in an airplane," Max shook his head, "What are they teaching young men these days? Get the sexual terms straight, boy."
"That's sex in an airplane." Gwen caught her mother clearing her throat. "Intercourse in an airplane. No airplane and no intercourse. A kiss." She turned to Max, "What are they teaching grown men these days?"
"To do more than kiss a woman in an elevator, the Aussie amateur."
She could still see the doors opening to the vindictive face of Mranda, and then the smug arrogance of Steve telling her he controlled the college fund. "Ty was interrupted because Mranda and Steve were there."
Ellen snorted. "I bet the tool took that well."
"Is that why Dad said you were going home because you were making out with Ty?" Missy sucked in a breath, "Is that why the university kicked you out? Fraternizing with a student?"
"I am a student. And the university didn't kick me out, just out of the room. My God, I’m going out for breakfast from now on. You’re all making me nuts."
"That's what he said." Bryan laughed.
Gwen glared at him.
"Sorry, Venus."
She glared at Max.
"What did I say?"
She headed to grab her bag for school. She just needed to go before she told somebody to intercourse off.
"A little touchy about her boy toy."
She froze at Max’s taunt then turned slowly back. The boys waited in fear. She could see it on their faces, but Max had his chin up, relishing the prospect of a fight. He liked it, the bastard. She stepped back into the dining room, leaned against the wall and closed her eyes in an imitation of rapture. She rapped the back of her head twice, opened her eyes, and smiled at Max. "G'day mate."
He stopped smiling.
And before he could recover from her reminder of headboards and head banging, before the door had even fully closed behind her, the boys started in with the inquisition. It was planned, he could tell, as well as eighteen-year-olds could manage. Even Missy seemed to have been part of what he was going to call Operation Protect Gwen.
Ellen excused herself and made her way down the hall, and he watched her work her crutches to navigate it before even bothering to listen to the boys.
"So, she was pretty upset about it and..." Bryan shrugged, "Not cool. She's a great lady and, you know, you dumped her once so we just want to make sure that--"
"You really did dump her?" Missy drilled him with eyes the same hazel shade as Gwen's.
"I…" he what? What should he tell Missy? After twenty years he didn't know what really happened then or what the hell was still between them. "Things got complicated, and I wasn't good at complicated."
Annie snorted.
Annie was a smart girl. "Okay, I'm not that good at complicated even now." He looked at her. "Happy?"
She nodded.
Missy’s eyes widened. "Are you my dad or something?"
"No. No." He said it with such force, he instantly regretted it and had to watch the hurt on her face. "Listen, Missy, you'd be the best thing that ever happened to me. You would. But you're the best thing that ever happened to Gwen and Steve."
It took him by surprise, the pain he felt saying it. He knew from the time he'd walked away from Gwen she'd marry and have children. She was the kind of woman who would do just that and well, no matter what had come of her and the tool. And seeing Missy had just felt good. He'd been happy for Gwen. It had nothing to do with him. But somehow saying no to Missy reminded him he'd given something up, something big and important. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry that you dumped my mother? Sorry that you're not my father?"
"Yes."
"Okay." Hayden, always the practical one, jumped into the silence between them. "We saw your girlfriend."
Max tried to make the shift. Nicola? "You what?"
Bryan sat straighter in his chair. "We checked her out, man. I mean, somebody has to have Venus' back. She feeds us and, you know, she's Venus."
"So, you checked her out to find what exactly?"
Jason joined in. "Grandma Venus said that she did the Google. Get it, did the Google? She's funny. And she didn't find anything good, isn't that what she said?" He checked with Missy, and she shrugged.
Bryan motioned to the guys around the table, "So, we decided we'd better see for ourselves, and so we, you know, hung around the arts building and just checked her out. No stalking or anything. I mean, I