ExceptI haven’t.
Dadglanced at me. “You okay?”
“Uh,yeah, why?”
“Youlook a little pale to me,” Dad commented, nodding. “Ask your mother—she’llknowif you look pale.”
“I’mfine.” I wasn’t fine. “Just tired.” Not tired. Totally rested, actually.
“Ah,yeah. Must still be weird, sleeping in your bed after months on the road,right?”
“Yeah,”I fibbed, nodding and trying my best to look convincing as I shifted my gazeacross the yard toward Tabby.
Shewas talking to Mom, Jen, and Dinah, holding one of the younger kids, one of Mel’s,I think—why could I never keep all those rugrats straight? She was laughing,and just like that, I had to know what they were laughing about. I wanted tohear her, maybe laugh with her. I walked over, abandoning my dad with his hotdogs and burgers, and approached, tunneling my vision only on Tabby.
Witcheshave that effect on men, right?
“Hey,ladies,” I casually interjected, standing between my sisters.
“Oh,look, it’s our little baby brother,” Dinah teased, standing on her toes andreaching her hand to pull the rubber band from my hair. The blonde mop spilledover my shoulders as she pocketed the elastic. “I hate that stupid bun.”
“Anotherpoint for me!” Tabby cheered, raising her arms above her head.
Iscowled, shoving the hair out of my face with a thrust of my hand. “Not asingle one of these people approves of my awesome head of hair, just so youknow. They can’t help that they’re all jealous as hell.” I jabbed my thumb overmy shoulder at my bald father. “That guy especially.”
“Oh,you.” Mom swatted at my chest with her hands and I brushed her away with alight chuckle. “Leave your father alone.” She glanced at Tabby and sighed. “Hehoped that, when he finally had a boy, he’d inherit his hair genes. John hasbeen balding since his twenties.”
“Andinstead, he got Fabio,” Jen teased, rolling her eyes and Tabby grinned broadlyaround a giggle.
“Fabio—Ilike that one. My friend calls him Thor,” she told them.
“Ah,yes,” I nodded thoughtfully. “I remember Jessica fondly. She treated mesomuch betterthan you did when I first met you. You were so mean.”
“Youhad it coming,” Tabby defended, quirking her lips into a smirk.
“Heprobably did,” Jen backed her up. “He’s been a pain in the ass since he wasborn.”
Dadannounced not long after that dinner was ready. Mom arranged us around the longpicnic table they used for such occasions, putting Greyson in the middle of Meland Steve’s two oldest sons. He was having such a good time, and that remindedme of the assholes he was hanging out with at school. The ones who made fun ofhis mother and teased him for not having any parents. A sense of pride for myfamily rolled over me. That they could embrace this kid they didn’t know, wholooked an awful lot like me, even the younger ones who undoubtedly had theirquestions.
Therest of the kids—ten in all—were arranged in age order at one end of the longtable, with the adults at the other. Couples sat in pairs, and Mom insistedthat Tabby and I should sit together. I told her it wasn’t necessary, if Tabbywanted to sit beside one of my sisters, but Mom was persistent. It was almostas though the woman could smell the residual effects of sex still clinging to ourskin and hair, despite the shower we had taken together before heading over.
“Greyson,you okay down there?” Tabby called, sitting down beside me without batting alash. He waved her away with a disgusted expression before turning to Johnny,one of Mel’s boys. “Wow, did you see the look he just gave me?”
Ilaughed. “Yeah, have fun driving home with him in the morning.”
“Inthe morning?” Tabby turned a startled expression to me. “I have to head hometonight.I need to be in work tomorrow. I have lots of stuff to do, with this new job.”
Notwanting her to see my disappointment, I nodded, and grabbed for some corn onthe cob. “Oh, okay, that’s cool. Makes sense.”
“Yeah,but hey, obviously you can come by to see Greyson whenever you want,” shementioned, loading up her plate with macaroni salad, a hamburger, and some fruitsalad.
Igrabbed more corn. “Maybe I’ll do that.” And maybe I’d also stop by her work inthe middle of the day to act out my fantasy of office sex. “I could stay at themotel again—”
“Why?”she asked abruptly. “I live in a four-bedroom house. Why wouldn’t you just staywith us?”
“Iwasn’t sure that was an option?” The uncertainty in my voice made the statementsound like a question and Tabby rolled her eyes as I grabbed for another corncob.
“We’repast the point of being strangers, Sebastian,” she grumbled, rolling her eyes.“Forobviousreasons, and I think you know what I mean.”
