Page 9 of Damien
“Uh… I don’t have much of a life,” I admit. It’s partially the truth. I don’t have a social life outside of my family. “I guess I read and hang out with friends.”
Damien scrutinizes my reaction. His eyes lock onto mine, and I swear they burrow deep into my soul. I’m not quite sure what he finds because I’m surprised by his response. “What’s your favorite book?”
“Uh… that’s like asking a mom to choose her favorite child. You just can’t do that.” Of course, I have it easy only having one but still, I wouldn’t be able to choose if there were more. My mom used to cop out and say, “I love the one I’m with the most.” To get us to snuggle her more.
Damien nods in agreement. “True. Being of four, my mom never chooses, either.”
Four kids? That’s a lot. “Are you the oldest?” I ask curiously.
“Nope. I’m third in line. Derek gets that spot, then Dani. Davis is the baby.”
“Wait. Your mom had four boys? And each of you start with the letter D?”
“Nope. Dani’s short for Danika.” He chuckles. “Though growing up, she was just as feisty as us boys. I’m sure Mom had her hands full.”
“I’m sure. It was just me and Vince growing up. But being twins, our parents were kept busy.”
“I see we have something in common…” A smile pulls at Damien’s lips. “Our moms like to keep our initials the same.”
Rolling my eyes at how we were always called Vinnie and Vanny, I have to agree. But now, I’d give anything to be called that one more time by my parents. I guess that’s why I’ve stuck with it when I’m alone with Vince, too. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. But there are worse things.”
“True. Is… uh… everything all right? You looked lost for a minute there.”
I add perceptive to my growing list of traits for Damien.
“Yeah.” I shrug. “I’m fine.” But then I change the subject back to him. “Did your mom ever call you by the wrong name?”
“Always. But she made up for it by just listing us off, to make sure none were forgotten. It was always Derek, Dani, Dame, and Davis… Get in here. It didn’t matter if some of us were gone or not. When she got out the list, you just came because she likely meant you.”
“That’s fantastic. I’ll have to remember that. Were you the one most likely in trouble?” I tease.
“No. That would be Dani. She’d always be late to something because her nose was stuck in a book.”
“I love your sister already,” I tease, completely able to relate.
“She’s still that way. I’m sure you’d get along fine.” He seems to think about something for a moment, but then adds, “If you can’t tell me what your favorite book is, can you at least tell me the genre?”
“Hmmm… let’s see…” I tap my chin as I look to the ceiling for the answer. “I read a little of everything. I read romance, sci-fi, suspense. But when I get the chance to read anything other than a textbook lately, I’ve been into romance of some sort, though that’s still a wide genre. It’s got to be light and easy to follow, so I don’t have to follow the plot so precisely, like I do when I read a Dan Brown novel or something like that. Don’t get me wrong, I love having to figure things out, but I love my brain candy, too.”
“Okay… note to self.” Damien chuckles. “You and Dani would be the best of friends should you ever talk books.”
Since that’s my only social life, I can talk books all day long. “I’m sure I could handle that. There’s nothing better than actually talking with someone who reads like I do,” I agree.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he says as he cuts a piece of his waffle off, dabs it in the whipped cream, and takes a bite.
Turning the tables, I decide it’s time to learn more about him. “What about you? What do you do in your spare time?”
As he finishes his bite, he murmurs, “Hmmmm. I’m new around here, so I can’t say I’ve done all that much. I love spending time in the snow, going kayaking on the Sound in the summer. I like being outdoors but am also fine with just hanging at my house and tinkering around there.”
“Tinkering, eh? What does that entail?”
“It’s not that exciting, trust me. As a kid, I always loved taking things apart and putting them back together. I guess that’s how I ended up as an engineer. But as an adult, I have to say I’ve been remodeling the house I’m flipping when I finish this job.”
“That sounds interesting. What made you take on that venture, alongside your huge job on campus?”
“Well, I didn’t want to live in an apartment with a bunch of college kids—no offense. But they’re loud. So, I started looking for a house to rent. But when I realized I could buy one for less than the cost of rent, I decided to use my downtime to flip the house when I’m done. I can either keep it as a rental myself or sell it when the time comes. Either way, I’m building equity and keeping myself busy.”
Holy crap. That sounds like a lot of work, though Vince and I bought a house for the same reason. It’s way cheaper to buy than rent in this town. And we needed a place to raise Julia. “You certainly are.”
