Pit Stop by Joanne Ganci
Mia
Just as I’m laying Alex down on the bed, I hear my phone ring. I quickly pull the blanket over him and run back to the entryway where I left my purse. Jamie’s freckled face smiles back at me when I finally get my phone out of the never-ending pit that is my purse. I happily swipe the green phone button and put the call on speaker.
“Mee, this place sucks without you,” he whines.
“Hi, Jamie,” I snicker, making my way over to the kitchen.
“I don’t know how I’m going to survive without you and little man. Are you sure we can’t just tell that truck to turn right back around? Y’all just enjoy a little vacation, then come home to me?” he pleads.
“Jamie…” I trail off, my hand poised on the refrigerator door. Closing my eyes, I press my forehead to the stainless steel. “You know I would if I could.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I just miss you, and it hasn’t even been long enough for a sane person to actually miss someone.”
“That’s probably because you’re far from sane, Jaimes,” I say with a chuckle.
“This is true. So… Tell me about the rest of your day. Did you fall into lust with any more strangers since our last call?”
“Ugh,” I groan.
“Oh, boy. Tell Uncle Jamie all about it,” he quips.
“First, I’m still not going to call you Uncle Jamie unless it’s on Alex’s behalf.”
“What? It has such a nice ring to it?” he points out for the millionth time.
Shaking my head, I pull the fridge open and grab a bottle of water. My doting big brother went shopping, stocking the fridge and pantry before we got here. “You’re barely older than me. And you’re like my brother. It feels odd. Almost like calling you daddy or something.” I shiver at the mental image. “Nope, not gonna happen. Not my kink, babycakes.”
He blows a raspberry into the phone. “You’re no fun. Tell me all the things already, Mia! I’m dying over here.”
“You pronounce over-dramatic weird.” That gets a laugh out of him. “I ended up seeing Parker again tonight. He brought my car to James’s house. And I ended up driving him home.”
“Mhmm… And...?”
“We kissed. God, did we kiss. I don’t know what sort of pheromones that man is putting off, but my lady bits respond all too well.”
“Because. You. Haven’t. Had. Sex. In. Ages,” he claps out in time to his words.
“Shut up. There have been plenty of men that have hit on me, and I didn’t want to jump their bones. You act like I’m usually this sex-crazed maniac that’s bound to hop into bed with the first dick bearer that speaks to me.”
“Dick bearer?” he asks, dissolving in a fit of laughter. I end up joining him because that was pretty ridiculous.
When we stop laughing, I snag a bag of fruit snacks from the pantry and head to the living room. I grab a throw pillow and plop down on the couch, sitting criss-cross applesauce. Hey! I’m a Mom, I can say stupid shit like that.
“Jamie, I agreed to go out with him.”
“That’s awesome! Are you going to tell me what he looks like? I assume he’s hot, but I need details, woman! Oooh, did you feel what size package he’s working with? They say size doesn’t matter, but let me tell you—”
“JAMIE!” I whisper-shout through the phone. “You’re too damn much.”
“What? That’s a valid question, and you know it!”
I hear the telltale squeak of Aunt Ruth’s couch, and I can picture him sitting in his ridiculous fuzzy panda onesie in our house. Tears prick my eyes. “I miss you too.”
“Oh no, you don’t! No crying on my watch, Mia-bo-bia! This is going to be a great thing. You’re close to your brother now, and he’s got his girl and her guys. All of them will fall in love with Alex, and you’re going to find an awesome job. Everything’s going to be perfect.”
“But you’re not here,” I whimper.
“If you want me there, I’m there, Mee. You know I’m not tied down here. I’ll take care of selling Aunt Ruth’s house, and I’ll be on the first plane to Florida,” he tells me. And I know he would, which just makes me cry harder.
“I can’t ask you to move here, Jamie. You’re already doing too much by taking care of the house.”
“Then it’s a good thing you didn’t ask. I’m wearing mine. Are you wearing yours?”
“No.” I may or may not have a matching onesie. Jamie got them for us last Christmas. He wears his as often as possible, but I reserve mine for when I’m sad. Which means I’ve practically lived in it for the last few months when I wasn’t at work.
“Get your ass up and go put on your onesie, woman! I bought it for you for a reason. Onesie and Jamie pillow, stat!”
“I never thought I would actually want to snuggle a pillow with your face on it when you got it for me, but I really do right now.” As soon as I told him we were going to move, he went out and bought me a fucking pillow with a picture of him on each side. One side shows his smiling face, red hair falling over his forehead, while the other has an overly exaggerated sad face.
“That’s because I know you better than you know yourself. Now grab it, happy side up, and let’s snuggle!” He’s ridiculous, but he’s mine. I don’t know what the hell I would do without him.
“Okay, hold on.” I put my phone down on the coffee table and run into my temporary bedroom. I quickly check on Alex, who’s snoring like a grown man and taking up half the bed, and grab my Jamie pillow. Then I pull the onesie out of my suitcase, before slipping to the bathroom to get changed.
Once I’m in full panda uniform, I twist my hair into a braid and throw the hood over my head. Looking up at the mirror, I can’t help but laugh at myself. I kick my dirty clothes to the side, grab my pillow, and go back to the living room.
