes, he was all for pointing them out. I assumed this would be one of those times.
“She’s all set,” my man said from behind me.
I swiveled around with a chopping knife in hand, to find him and Manny joining me. My eyes shifted between the two, wondering where she was. Manny caught on first and cleared his throat.
“She said she was going to take a nap. Jetlag and all that.”
Right. It made sense. Jetlag was no joke, believe me. I nodded and turned back to the rainbow of peppers laid out on the chopping board.
“Want a beer?” Knox asked Manny as he poked his head in the fridge, the bottles clinking in his grasp.
“Nah, I’m gonna head out.”
“So early? You going somewhere,” I prodded.
What can I say? I was curious.
“Yeah, I’ve got a date at nine.”
“At nine, huh? Must be serious.”
“Actually” – I caught him rubbing the back of his head from the corner of my eye – “this is the first time we’re going out. Why would the time make it serious?”
Now I was really curious. I left the peppers unattended and spun around to face him.
“Really, you don’t know the rule?”
“What rule?” Both Manny and Knox asked, their brows raised high in question.
“The rule. If she can only go out before nine, there’s a great chance she’s seeing someone after you drop her off. But if you’re her after nine o’clock, you’re the main event.”
They exchanged a dubious look, matching smirks curling their lips, and then they laughed.
“Naaah,” Manny drawled, to which I nodded.
“Yesss. Google it.”
“And how would you know about this rule, missy?” Knox questioned, coming to loom behind me.
“Cosmo,” I quipped, pivoting back toward the chopping board.
“Cosmo, my fuckin’ ass,” he growled.
“Alright, I’m outta here before you two start fucking around with your food. I’ll come by tomorrow, in case Maya has any questions.”
“Have a good night, Mr. After Nine O’Clock. I’ll drill you on who she is another time,” I said, giggling as Knox’s lips skated up my neck.
“See ya, bro,” my man added.
When the door shut, his fingers dug into my waist like a vice. “Where were we?”
“You were just about to start seasoning the beef tips.” I motioned toward the fridge.
“And who said that?”
“Me, duh.”
Silly man.
“That little sassy ass mouth of yours is gonna-” he warned, only to stop halfway through as his phone began blaring in his pocket. With a frustrated sigh, he fished it out and took note of the screen. “You lucked out. We’ll continue this conversation when I’m done.”
I rolled my eyes, his threat not fazing me in the slightest, as per usual, and turned back to our dinner. “Yes, Sir, Daddy, Sir.”