Page 24 of An Unexpected Everything
“He’s right about that. And don’t worry, I am not having sex.” Sam beamed, and I choked on my coffee.
“Good to know.”
“Seriously? You and Mason haven’t…” Lance asked, his voice trailing off.
Sam blushed, shaking her head. “No. We like things the way they are. And Weston always told us that sex changes things. Maybe when we’re in college, but no. That’s not our thing.”
An odd sense of relief slid through me at that, and I told myself that all three of my kids knew what the fuck they were doing. They had strong heads on their shoulders, and I didn’t have to worry too much.
And then Sydney opened her mouth.
“Steve and I have tons of sex. I mean everywhere.”
I glared at my baby sister, the bane of my existence. “You better be joking.”
“I thought you said that it was my body, my choice. As long as I am adult enough to vote, and to make my own decisions, I should be able to have sex with somebody that I love and am in a committed relationship with. Or, I could have sex with anybody I wanted as long as it was safe. Consensual. And we aren’t doing anything that hurts someone. Because there is no such thing as being a slut. Only someone who is irresponsible with theirs and other’s safety and heart.”
Lance just blinked at me over his coffee, as if telling me that this was my ball in my court.
I missed my parents every damn day.
But in this moment, I missed them more than usual.
“You know what. I don’t care if you’re fucking with me or not. You know the rules, just don’t lie to me. And be safe.”
“Of course I’m being safe. And I am just messing with you.” She winked at me, and I didn’t know if she was messing with me because she hadn’t had sex with her long-time boyfriend or hadn’t had sex everywhere. Sydney was a handful, and I loved her to death. And she had a nearly full-wide scholarship to her college. All thanks to field hockey and academics. Sam had similar scholarships, but for soccer and academics. Thank God my kids were smart, talented, and gave me gray hairs. Or rather, grayhair.
“And on this note, I need to go shower and not deal with any of this.”
“So you need to go get ready so you can meet Isabella,” Sydney said, fluttering her eyelashes.
I froze on my way upstairs, and turned slightly, glaring. “Excuse me?”
“Mrs. Hanford saw you and Isabella totally making out behind The Pantry.”
“And Miss Stacey said that the two of you seemed to know each other. And that Isabella is one of the Cages. That means she’s Dorian’s sister.” Sam nearly swooned as she said Dorian’s name, and I rubbed the spot between my eyebrows.
“I’m not going to justify an answer to anything you just said.” Mostly because for a man who had lived in a small town his entire life, I had fucking forgotten the way small towns worked. Of course even though I had tried to hide my kiss with Isabella, or the fact that I was even speaking to her, everybody had seen. Or at least, one person had seen, and now everybody knew. There was no hiding in this town. Hence why Isabella was here in the first place. And at that damning thought, bile rose in my throat, so I swallowed it down and glared. “And stop thinking about Dorian that way. He’s too old for you.”
“Older men are hot,” Sydney said as she and Sam bumped fists.
“You really are going to have to beat up your best friend’s brother, aren’t you?” Lance asked sweetly, and I flipped him off.
“Thank God Dorian has a head on his shoulders and is used to dealing with women throwing themselves at him,” I mumbled.
“We wouldn’t throw ourselves at him. Plus, he’s old. Like you,” Sam said before the twins got their bags and ran out of the house giggling.
Lance blinked slowly. “Somehow they’re confusing me more now than they did when they were pre-teens and screaming for some boy band with funky hair.”
I made a gesture toward Lance’s hair, and the fact that his bangs were nearly past his forehead. “Are you one to talk right now?”
“It’s a look.”
“And you were screaming for that boy band right alongside them. I have recordings,” I teased.
“If you’re going to bring that up, I’m going to ask about Isabella. Because I remember that name.”
I froze and turned to look at my brother. “What?” I asked, my voice coming out sharper than I intended.
