Page 11 of Shielded

Thankfully, I don’t easily get embarrassed. I’m not one of those girls who walks around hating her body. I have a curvy frame and I’m proud of it. In fact, I’d rather look this way than be super thin. No shade to thin girls, I’ve just found that most of the people I enjoy being around also like pizza and ice cream without shame.

Perry stands from the table. “You know that’s not true, right? It’s a myth. Carbs are good for you. Your brain needs them.” He takes the box of crackers from my mother and pours them into a bowl before carrying them to the table.

I might actually be falling in love with this guy.

My mother rolls her eyes, grabs an apple from the fridge, and sits back down at the table. Now that Mom has said it, I can’t help but see how close in age they are. Funny thing is, she looks younger than him. I suppose the face lift helps with that, and the hair extensions. “So, what did you do before you started dating little girls, Perry?”

Oh my god!

He lands his hand on my thigh, and though this is not the moment or the time to get excited for such a thing, my body takes me back to the front porch where he was spanking my ass and rubbing my clit with his big, rough hand.

Okay, I need to get it together.

He acts like an adult and ignores my mother’s crude comment in favor of a responsible answer. “I had a full-time military career until about five years ago. Since then, I’ve been traveling and taking armed security jobs here and there. I moved up here when my brother wanted to start a business.”

“What kind of business?” My stomach turns. We’re getting too close to the fire now.

“Mom, why don’t you call Enrique and ask him what’s going on?”

My mother snaps me a look that could stop a flock of chickens in their tracks. “If he wants to know how I am, he’ll call me.” She rolls her eyes and looks back at Perry. “I didn’t teach her to be this needy. Hopefully she doesn’t do this with you.”

“That’s enough, Mom. If you’re going to sling a bunch of insults all weekend, I’m going to go stay with Dad.”

“I’m trying to talk to your boyfriend, and you keep changing the subject.” She redirects her gaze toward Perry. “How did you two meet?”

Fuck! We didn’t talk about how we met.

“We met down at goat yoga. I was helping a friend drop off some animals and I bumped into Siren. Haven’t been able to take my eyes off her since.” I love how calm Perry stays under pressure.

“Is this the same goat yoga that your sister is teaching?” Mom interjects.

I nod and stuff a handful of crackers into my mouth. Perry is dealing just fine with all this. I should just keep my mouth shut and let him work his magic. He clearly knows what he’s doing. I make a mental note to ask him if he’s played fake boyfriend before.

His hand stretches onto my knee beneath the table and a chill runs up my spine. Is that part of the act? No one can even see this. Maybe that’s part of the plan. Maybe, subtle touches are the way to go, so nothing looks too obvious. That, or he really wants to touch me. Maybe he’s still thinking about earlier, too. Maybe he needs me just as badly as I need him.

Why is this so damn confusing? Oh, that’s probably because I hired him to be here.

“Earth to Siren…” My mother waves her hand in front of my face. “You didn’t tell Perry about your volunteer work?”

“What?” I glance toward the giant at my side and then toward my mother as panic flutters in my stomach. Was I in my head that long? God, I have to stop doing that. “Yes, I did.”

Perry laughs. “You didn’t. I’d have remembered something like that.” His gaze is so genuine that I wonder if he really wants to know.

“Oh, I guess I thought I’d told you. I, ugh, I volunteer at the senior center. I have for years now. It’s just a day program, but I love going down to spend time with everyone and listen to all their stories.”

“She’s a crowd favorite.” My mom leans in with pride and rubs her hand over mine.

Shit, she’s going to say something nice about me. That’s a first. She scrolls through her phone to pull up the Facebook page for the center and flips the screen to Perry. It’s a photo of me with my friend Marjorie. We’re sitting in front of a card table playing Uno.

“She has seven kids and six grandchildren. They all moved off the mountain, so she’s alone most of the time. She has these wild stories of how she used to go up to Eagle Rock and jump off the top. It’s like a forty-foot drop into the lake from there.” I realize I’m smiling as I talk. “I love her stories. She used to be married to this guy who woke her up every morning with a cup of coffee and a kiss. He died ten years ago, but she talks about him like he’s in the next room.”

“What did you say you’re in college for?” Perry’s gaze is on mine. “Business, right?”

I nod. “Finance.”

“You ever think about caregiving? This is the first I’ve seen you light up since we started dating.”

“Really? The first time?” my mom interrupts, setting her phone down on the table. It’s like her to see the one thing in a sentence that discredits everything else.

---