Chapter Eleven – Dex

 

I was an idiot for thinking that my grandpa would never meet Jamie. It’d been wishful thinking—them meeting was the last thing I needed. They would, no doubt, become firm friends.

As his reaction to her had already proven.

What had I done to deserve this hell?

“Pops, this is Jamie. Jamie, this is my grandfather.” I waved a hand between them and chugged my water.

Pops glared at me. “Is that how you’re gonna introduce me to this lovely young lady? I don’t know where I went wrong with you.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he’d already hobbled across the garage to where Jamie was standing and had taken her hand.

“Edwin Ryne,” he introduced him, kissing the back of her hand. She blushed. “This uncouth little bastard’s grandfather. And you must be the young lady who’s got his balls in a twist.”

“I’m not listening to this.” I got up and walked away, into the staff area. Why couldn’t I have a nice, normal grandfather who was sweet and kind? No wonder I was an asshole. It ran in the damn family.

“That’s me,” Jamie said, far too happily. “Jamie Bell. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

She was so fucking polite. To everyone but me.

“Bell? You wouldn’t happen to be related to Simon Bell, would you?”

“Yes, sir. That’s my father.”

“Would it be remiss of me to welcome you back?”

Jamie laughed softly. “Thank you. It’s a little strange.”

“No thanks to my grandson, I’d assume.”

“There’s nothing wrong with me!” I shouted.

“Nothing right, either!” Pops hollered back. “What are you hiding for? Get your ass out here. And bring me a coffee while you’re at it.”

I rubbed my forehead which quickly moved into me pinching my nose. I took his ornery manner at home—did I have to take this shit at work now, too?

I made the damn coffee and rejoined them. “I was putting my glass in the sink,” I replied, ignoring Jamie’s smile. “What’s up, Pops?”

He rested his mug on his stick. “What are you doing?”

I told him the same story I’d just told Jamie.

He peered over. “That it? Got nothing for Jamie to do?”

“I’m his assistant,” she said dryly. “Which translates to getting him water when he fails to specify what drink he wants.”

Pops chuckled. “I like her.”

“That’s a theme in this family,” I muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“Why don’t you let Jamie do that?” Pops waved at the car.

Oh, Jesus.

“Because I was here first and got started.”

“She can finish it.”

“Pops…”

“She’s got nothing to do.”

“I’m sure the phone will ring soon,” she said chirpily. “And if it doesn’t, he’s paying me to basically do nothing, so the joke is on him.”

I fucking hated it when she turned shit around so I lost.

“Shit,” I whispered.

Jamie grinned, licked her finger, and painted a line in the air like she had the last time she’d outsmarted me.

Two-nil to her.

Three if you counted the tacos, but I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of that.

Another chuckle escaped Pops. “I really like her.”

I pinched my nose again. “Pops. Are you here for a reason other than to embarrass me a little?”

“I embarrass you, huh?” He waggled his gray eyebrows.

“Pops.”

He sniffed, sipped his coffee, and said, “It’s your aunt’s birthday this weekend.”

“I’m aware,” I said, leaning against the worktop side. “She’s left notes on the bathroom mirror every day for the last two weeks with present ideas. This morning, she requested a Ferrari. She can’t even drive anymore.”

“Yes… She’s working hard on that. She asked Roxanne for a hoverboard this morning.” Pops paused. “I think she’s taking the piss.”

“You think?” I said dryly.

“She told me to ensure you both have a date.”

I stilled. Nope. That was not happening. I didn’t know anyone here well enough except for—

No, fucking hell, no.

Jamie did not need to meet Greta. That would complete my circle of shame, because there’s no doubt they’d get on like a house on fire.

And I didn’t need any of my interactions with Jamie described as a fucking date.

Hell, torture, self-loathing—they worked.

A date?

Fuck no.

“I don’t know anyone well enough,” I half-lied. “Tell her she’ll have to wait until next year.”

“You said that last year,” Pops pointed out.

“Then we moved.”

“Greta won’t care.”

