Mama’s Boy by Avery Flynn
Chapter Fifty-One
Fiona
Snow fell onto the fire escape outside of Fiona’s living room window as she sat stretched out on the couch, her cold toes tucked underneath Dixon’s legs. In what was becoming their Saturday routine since pasta night two weeks ago, he had his laptop resting on his thighs, going through emails while she was grading her students’ homework—tonight it was math worksheets and their Presidents’ Day one-paragraph essays complete with self-portrait of themselves as a future president.
She didn’t ask if his cousins had come up with a plan for their last date. In a move that was reminiscent of her third graders, Fiona was all about ignoring something in hopes that it would just go away. They only had one date left. After that, all of this was over. They’d made that agreement in the beginning. No relationships. No connections. No happily ever afters. It was exactly what she most definitely didn’t want anymore—and the longer she kept waiting to tell him the truth, cowed by her own fear of his rejection, the more the guilt weighed on her, stealing some of the joy from these moments.
Her phone buzzed underneath her leg with an incoming text.
FAITH: Hadley and I are at Tooley’s. Come have brunch with us.
Any other Saturday and she would have, but she could practically hear the Dixon countdown clock with every inhale, and she hesitated.
FIONA: I’m grading papers.
HADLEY: When has that come between you, waffles, and bottomless mimosas before?
She snapped a quick pic of the high stack of papers on the coffee table and hit Send—they didn’t need to know that it was her stack of completed grading.
FIONA: I am shaping young minds here.
Three dots in a text bubble appeared, disappeared, and appeared on her screen before a new message popped up.
FAITH: Is that a man’s thigh. Is Dixon there?
She took another look at the picture she’d sent. Yep. That was definitely a slice of Dixon’s leg as he lounged on her couch.
HADLEY: You have been holding out on us.
FAITH: This is why she’s been text silent for the past two weeks.
Her sister was a drama queen. She’d texted, just not as often. Mostly it had been tap-back reactions. Was that because she was scared to give her sister and best friend an opening to interrogate her about Operation Nana? Hell yes it was. Those two did not understand the concept of staying out of other people’s business—especially not Faith. Putting the two of them together with Dixon was not a good idea. Time for a little deke maneuver.
FIONA: You two are sitting right next to each other, right? Why are you texting each other?
HADLEY: She’s trying to distract us.
FAITH: Yep. Won’t work, sis.
She let out a sigh loud enough to earn her a questioning look from Dixon, who dropped his hand to her calf and sent a million little sizzles and zings across her skin. The man had that talent for sure, and he’d been intent on showing her every night since they’d made ravioli. It had gotten to the point that the coffee shop barista knew his order before he placed it when they stopped in together on their way to work. Spending time together? Yeah, it wasn’t a good idea, but she had no intention of stopping it until she had to. She was just that kind of glutton for punishment.
HADLEY: If the two of you don’t come down to brunch, we’re coming up there. I still have my old key.
FIONA: Who was the idiot who introduced you two?
FAITH: You did!
FIONA: Obviously Past Me is an asshole.
On so many levels.
HADLEY: Come on, bring your man down.
“You up for some absolute chaos in the form of brunch?” she asked Dixon.
“With you?” He grinned at her. “Always.”
FIONA: Fine. We’ll be there in a few.
Twenty minutes later, she and Dixon were standing in front of Tooley’s Bistro, which was around the corner from Fiona’s apartment. It was a sandwich and soup joint every day of the week except on the weekends, when it turned into the best brunch place in the Breakwater neighborhood. Even with the crowd in the restaurant, it was easy to spot Faith and Hadley, since they shot up from their chairs and started waving their arms in the air as soon as she and Dixon walked in the door.
They’d been holding hands since they’d left her apartment; he’d reached out to her as naturally as they’d walked down the stairs together. Now she pulled her hand free and turned to look up at him. “They’re going to be unbearable.”
Dixon lifted an eyebrow. “Worse than my cousins?”
“Okay, maybe not that bad,” she said with a chuckle. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? We could go back up to my place.”
He took her hand again, shooting her a reassuring smile. “It’s just brunch.”
“That’s what you think.” She glanced over at Faith and Hadley, who were giving her thumbs-up signals and fanning themselves as Dixon looked at her. The moment he turned to look at them, they immediately stopped. Her best friend and sister were ridiculous. She loved them, but they were most definitely going to make this brunch into one she’d probably be trying to forget for the rest of her life. “With these two, it’s never just anything.”
Taking in a fortifying breath and giving his hand a squeeze, she led him into the breach.
