Damn it. Melanie’s words play in my head again and again until I’m in a place where I can accept the situation. She’s the first woman to make me question things with Lydia. I’ve known we aren’t working for a long time, but I haven’t considered the possibility of anyone else until now. Before tonight, I figured I needed a break from women and that once our lease expired, we’d split up and I’d do me for a while before looking to see what’s out there. But now other shit is running through my head.
Melanie and Royal find Mom and Dad at the bar, where Royal proceeds to introduce them. Mom reaches out and does that creepy thing where she starts touching people’s hair without permission. She’s got a huge smile on her face and is staring at Melanie like she’s a brand-new Barbie doll. I stand there so long that Bailey, my older sister, walks up and introduces herself to Melanie. They start talking about something and seem to be on a roll, with Mom and Royal jumping in here and there. Dad turns his back to the bar and finds me in the crowd. He smirks and gives me a thumbs up while mouthing, “She’s hot,” and hitching his thumb at Melanie. Fuck yeah, she’s hot. I’m glad the old man hasn’t lost his sight just yet. He’d have to be blind to not see how hot she is.
“There you are.” Lydia’s perky voice washes over me like a cold shower. Melanie’s hot, but I’m here with Lydia, and she’s my girlfriend. My long-term, living-together girlfriend. Fuck. Lydia wraps her arms around my waist and slips under my arm where she snuggles into my side. I used to love how she hangs all over me all the time. When we first started dating, she would tell me she couldn’t get enough of me, and it felt awesome to have someone want to be around me that much.
With a heavy sigh, I turn us away from Melanie and my family. She’s blending in so easily—like she’s always been a part of us—that I can’t help the jealousy that creeps up. They’re all just sucking her in the way they do, making her a part of the brood. She has no idea what’s coming and how clingy they can be. I need to put my dick on notice that Melanie is a friend and nothing more. If my family latches on the way they normally do, then she’s going to be around a lot.
“There’s lots of people dancing,” Lydia says in a way that would sound absent and random if not for the fact that I know her so well. Everything that comes out of her mouth is fucking calculated. “It looks like fun.”
“Sure does,” I say as though we haven’t had this conversation before.
“If you love me, you’ll dance with me.”
“If you love me, you’ll quit asking.”
She pulls back and crosses her spray-tanned arms over her chest and pouts. Her dark brown hair is beautifully offset by her golden complexion and her dark brown eyes. Lydia’s hot. Even after all the time we’ve been together, I can’t deny that she’s a catch. Needy and a pain in my ass, with a serious lack of empathy, but still hot. I’m not a monk. I know a beautiful woman when I see one, but I never feel compelled to kiss them or talk to them. And I don’t fucking dance with them. Until now. Until Melanie. I have a girlfriend. I’m not that guy.
“You’re an asshole,” Lydia finally says. She looks over my shoulder and, with a big smile and wave, she’s off toward the bar. I already know she’s caught sight of my parents and sisters. I don’t need to watch her and Melanie interact. I’d rather keep them in totally separate realms for as long as I can. Lydia exists in reality, and Melanie exists in some new, sick fantasy I’ve created. It’s impractical, but it’s all I can deal with right now.
A firm hand claps on my shoulder with an iron grip. I turn to my left and find my younger brother, Hennessey, grinning at me. He tugs at the collar of his dress blues and starts talking to me about his date, some hot as hell Puerto Rican chick who’s spent half the night purring things to him in Spanish that he doesn’t really understand but doesn’t care to. She can apparently tie a cherry stem with her tongue and showed him that she can swallow an entire ice cube. I might have a thing for crazy chicks, but Hennessey always seems to find the sex goddesses. Every single chick he dates is like a master acrobat or something. Halfway through Hennessey’s story, our oldest brother, Jack, walks up. He’s the second in line behind Bailey, and I’m third, but there’s a five year difference between him and me. That and the stick up his ass make him look so much older than the rest of us. Not that he’s had an easy go in life, but still. The fucker could stand to lighten up once in a while.