“I don’t care,” I said, shaking my head. “Not happening.”

Jamie scooted past behind him, carrying her empty mug.

“Jamie! What are you doing this weekend?”

She froze.

“Pops. Don’t even think about it!”

“Is your name Jamie, boy? I think not. Jamie?” Pops said, turning to her. “Do you have plans this Saturday?”

“I, er, um.” She slowly turned, her eyes wide. “I don’t—I’m not sure.”

Pops brightened. “Would you like some?”

“Oh fuckin’ hell.” I lifted the hem of my t-shirt and covered my face with it.

“I don’t—uh…”

“Excellent! Dex will pick you up at seven o’clock on Saturday evening. My sister will love you.”

“I, er…”

Oh, fucking hell. Fuck, fuck, fucking hell.

This day had started out so well.

“I’ll see you for dinner, Dex.” Pops hobbled out of the garage. “See you on Saturday, Jamie!”

“Uh…”

When the clicking of his stick had disappeared, I dropped my t-shirt and looked around the garage. Pops had disappeared.

Jamie, however, hadn’t. She hadn’t even moved. She was still standing in the exact place she had been when Pops had corralled her into coming to the party, but now, she was staring after him with her eyes wide and her lips parted.

Sensing my eyes on her, she turned to face me. “What—what just happened?”

“My grandfather just set us up on a date,” I said tightly.

“Oh no,” she breathed. “I think I need a lie down.”

That was one way to describe this feeling.

 

***

 

 

“Why would you do this?” I asked, slamming the front door behind me. “Pops!”

“He can’t hear you, dear,” Aunt Greta called from the kitchen. “He took out his hearing aid because he knew you’d be mad.”

“Mad? I’m fucking furious!”

“I’ll spray soap in your mouth, boy.”

I ground my teeth together and walked into the front room where I knew I’d find him sitting in front of the TV. Must have been fucking interesting if he didn’t have the damn hearing aids in.

Just as I’d thought, he was sitting there, feet up on the coffee table, completely oblivious to me. Hell, the damn TV was on silent. He was clearly sitting there for no reason other than to annoy me further.

I snatched the hearing aids from their tray on top of the fireplace and shoved them in front of his face. “Put them on.”

He pushed my hand away.

I dropped them on his lap.

He looked up.

“Put. Them. On!” I over-exaggerated my words so he could read my lips. Something I knew he could do, because long before he’d accepted he was going deaf, he’d communicated solely through lip-reading.

Pops tapped his ear with one finger and shook his head as if to say he couldn’t hear me.

“I know. Put the damn aids in.”

He sighed, but put down his little can of beer and fitted both hearing aids. “Yes, boy?”

“What the hell did you do that for?” I didn’t miss a beat as I stepped back into my tirade.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know damn well!” I ran my hand through my hair and paced. “Jamie. Why the hell would you force us both into a date neither of us want?”

“She didn’t say no.” He grinned.

“You have a date?” Greta exclaimed, entering the room with the pace of a drunken turtle.

“Not one I want! Jesus. She’s a nightmare. She’s too mouthy and sarcastic to make this night enjoyable for even a minute.”

“Mouthy and sarcastic?” Roxy said, coming in, too. “You called?”

“See?” I threw my arm in her direction. “We’ve already got one in attendance. We don’t need another!”

“What’s going on?”

“He’s bringing Jamie to your aunt’s party this weekend,” Pops answered. “Boy, you’re in the way of my TV.”

“He is?” Roxy grinned. “You are?”

“Why can’t I hear this?” Pops asked.

“It’s on mute, you old coot,” I said. Turning to Roxy, I said, “No, I’m not bringing her. Not by choice, at least. This old pain in the ass showed up today and forced us into it.”

“She didn’t say no. Ah-ha!” Pops clapped when the sound came back on with a boom.

“She didn’t fucking say yes!”

“Dexter!” Aunt Greta slapped her hands over her ears. “Turn that racket down, Edwin!”

