dumbass. And here’s a picture of my food that I’m eating right now.
Sending them the selfie I’d sent Slate, I grinned when I automatically got a read receipt from all of them.
Dad: Cute. Who’s that man behind you?
I looked closer at the photo.
Harleigh: No idea. There are so many people here that it’s almost impossible to get a picture without at least five people being in the shot with you.
Dad: Sounds like a place I’ll never want to visit again.
I rolled my eyes.
That wasn’t really surprising. My dad not wanting to go anywhere where there were too many people was the reason that we never really visited places that I really wanted to go—like New York and California.
They were just too peopley.
Harleigh: Slate said that he’s never been to Broken Bow, Oklahoma. So I invited him on our annual family trip this summer.
I hadn’t, really, but now that I thought about it, I wanted him to go.
And I had a feeling he would say yes if I’d ask.
Plus, I also wanted to ease my family into the notion that Slate and I were a thing.
Well, at least I thought we were a thing.
I’d have to ask him for sure, but I had a gut feeling that we were.
Which really, really excited me.
Dax: Slate? The man that protected you from getting fucked up at that hospital? What does he have to do with anything?
Mom: He took her to Disney World with him and his family. They’re a thing.
Dad: What?
Dax: What???
My lips twitched.
I just loved my mom.
She knew things even when I hadn’t said them.
Usually that was in relation to a lie that I’d said, but in this instance, it was good knowing that she was on my side already.
Harleigh: We’re a thing, by the way. It’s new. Don’t kill him, I like him. A lot.
Dad: When did this ‘thing’ happen?
Harleigh: I don’t know. Before we left, I guess. He lets me sleep in his hammock now without giving me shit first. Plus, I think he’s the **one.**
Dax: What the fuck? It’s been like a week and a half since I left. Why does it sound like you’re going to marry him?
Mom: Language, Dax. And you know that your sister is smart. Give her some credit. If she says he’s the one, he’s likely the one. That’s more than I can say about you.
That was true. My brother had plenty of girlfriends in his time, and according to him at the time of each girlfriend, they were the ‘one.’ And after each failed relationship, he added another tattoo, each more offensive than the one before it.
I wasn’t sure if the offensive tattoos were due to the fact that he was trying to fix whatever pain that he had going on in his heart thanks to the women that left him, or if he was trying to make it to where a woman wouldn’t approach him any longer with all the colorful tattoos. Whatever the reason, my brother was definitely more prone to throwing his weight in when it came to ‘the one’ than I was.
Me, I’d never shared with my family before about anyone. Not even my boyfriend in college that lasted an entire six months.
Dax: Shut up.
Mom: Dax, honey, we love you. How was your mission?
Dax: No. Mission.
Mom: Sure, sure. We’ll pretend that we didn’t know that you would be in Louisiana and make your way to Florida.
Harleigh: You’re in Florida? I’m in Florida!
Dax: I’m going to get my ass kicked, FYI. Shut. Up.
Dad: If they kick your ass, remind them who your father is.
Dax: Sure, that’s exactly what I’m going to say. Not.
Dad: I’ll say it then.
Dax: Don’t you dare.
Mom: We just want you to be happy, Dax.
Dax: I’d be happy if y’all would stop butting into my business.
Dad: The day we stop butting into your business is the day we’re dead. So think about that.
Dax: Shut up.
Dad: Now, Harleigh Belle, tell me you didn’t sleep with this guy already.
My face flamed.
Dax: She totally did.
Mom: I would have. Have you seen his body?
Dad: No, not really. He was just supposed to work for me, not do anything with my daughter.
Dax: I may or may not be close to Florida right now. Want me to go kick his ass?
I rolled my eyes.
“What are you smiling about right now, baby?”
My heart skipped a beat when I looked up to find Slate staring down at me.
He took a seat next to me and brought my ice cream to his lips, once again licking