Elijah
“Right there.” I stood in my uncle’s garage, holding a two by four against the wall. “Don’t move.”
I chuckled as he slid the ladder closer and began to climb up. The man was short, there was no other way to explain it. I remember growing up how many of my friends would comment on his height compared to mine. I was thirteen and taller than him.
My genes came from my father, or so I was told.
My mother was young when she got pregnant, just a teen. She’d gone to a party, allowed herself to get so drunk she couldn’t see straight and then a month later she found out she was pregnant.
For a while she tried to hide it, and in doing so she continued to drink and do worse.
When she finally went to the guy she knew she slept with, he denied it at first. Later he came to her with the money for an abortion and told her if she had the baby he would disown it. By this time the dumbass didn’t realize she’d reached the point where she could no longer get an abortion.
Somehow Aunt Meg was able to convince her to allow them to adopt me. Money had a lot to do with it, but Uncle Miles had told me over and over that he would have spent every penny he had and more if she’d asked for it.
God works in mysterious ways. Aunt Meg was unable to conceive and yet her younger sister, careless and irresponsible, was.
My aunt and uncle were my heroes; they always would be.
No one knew exactly where my biological mother was or if she was even alive, but I stopped caring long ago. I had my parents and my grandparents; they were all I needed.
“What are you two doing out here?” I looked over my shoulder to see Aunt Meg holding two glasses of what looked like iced tea.
“Tiny over here is attempting to reinforce this shelf; I’m holding it up so it don’t squash him.”
“Okay, smart ass.” He smacked in the last nail before looking down at me. “Just because you’re bigger than me doesn’t mean I can’t whoop ya.”
Both my aunt and I chuckled.
“You’ll just get hurt again,” she told him as she stepped forward. “Don’t you remember last time you attempted to pin him down?”
“How could I forget?” He rubbed at his shoulder. “I had to wear that damn shoulder sling for a month before I could move my arm as normal.”
“I told you to say uncle.” I shrugged, walking away toward my aunt.
“I’m old and brittle, boy.” He shoved at my back but the pressure barely moved me. “Besides, I’d told you from the beginning that I had no intention of backing out.”
“Yes, you did, and see where it got you”?”
We moved toward the front porch, me still hassling my uncle and him giving it back just as good as he got. Once we were all seated, I looked over at my aunt and made her day.
“I wanted to ask you something.”
“Oh yeah, and what’s that?
“I have a date.” Her eyes lit up and she slid forward in the chair.
“Do we get to meet her?” Uncle Miles laughed and leaned back, crossing his ankle over his other leg. He watched us interact and I knew there was no way I was going to get any help from him.
“Maybe one day, but this is only our first date.”
“You act as if she’d not gonna want more than that.” My aunt actually looked offended. “Let me assure you, she will.” Suddenly I found myself wondering if this conversation was really the best plan. “So tell me what is the question?”
“Where should I take her?”
She squealed happily, high-pitched excitement that made me jump in surprise. I knew then that I should have asked Morgan or even Marcus instead.
***
“You sure I can’t pick you up?”
“I’m sure,” she said, gathering the neatly wrapped silverware from the cart she pushed and placing it in the basket near the front of the restaurant.
Here I was following her around Porter’s while she prepared for the afternoon rush. By now Pete had gotten used to us frat guys hanging around and given up caring. I think he’d given up on Morgan, though I had still caught him a time or two staring at her ass or even her tits when he thought no one was paying attention.
Shit pissed Xavier off something crazy but it sure was fun to tease him about it.
“A real date is me showing up at your door, giving you flowers, even opening the car door for you when I help you inside.”
“Oh really?” Catherine turned around to face me with an amused smile on her face.
Shrugging, I smiled at her too. “It’s what my aunt says.”
I’m not sure why I don’t call them Mom and Dad; they never asked me to. They are the only parents I know, but they’ve always been Meg and Miles.
“Your aunt seems like a smart lady.”
“She is,” I nodded, “and she’s already eager to meet you.” I saw her eyes widen just a tad. “But I told her that she needs to let me work my magic first, make sure I get more than just one date before I spring the parental crazies on you.”
“You haven’t met crazies till you meet mine.” She rolled her eyes and then suddenly realized what she said. “Which you never will because they are a deal breaker.”
“Deal breaker?” Crinkling my eyes in confusion I waited for a better explanation.
“Yes, as in you’ll go running in the opposite direction just to get away. In no way am I going to allow you to judge me by them.”
I laughed but she showed no sign of humor.
“No joke.”
I could tell it wasn’t. This would be a conversation for another day.
“I’ll see you tonight.” I leaned in without warning and kissed her on the corner of her mouth. Her breath hitched and that’s all I needed to know that I got to her.
“Don’t keep me waiting too long.”
I left her standing in the center of the dining area as I walked away without looking back.
I don’t date, like ever. Girls complicate things.
I’m not saying I’m innocent, hell I’ve hooked up, but it was never more. I kept them casual things and both parties involved understood the terms. Yet even that was a rare occasion. There was this one girl who worked at the gym I went to. She was a little older, four years to be exact, and was recently divorced, looking for nothing more than a means of relief. Though she and I hadn’t talked in over a month, she was my go to for a while. Kept things less complicated at school. College girls were looking for more, always. Most were looking for that guy they could latch onto and claim.
I had never wanted to be claimed until now.
Something about Cat calling me hers was intriguing. I liked the idea of having other guys refer to her as taken and in turn I was taken by her. I liked the idea of having that one person I could count on, the one who no matter what would be on my side. The thought of having her to share things with and being there for her to do the same. That bond, that trust, fuck I wanted that.