“Racket? That’s a Big Brother replay. No racket at all!” Pops sniffed and settled his hands on his stomach.

Roxy looked between them and motioned for me to follow her. I rubbed my hand over my face and went with her into the dining room.

“Why is he watching Big Brother?” she asked.

“Probably because he couldn’t hear it five minutes ago. And to piss off Greta,” I grumbled.

Roxy swung out a dining chair and sat down. “Are you really taking Jamie?”

“Where’s Charley?”

“In bed. She had McDonalds and fell asleep in the car. Stop avoiding the question.”

I pointed at her, then dropped it with a groan. “Yes, I am. I’ve been forced into it, like she has. He didn’t ask. He asked her if she had plans then offered her my plus one. I didn’t even want to go as one, never mind a plus one!”

“Is this a bad time to tell you that Mom called me this morning?”

“As a rule, yes.”

“She and Dad are flying in tomorrow for Greta’s party.”

I dragged out a chair and dropped onto it. “No, no, please no.”

She grimaced and nodded.

“Fucking hell!” I got up and kicked the chair back under less than ten seconds after I’d sat down. Not that I didn’t love seeing my parents, but this was turning into a motherfucking mess.

Roxy laughed. “It’s not a big deal, Dex. You’re just pissed at Pops for backing you into a corner.”

“No, I’m not. I’m pissed at the who.”

“Because she doesn’t take your shit?”

“No. She’s a fucking nightmare. She’s fucking insufferable, Rox. She grinds on me like nobody I’ve ever met in my goddamn life, and the last thing I want is to have to pretend I like her around our family.”

My sister raised one dark, slim eyebrow. “I don’t know. It sounds to me like she grinds on you because you like her.”

I held a finger up at her. “Don’t you dare.”

“Oh, come on. She’s beautiful. You have to admit that.”

I said nothing. I didn’t need to agree with my sister for that fact to be true. Jamie was beautiful, no doubt about it. Frizzy hair and all.

Roxy laughed. “God, Dex, you’re so blinded by your fake hatred you can’t even admit that. She’s beautiful, she’s kickass, and she doesn’t cower to your stupid little ideas. Personally, I think you should marry her immediately.”

“Fuck, all right, she’s beautiful. There. Are you happy?” I threw my arms up. “I can appreciate that, but that doesn’t mean I like her.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t. Your insistence that you hate her makes me think you do actually like her.”

I ran my hand through my hair again, this time, tugging lightly on it. “I don’t like her. I’m attracted to her, and that makes this awkward as fuck. I don’t want to be attracted to her or think of her as anything other than the biggest pain in the ass since a colonoscopy.”

“That’s one helluva way to refer to a woman, I have to admit.”

“You’re about to join her, Rox!”

My sister fought her amusement for all of five seconds. “Oh my God. I love you. You’re so angry at yourself it’s comical.”

“I’m glad my frustration is amusing to you, sis.” I made my way toward the dining room door, but she was closer and beat me to it.

She flattened herself against it and shook her head. “I think your problem is that she’s nothing like you thought. It’s been, what? Four? Five days? And you’re already eating your words, brother. Face it: you know she’s beautiful. She’s strong and independent, and you thought she’d roll over within a day, but she’s standing toe-to-toe with you. She’s proving you wrong and you hate it.”

My jaw twitched.

“And to make matters worse,” she smirked, “you want her, and you can’t do anything about it, because you know she’d introduce her knee to your little boy parts.”

“If you refer to my cock as that again, I will smash your new make-up palette with my hammer.”

Her jaw dropped. “Sometimes I think you’re thirteen,” she hissed.

“Sometimes you act like it,” I snapped back.

The door yanked open. The swift movement sent Roxy flying backward, and only her quick reflexes as she grabbed hold of the doorframe stopped her from landing on her ass.

Greta looked down at her then up at me. “Your dinner is ready. And you both act like gosh darn thirteen-year-olds. Shut your mouths and come eat.”

No matter how pissed I was, nobody disobeyed her when she spoke to you like that.