CHAPTER 5

“You sound like a teenage girl who ruined up her date.”

“Whatever, Brenda. Did you sort your shit out?”

I smiled. “Yes, Nana. I sorted my shit out.”

“Good.” Silenced for a moment. “Did you need something? I thought I told you not to call me because you’d piss me off.”

I took in a deep breath. “No, Nana. I just wanted to check if you were okay.”

“Good. Don’t call me again, you dingbat.”

“Okay. I’ll remember not to call you again.”

“You better. Did you make up with that boy?”

I closed my eyes this time. “Yes, Nana. I made it up with Ivan.”

“Good. Don’t call me again. Goodbye, Brenda. Love you.”

“Love you. Bye.” I hung up, shaking my head, and leaned it back in the seat.

Ivan handed over the money, dumped the food in my lap, and pulled away from McDonald’s. “That sounded…eventful.”

I laughed quietly, more to myself than anything. “My nana has early Alzheimer’s. She’s always been a bit on the crazy side, and the Alzheimer’s exaggerates that somewhat.”

“Ah. Now your side of the conversation sort of makes sense.”

“Like how she forgot that she called me?” I smiled wryly. “She’s at the stage where she’s only a little more forgetful than any other old person, so I dunno. It’s kind of funny sometimes. When I went to my parents’ place, she told me, like, five times that she was staying in my room.” I rolled my eyes.

“It must be hard.”

I shrugged a shoulder. “She’s still ‘there.’ She’s still her, just with extra bounce, I guess. When she starts forgetting her way home or who we are, then we can worry. If we worried now, she’d just claim we were doing it deliberately to piss her off.”

“Sounds exactly like my sister,” he replied with a dry tone. “She’s sure my anger at her knobhead of an ex-husband is because I’m trying to piss her off.”

“Eh, I can see where she’d get the idea.” I dug my hand into the bag and shove a few fries in my mouth.

Ivan shot me a glare. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“You are kind of annoying sometimes. And persistent. And ‘Me man. Me always right.’”

“What does that mean?”

I rolled my eyes and fed him a handful of fries. Mostly so he couldn't ’t argue while I talked. “It means your sister is a big girl and doesn’t need her little brother”—a noise that sounds like a growl left Ivan—“bugging her ass and looking after her.”

He chewed quicker. “She’s smaller than me.”

“And if she has half your no-shit attitude, I’m sure she’ll be just fine.” I raised my eyebrows and got out of the car.

“She actually has your no-shit attitude, but that isn’t the point,” he argued, walking around to me. “How did this conversation even get to this from McDonald’s?”

I shrugged and held the food out to him. He looked at it then back at me.

“You don’t expect me to carry this, do you? That’s what boyfriends do.”

Ivan’s lips pulled up on one side, and the next thing I knew, he was wrapping one arm around my back and sweeping the other behind my knees. I screamed when he lifted me and held me snug against his body.

“No,” he laughed into my ear. “This is what boyfriends do. Wrap your arm around my neck.”

“This is ridiculous. You’ve clearly watched too many Disney movies.” I placed my arm around his shoulders, both the drinks and the food in my lap.

“Enough to know there’s always a happy ending.”

I opened my mouth and closed it again. I didn’t want to think about endings. I wanted to think about beginnings.

“And the fact that there’s nearly always a sequel, so if you fuck it up the first time, you get a second try.”

I dug my fingers into the hollow of his collarbone. “Where is your faith?”

He pushed the button on the elevator. Somehow. “This from the woman who argued the toss with me until giving in to me in a post-orgasm haze.”

I pursed my lips. “Well, this is kind of fucked up.”

“We’re the best kind of fucked up, baby girl. You know why? We know it and we don’t give a shit.” He winked and stepped into the elevator.

I kicked my legs softly. “The elevator? That’s not very boyfriend-like.”

“If you think I’m lugging your ass up those stairs, you can think again.”

“Are you calling me fat?”

“No. I’m calling myself lazy.”

I pursed my lips again. Good answer, dick. Good answer. I shook my head as the elevator shuddered to a stop on the third floor.

“You have to put me down. I need to get my key out.”

“Where is it?”

“My ass pocket. I’m pretty sure there’s a key-shaped imprint on my butt cheek from sitting in your car.”

“Never mind. I’ll put my hand imprint there later.” He eased me to standing, and I shivered at his words.

He dipped his hand into my back pocket, gave my ass a hard squeeze, then pulled out the key. I shot him a dirty look, but I was certain it was spoiled by the half grin on my face.

Ivan smirked and unlocked my door. Then froze. “Shit, Brenda. And you say my apartment is messy.”

Oops. I did kind of forgot to tidy up. “Um.”

He glanced back at me, the smirk still in place, and shook his head. “Put The Sistas on and I might just forgive the fact your bra is hanging over the back of the chair and making me hard as hell.”

“Really?” I raised my eyebrows, dumped the food on the coffee table, and turned to the DVD player. “From a bra?”

“Yes.” His eyes darkened. “Because I can imagine chucking your bra over the chair then bending you over that table.”

I swallowed, ignoring the ache in my clit. “Honey, you need to get laid.”

“That’s the plan.”

I grabbed the DVD controller off the table, ignoring him, and sat back on the sofa. He swiped the food from the table and dropped next to me. I held my hand out expectantly for my food. He stared at my hand for a moment.

Then he pulled his fries from the bag and pushed play on the controller.

I coughed, waving my hand. He ate some fries and moved my hand down.

“Can’t see the telly,” he mumbled through his food.