Page 26 of Demo
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“Girl, I just told Mom you were bringing a boy toy, and she didn’t believe me!” A dark-haired female with a face strikingly similar to Lyzbeth’s opened the door wide to an off-campus apartment.
Shocked, and a little excited by the greeting, I stood frozen while I took in this chick’s black Adidas T-shirt, baggy gray sweats, and socks with athletic sandals.
Sighing, Lyzbeth looked at me, seeing the relief in my eyes that her sister was dressed even less to impress than I was, and said, “Told you it was casual.” Then she turned to her sister, “Leanne, this is Knox. Knox, Leanne. And he’s not my boy toy, he’s my friend. Mom here yet?”
“Just arrived,” Leanne replied, as Lyzbeth pushed past her and strolled into the apartment while her sister waved me inside.
“Sorry for being a last minute plus-one,” I said.
“Not at all,” Leanne said, as she shut the door behind me, and I took in the small living space. The apartment opened right up into the living room, with a dining room and kitchenette just further inside to the left. I was wondering where their mom was when a guy came down the small hallway off to the right, tucking a notebook into a backpack.
“Hey, Lizzie,” he greeted Lyzbeth with a half-hug. “I hear you brought a gentleman caller.” That comment got him a shoulder-punch from Lyzbeth, to which he responded by putting her in a pseudo headlock and ruffling her ponytail.
“Kirk!” she squealed. Once he let her go, she fluffed her hair and turned back toward me. “Kirk, this is myfriend,Knox. Knox, this is Leanne’s horrible taste in a lover, Kirk.”
“Nice to meet you, man,” Kirk said as he came at me with his hand extended.
“Same,” I replied, and we exchanged a strong handshake. Kirk had short-cropped dark-blonde hair and wore wiry glasses. He had a chiseled face and was sporting a pair of dark jeans and a hoodie.
He turned back to Lizzie. “Leanne said your car wouldn’t start today. If you give me your key, I can try and jump your car while I’m on campus.”
“Yes!” She started digging around in her purse, then pulled her keys out and took one off the ring. “That would be awesome. Thank you.”
“Oh, I can check it out when I take Lizzie back,” I offered, feeling like an ass for completely forgetting the reason I had her in tow today.
“It’s all good,” Kirk answered. “I’ve got time before my night class starts, anyway. Sorry to leave you with the trifecta here.” He hooked a thumb in the direction of Leanne and Lizzie, who were buddied up at a small kitchen table, hunched over an iPad propped up in its case. He then darted over and gave Leanne a quick kiss before breezing by me and grabbing his backpack.
He slapped me on the shoulder as he went to make his exit. “Next time we have a drink, eh?”
“Sounds good,” I replied, appreciating his kindness.
After the door closed behind him, Lyzbeth called me over to the table. “Knox, come meet my mom,” she said, waving me over, just like her sister had done to invite me inside.
I looked around awkwardly as I approached the table, and that’s when Lizzie turned the iPad around to face me, and I saw a woman with short dark hair with a thick streak of gray trailing down one side, sitting at a table with bright sunlight shining behind her. She had kind eyes that crinkled slightly at the corners, and she wore a bright lipstick that drew attention to her flawless white teeth and genuine smile.
“You must be Knox!” she announced excitedly, her hands going up in front of her in a way that, if she were actually standing in front of me, I would expect her to cradle my face in them.
Leaning down and bracing my hands on the table, I glanced over the top of the iPad at the two sisters before I focused my attention on their mother. “The one and only.” I gave her my best, panty-dropping smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. …”
Shit!I looked up at Lyzbeth for help, and she just stared at me with humor in her eyes, clearly not about to throw me a bone. Then I looked over at her sister, who didn’t seem to know what the hell was going on, before I looked back at the screen.
“Um, well this is embarrassing—”
“Oh, are you kidding me?” Leanne barked out, then began laughing hysterically. “You don’t even know each other’s last names?”
Humiliated. Mortified. I hung my head before I heard Lizzie chirp up, “I know his last name. It’s Mitchell.” Snapping my head back up, I couldn’t help the chuckle that came out of me when I saw her trying to cover her laughter with both hands.
“Oh, stop it, you two!” their mother chided. “Knox, you turn that thing around right now!”
Doing as I was told, I swiveled the iPad back around toward the two giggling buffoons and heard their mother tear into them. “Lizzie and Lee-Lee, that is no way to treat a dinner guest, you hear me?”
“Mmhmm,” Leanne responded, still suppressing a laugh. I heard their mom sigh on the other side of the screen, then yell, “Knox, get over here!” to which I high-tailed it to the other side of the table to stand behind Lizzie and “Lee-Lee.”
I saw their mom press her forearms on the table and lean in, as if she were trying to get closer to us. “The name is Nora Tanner, but don’t you dare call me Mrs. Tanner, you hear? Call me Nora.”
Nodding, I leaned in as well, one arm on the back of each of the girls’ chairs. “Yes ma’am,” I said. “It’s a pleasure meeting you, Nora. I see where these two young ladies get their beauty.”
