Page 18 of Sam (Eye Candy Ink)

“Hey, guys. What are you doing here?” I ask as I step further into the room.

“We all had tomorrow off so we came to surprise you,” my dad says.

“Who the hell is this?” Both my brothers ask in unison.

“Hi, I’m Max,” Max says as he steps past me and holds his hand out to my dad first and then my brothers.

They all hesitate but eventually they shake hands with him. I see him shaking out his fingers when he pulls away from my older brother Miles. He’s got his cop face on and I can tell that he’s gearing up to interrogate Max. Abe is sitting next to him, eyeing him like he thinks Max might be a threat. The only one who doesn’t look like he wants to murder Max is my dad, who is sitting on the end, watching Max with a speculative look on his face.

“Where did you two meet?” Miles asks and I roll my eyes as the interrogation begins.

“At work.”

“How long have you been seeing each other?” He asks as he crosses his arms over his chest and glares at Max.

“A couple of months,” he says back calmly.

Has it really been that long already?

“Hm. Why didn’t you tell us about him?” Miles asks, turning his stare on me.

“I was trying to avoid this,” I say, twirling a finger around my small apartment.

“Is he treating you right?” Abe asks, like Max isn’t standing right there.

“Of course! You think I would be with a guy who didn’t treat me right? You all taught me better than that.”

They all seem to relax a little after I say that. I know that they care about me and just want the best for me but this is a little ridiculous.

“What do you do for a living, Max?” My dad asks, leaning back against the futon.

“I’m a restauranteur.”

Max moves over to the kitchen island, setting the food down before he turns to face them.

“You own restaurants and yet you’re getting my baby sister takeout?” Miles asks.

“We were at this other restaurant but it was seafood and I didn’t know that she was allergic. So we left and got Chinese.”

“And the Chinese takeout was my idea,” I say before they can ask him anything else.

I give them all a hard look and they eye me back.

“Why don’t you give us a minute alone with Max?” My dad asks but it’s not really a question.

“I forgot your hair dye and shoes in the car,” Max says, handing me his keys.

He kisses me quickly and with one last warning glance back at my family, I head down the stairs and out front to Max’s car. He’s parked right by the front door and I hurry to grab the box out of the back before I rush back upstairs.

When I get there, everyone looks more relaxed and I eye all of them suspiciously.

“Well, we’re going to get going. We’ll see you both soon,” my dad says before he comes over and hugs me.

Miles and Abe follow his lead, giving me a hug and in Abe’s case, a noogie, before they file out the door and down the stairs.

My apartment is silent after the door closes and I turn to watch Max. He doesn’t look scared or like he’s ready to bolt for the door. I relax when he smiles at me softly.

“So, that was my family,” I say, turning to see how Max is dealing with us being ambushed like that.

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