Page 87 of The Show

“Actually, don’t answer that. No, neither of you can date one of my players.”

Lauren gave an overly dramatic sigh of defeat. “Thought as much. Shame. Lowey, you’ll have to go back to dating from your mom’s pool of boys.”

“What? You’re dating your mom’s pool boy?” Rafe’s face filled with confusion and began moving back and forth between me and Penn in a way I wasn’t comfortable with.

I reached across the table for a spare bowl of granola and yogurt, anything to divert the tension threatening to cramp up my body. “No. I’m not. I’m not dating anyone.”

“She isn’t,” giggled Lauren, “but Lowe’s mom lives to set her up with guys. It’s like she trawls the streets for them. Actually, she probably does because she’s always sending Lowe the numbers of guys and telling her to call them. Or setting her up on dates without her knowing. Once she arranged to meet Lowe, only when Lowe turned up, this random guy was waiting instead.”

“Holy shit! That’s hilarious! Have you ever been on any dates she’s picked for you?” laughed Kit, taking the lid off a bottle of formula so she could feed Bell.

It was at that point I wished something would swallow me whole. Or we were hit by an asteroid. Either one would do, because Penn, once again, pinned me with a stare that made it perfectly clear to anyone with eyes that something was going on between us, and he wasn’t happy with this line of conversation.

“Yeah, Lowe, have you been on any dates with your mom’s guys? Please do share.” His clipped tone made his annoyance even more pronounced, though I wasn’t entirely sure why he got to be annoyed at something that never happened.

“No. No dates. I don’t need my mom to set me up on dates,” I snapped. “Can we change the subject now?”

His jaw flexed, but he eventually looked away and joined in the conversation Beulah and Murray were having about who they thought might take Penn’s offer and quit before he properly got started in his leadership.

I picked up a bowl of blueberries and rage scooped them into my bowl while simultaneously trying to send a telepathic message to Lauren, requesting her to cease with the mom dating chat. Then I realized it would cause more alarm bells, because my mom setting me up on dates was a running joke between us and our group of friends. I just wasn’t finding it quite so funny this morning.

Then I felt worse because really what I was angrier at was myself, because not only had something significant happened in my life, I hadn’t shared it with my best friend. And moreover, the something significant happening was with her brother, so that was adding another layer to my angst, but I think the real crux was the possibility I liked Penn more than I was letting on; more than I’d admitted to him or to myself - his current behavior excluded.

I put the blueberries down.

I turned to Kit who was watching Bell take her bottle. “Sorry, Kit, I didn’t mean to snap. My mom is being a pain in my ass right now.”

“Don’t worry about it at all. It sounds funny, but I bet it’s a nightmare too. I remember her trying to get you to meet that doctor from the party last week.”

I stroked Bell’s head while she ate. I didn’t get to see her a lot, but every time I did, she’d always grown so much. She had to be seven months old now. I’d always loved kids, I loved my nieces and nephews, but I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get the opportunity.

“If I was being kind, I’d tell you she’s super extra right now because my parents were away all summer and she’s making up for time, but in reality, she’s always like this. It’s hard sometimes because I feel like I don’t have control over my own life, or like I have to work extra hard to keep the control.”

“Come and hide out at my place, she’ll never find you there.”

I scoffed out a laugh. “Thanks. I wouldn’t put anything past her though.”

“What time do we need to leave here?” asked Rafe, taking Bell from Kit so he could finish feeding her while Kit ate her own breakfast.

Even though Murray was Bell’s biological father, it would be hard to tell for anyone who didn’t know from the way all three of the boys fussed around the baby, like she was their own.

“In thirty minutes, which should be enough time for Lowe to finish that mountain of fruit in front of her.”

My eyes shot back to Penn to see him grinning at me, which made my heart flipflop whether I wanted it to or not. He was an angel and a devil all rolled into one. I didn’t reply but dug my spoon in, and heaped a mouthful without dropping his gaze.

His eyes narrowed with a little glint. I’d become so fully attuned to him this week that I knew that glint, and I liked that glint. So did my vagina - given the heavy thud it made.

“Great.”

“Can I get you all anything else?” I looked up to find the waitress from before hovering right by Penn.

I assumed she was addressing the table, but she was only looking at him. In fact, the way her whole body was turned to him had me rage eating my granola.

“No, we’re good, thanks,” Lauren smiled at her, “but we’ll let you know if we do.”

The waitress gave a weak smile, looked once more at Penn, who was only paying attention to Bell, then walked off.

Lauren waited until she was barely out of earshot. “God, Penny, it must be so boring having women throw themselves at you all the time, and exhausting having to fight them off.”

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