Page 6 of Crazy In Love
I’ll be his training dummy.
“Fun fact.” Grunting, he folds my arm back against his chest and digs his heels into my ribs. “Forty-three percent of airbus pilots admit to falling asleep while flying long haul.”
“Really? That’s kinda terrifying.” I turn my hand to remind him which way my thumb should point:upwards. “Probably why I never wanna fly anywhere.”
“Also, you know how airplane food sometimes tastes bland?” He yanks on my arm with the viciousness of a dozen angry kittens. “Well, cabin humidity and high-altitude pressure hamper our sensitivity to flavors by up to thirty percent. So maybe the food isn’t actually gross. Maybe your tastebuds are just not doing their job.”
“And now I know.” I wait… wait… wait… for him to drag my arm over his shoulder and complete the bar, and when I figure it’s as close as it’s gonna get, I pat his thigh, proud as he rolls out of his lock.
Victorious.
“I’m getting better, Mom!” He spins toward her and Tommy, wrapped in each other’s arms while they whisper thingswedon’t need to hear. “I got him in an arm bar. Did you see?”
She turns and leans against Tommy’s side, forcing him to hold her weight. “Great job, honey. That basically makes you the world champ, huh? Chris trained Tommy. So that’s pretty much the same thing.”
He spins back to face me. “I’m not even close to being the world champ. She’s just saying that because she’s my mom.”
“Moms sometimes do that.”Not my mom. Mine preferred to beat the shit out of me and Tommy for fun, and only when we weren’t busy getting the shit beat out of us by our dad. “She likes to build you up because that’s what people do for those they love.”
He resets his stance, widening his legs and bending at the knees. Then he extends his hand, ready for me to bump it. “I know. Did you know my Aunty Fox is flying in tonight?”
“Hmm?”
He throws himself at me—same move, same battle cry, same arm—and falls backward, tugging me to the floor and locking me exactly how he did the first time.
“That’s why I was saying about the plane food and stuff. She already texted my mom and said she was at the airport and getting ready to board.”
“Yeah?”
“Mmhm.” He wriggles closer and twists my wrist into place. “She’ll land after dinnertime. Tommy said he’ll drive to the airport and get her so Mom can stay home and rest.”
“You excited to see her?”
“Uh-huh.” He squeezes my hand and tries to hyperextend my elbow. But his grip isn’t right, and his hips are too far from my body, which makes his lock as weak as my brother’s ‘oops, I forgot to mention my plans’attempt at shielding me from somethinguncomfortable. “I miss her,” he explains. “Haven’t seen her since Vegas. And that was a fast visit, ‘cos we had to rush back here for Mom’s baby appointments. But she’s staying for six weeks this time.”
I tap and let him win, but when he bounds to his feet, ready for a third round, I stay on the canvas and stare up at the cobwebbed ceiling instead. “She staying at the house with you guys?”
Game over. He drops to the floor beside me, arms and legs splayed wide, while his chest lifts and falls in search of air. “For tonight. But she’s staying at the apartment above the bookstore most of the time ‘cos she’s gonna run the shop while Mom’s at home with the baby. She promised to stay at the house on the days we need her.”
“Like the day your sister’s born?”
“Right.” He peeks across with glittering, fearful eyes. “Having a baby is dangerous, ya know? There are a lot of things that can go wrong.”
“True. But science and medicine are pretty good nowadays. And Ollie will be there, since he’s the doctor. Tommy won’t leave her side because besides you, who on the planet is the most protective of your mom?”
Apprehensive, his brows pinch closer, and his teeth come forward to nibble on his bottom lip. “He’s protective of her. And you.”
“And me,” I accept with a smile. “But since I’m not the one having a baby this month, why don’t you let Tommy take care of the Alana stuff, and I’ll take care of the Franky stuff? Fox could probably even stay at the bookstore and not worry, since I’ll hang with you. We don’t need her.”
“But she’s coming to visit for exactly this.” Like me, Franklin Page relies on rules and expectations. On fulfilling the roles we’re supposed to fulfill and abiding by the rules set down around us. “She flew all the way from New YorkbecauseMom asked her to help.”
“Sure. And she can help with the shop.” I tilt my head to the side and glimpse Tommy and Alana whispering again. Smirking. Flirting. His hands on her body, and her belly pressed snugly against his. He’s shirtless and sweaty, and she’s as professional as a woman can be while elastic bands keep her pants up. “The shop will need someone to run it, and the apartment above sounds like the perfect place for her to stay. It’s convenient. And since you and your mom moved out to Tommy’s place a few months back, and I live right next door, that means I can hang out with you while she and your sister are in the hospital. Convenient again.”
He shakes his head. Thoughshakingis actuallyrolling. “Aunty Fox wants to hang out with me, too. She already said so.” He brings his eyes back around. “Did you know she has a magic ability to make people happy?”
“You think?” Sweat creates a vacuum seal between my back and the canvas, so each time I move, the slurping release is audible. “I wouldn’t know about that, kid. She’s yet to use that magic in front of me.”
“It’s her actual job. And she’s really good at it, except when she wants me to dance.”
