Page 11 of Follow Your Bliss

“Your girlfriend’ll have a problem with it too.” Alex grinned at me behind his drink.

“Stop. You know Misty’s not my girlfriend.”

Misty said something to Rose, and they looked directly at me. Both caught me watching them, then Misty touched Rose’s arm, recapturing her attention.

Alex snorted. “I think you need to have that conversation withherthen, because she looks like she’s claiming her territory, bro.”

It was hard not to compare the two women since they were standing side-by-side. Misty was all thorns, all sharp angles in her personality and body. Like a drama-seeking beauty queen, she wouldn’t be caught dead in anything less than full stage makeup and hair-sprayed perfection, and she thought the world owed her whatever she wanted. And what she wanted was to cultivate her devout religious persona while banging anything that breathed in the shadows. She was loud and pretty, and she turned a lot of heads.

But never mine.

Rose, like her namesake, was effortlessly beautiful and velvety. That strapless dress was all feminine beauty, showing off her ample cleavage and voluptuous curves like petals. Her skin was a temple treasure, and I’d devotedly perform whatever sacred rites would grant me the honor of touching her. Fuck, how would it feel to draw a finger, or my tongue across the length of her collar bone?

But firmly, no. Alex was right, and that almost never happened. Rose was like cheese fries at Lee’s Hamburgers—amazing in every way, but something I should stay away from.

“But damn, Rose grew up fine as hell, huh? She was so awkward in middle school, remember?”

Alex wasn’t helping.

“Shy at her prom, too.” Seeing her last night unlocked more memories. When Becca asked me to go to Rose’s prom all those years ago, she said she’d offered Rose a choice between me and Alex. I’d been flattered until prom night. She barely talked to me, barely wanted to dance. She either didn’t want me there after all, or she was really shy. But she was kind enough to pretend not to notice when I got a boner the one time she agreed to dance with me.

Alex clapped a hand on my shoulder. “On second thought, now that Mom’s got Mark married off and Beccaalmostmarried off, she’s been pushing pretty hard at me and Bess to get married. So, you should definitely let Rose move in. That’ll put the Eye of Sauron on you instead, and with all that”—his eyes tracked Rose down and back up—“temptation around. Who knows, you might even end your dry spell.”

“Yeah. I don’t know.” Getting involved with anyone casually was too risky for my bruised heart. But also, the next woman I date should probably come Mom-approved if I wanted any peace at all.

Misty’s laugh rose above the soft music and din of conversation, and Alex tossed his head toward her.

“How’s Misty’s salty virgins’ club going?”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s called the Single Adults Living Truth group—SALT. And yeah, it sucks. It’s not at all what I signed up for.”

“I still can’t believe she took over your group. Girl’s obsessed with you.”

Alex may not have been wrong on that one, either. In a classic example of no good deed going unpunished, I’d excitedly joined a church group that volunteered to help around the houses of elderly parishioners with small repairs and accessibility renos. But Misty learned that the other members of my group were all single and talked everyone into combining our group with hers. The days we worked on houses were fulfilling, but the nights we met to plan were a nightmare.

I still think she did it to get access to me and so I couldn’t block her phone number without missing the info I needed for volunteering. But I had her in my contacts as “DO NOT ANSWER,” and that’d already saved me a few times.

“Mom’s thrilled about me being in a church singles’ group,” I said. “She thinks I’ll find a good, churchgoing wife there.”

Alex laughed mid-sip, coughing on his drink. “Bro, you can’t let Mom keep you under her thumb like that. You have to—”

“I know,” I said, drowning him out. If there was one phrase I never wanted to hear again in my life, it was “under her thumb.” Kasey’s favorite thing to say to me about Mom still made my shoulders tense and my gut twist.

“I don’t get it. Why don’t you want to go out with Misty? She’s hot, down to fuck, and Mom would award you son of the year if you married her best friend’s daughter.”

Dad walked up, saving me from answering Alex. “Hey Jason, I didn’t see you come in.” He hugged me then leaned back, adjusting his glasses as he peered at me. “You wouldn’t believe who I ran into yesterday when I was inspecting a house out in New Orleans East. Jack Kumar.”

My heart sank. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! He’s doing well. Busier than he can manage.” Dad folded his arms, nodding and leaning into his story. “I told him you were still looking for a good architecture firm to put down roots in. I told him about your church reno, and he said they could use your experience on an adaptive reuse project they have coming up—converting some office building downtown into a couples’ resort. So, I gave him your number, and he’s going to call you sometime next week.”

This again. “I appreciate it, Dad, but I’m not looking to work anywhere. I like what I’m doing, and I don’t have time to take on anything else.”

“I know you’re doing well, but a full-time job would give you security. Benefits. A retirement plan.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Do me a favor and go meet with the guy. See what he has to say. It can’t hurt to get more information.”

“But can he work there shirtless?” Alex ran a hand through his short, dark hair, laughter gearing up in his voice. “At least shirtless Fridays, and he wants to be in the firm’s man candy calendar. They can call it ‘Kumar’s Kuties’ with a K, and all proceeds will go to rehabilitating the wild Jason back into a professional workplace.”

I rolled my eyes and held my tongue. Calling him out on making fun of my work would only make my little brother double down and get dirtier. Alex guffawed at his own joke, and Dad shook his head.

---