Tossing the pillow onto the couch, I pick my phone up. “K. I’m back.”
“Good. Now tell me all about this guy.”
Curling up with my Jamie pillow, I instantly feel relaxed. He really does know me. “I don’t know what to say. He’s an arrogant prick… but he’s also really sweet. Like, really fucking sweet.” Jamie doesn’t interrupt, giving me the time to work things out and tell him at my own pace. “And fuck is he sexy. He’s covered in tattoos, has his nose pierced, and Jamie! His eyes are…”
“Are you swooning?”
“Maybe.”
“You’re fucking swooning,” he says with a laugh. “What’s his name again? I’m looking him up.”
I swear Jamie should have been a private investigator with the way he can find just about anything on the internet. “Parker Lancaster.” Just saying his name causes a chill to run up my spine and a buzz to ignite in my core. It’s unnatural to be this affected by a man, I swear. My phone buzzes in my hand, and I pull up my messaging app.
Really Hot Parker: Let me know you got home okay, please.
Really Hot Parker: Prim? Don’t make me come over there to check on you.
I sit up with a start, panicking. “Jamie! Holy shit! He just texted me. What do I do?”
“Mee, I know it’s been ages, but c’mon! Just text him back, love.”
“Oh. Right. Okay, I can do that.”
“What did he say?”
“He wanted me to text him when I got home safe. I didn’t see it, so he just texted me again. How is he this sweet? I can hardly piece together this Parker with the dickhead who greeted me earlier today.”
“Small town, maybe he just doesn’t like outsiders.”
“We’re not like that in Midland.” We may live in a small town, and sure there are small town problems galore—like Betty’s gossiping, that means everyone will know I’m back in town by tomorrow—but Midland is full of kind, accepting people. I mean, look at my brother and his relationship. I don’t think that’s why Parker was an asshole. But why…
Mia: Sorry, I didn’t see your text. We made it home safe. Thank you for checking on me.
I flop down onto the couch, throwing my arm over my eyes. “I can’t even come back here one day without—” I stop talking abruptly when my phone buzzes on my chest.
“Without what, Mee?” Jamie asks distractedly.
“Uh, without getting myself into trouble,” I tell him while reading Parker’s text.
Really Hot Parker: You like my name in your phone? I wanted to make sure you knew exactly who it was.
Yup. Trouble. Really fucking hot trouble.
Mia: Pretty sure I could have remembered your name, Parker.
Really Hot Parker: And yet you haven’t changed it in your phone. Have you, Prim?
“Holy shit, he is hot. Like, really fucking hot. Who cares if he was a dick earlier. I’d have let him lay me out whenever, wherever,” Jamie says into the phone.
“Jamie! You are not ogling him on social media right now, are you?”
“Duh, of course, I am,” he scoffs as if I’m the insane one. “I just sent you the link to his Instagram.”
“I shouldn’t…”
“But you really fucking should. WOW!”
“Wow, what?” Curiosity has me clicking on the link he sent, and holy shit is right!
Picture after shirtless, fucking picture.
Showing off the intricate designs on his skin.
And the muscles…
So many fucking muscles.
Then I get to pictures of him with his family. I linger on these. He looks so happy. His smile reaches his cerulean eyes as he beams up at whoever took the photo. There are a few shots with all of his siblings. There are even some with my brother. But it’s the ones with his nieces that melt my heart. In one, he has the two little girls in his lap, and it looks like he’s tickling them. Their heads are thrown back in laughter, the sweetest smiles on their little faces. In the next, he’s blowing bubbles with the raven-haired girl. Her arms are raised, surrounding a giant bubble, ready to clap her hands to pop it.
Jamie’s voice sounds through the speaker, bringing me out of my thoughts. “I think you should go for it.”
“Huh? What?”
He lets out a bark of laughter. “You were just ogling the fuck out of him, weren’t you? Naughty girl.”
“I was not,” I say a bit too defensively.
“Yeah, sure. I think I’ll just leave you to that. You know… before you start moaning and shit. I might need a little private time myself after scrolling through that feed.”
“Don’t you dare, Jamison!”
“Touchy, touchy. Fine, I won’t jack off to your new boyfriend.”
“We’re not dating!”
“So I can?”
“No! Just no. Don’t. Nope.”
“You’re so easy to fuck with. He’s hot, but not quite my type. You’ve got nothing to worry about from me. Plus, it sounds like you’ve laid claim on this one.”
“I…” I trail off. I haven’t laid claim, but the thought of someone else... “Just don’t do that, okay?”
“You got it, Mia-bo-bia. I’m gonna go. Love you bunches.”
“Love you too, Jaminey.” The call goes dead, and I’m left staring at a happy Parker.
Really Hot Parker: See, I’m right, aren’t I? I bet you’re thinking about how hot I am right now.
Mia: I am not!
I totally fucking am. But I wouldn’t dream of giving him the satisfaction of knowing how right he is.
Really Hot Parker: You can’t fool me, Prim. I know there’s a bad girl underneath all that proper.
I murmur, “You might be right,” into the empty room, as I drag my zipper down. With the cool breeze from the air vent kissing my skin, I prove just how bad.