His mother thought that was hilarious. “Oh, that won’t be a problem.”
“Esh,” Chase said, rubbing his eyes.
“Then it’s a date,” Zahara said, sharing a smile with Chase, then telling his mom, “It was great to meet you. I’ll see you tonight.” She swung a harness and hit Chase’s ass. “You’d better get over to the truck before we leave without you.” To his mother, she said, “You should bring the girls out, watch Chase make a fool of himself on the bikes.”
“Oh, wow,” Chase said. “Them’s fightin’ words, girl.”
Zahara said goodbye, and Chase watched her walk away, enjoying the sight of her ass in her tight, low-slung jeans.
“She is beautiful,” his mother said.
“That she is,” he agreed.
“How long have you been sleeping with her?”
He choked out a laugh. “Mom.”
“Is it just sex or more than sex?”
“Mom.” He cut a look around to make sure no one was listening. “It’s…complicated.”
“Because of Lila.”
“Yes, and this movie. It’s all very under the radar, so, please, keep your voice down.”
“Ever think Lila saw the chemistry between you two and decided to step in?”
“I…” Chase paused, thinking about it. “No.”
“Maybe you’d better think about finding out before a potentially good thing,” she said, gesturing the way Zahara had gone, “slips away.”
Zahara loved the fact that Chase had chosen to take his family to a hole-in-the-wall barbecue joint for dinner, where no one knew or recognized him.
Even more, she loved how he’d not only picked up the Cards Against Humanity game after wrapping for the day, but now sat at their picnic-bench style table sanitizing the deck so his thirteen-year-old sister could play without being exposed to the raunchier side of the card game.
“Oh, heck no,” he muttered setting another card aside. “Uh, nope.” And another. “Uh-uh.” And another. “Not even.”
“Chase,” Tabitha whined. “You’re ruining it.”
“No emotional damage is going to be caused on my watch.” He paused at a card, tipped his head and showed it to his mother, who started laughing.
“I’ll take that as a no,” he said.
Tabitha whimpered some more.
“I don’t know why you’re whining. It’s the same deck we made for you at home.”
“That’s exactly why I’m whining,” she shot back.
“Maybe I should have picked up Apples to Apples,” he muttered to no one in particular.
“No way,” Tabitha said. “That’s so boring.”
“Says the kid who was twelve a month ago and doesn’t even swear,” Chase shot back.
“The hell I don’t.”
Chase stopped sorting the deck and looked at Tabitha with his jaw unhinged and his eyes wide. Everyone else laughed.