start calling me Zephyr, I will punch you in the throat.”
“Doesn’t it mean wind spirit or some such shit?” asked X, staring at Alys.
“Oh God!” Alys sucked in a huge gulp of air. “I can’t believe you told them about ASS!” She wiped her whole face with both hands. “I thought you were my best friend!” she accused lightheartedly.
“Pfft! Like that’s the worst thing I got on you.”
“Ooo! Like what?” X’s eyes took on a manic, excited look.
“That’s for me to know, and Alys to tell you,” I retorted before taking a sip of water.
I looked over at Phil, and I could see he was trying hard not to be hurt and to just let it all go. His jaw was clenched, but his eyes…looked sad and lost, staring at the bottle of soy sauce.
It wasn’t worth it, and he knew that. I hadn’t been hiding my first name from him. I just hadn’t thought to tell him.
Lightly, I squeezed his fingers.
“Baby Girl?” he said quietly, looking over at me.
“Yeah, Phil.”
He took a deep breath. “It’s cool.”
I nodded, smiled, and squeezed his hand again. “Cool.”
The sashimi arrived, and we devoured the massive plateful. Then, the rolls started coming in, and it was a staggering amount of food. At some point, I just had to put my chopsticks down, and I noticed Alys had produced a fine sheen of the food sweats.
“I might just puke,” she groaned, rubbing her belly.
Phil and X kept plowing through, and then Phil was the only one left chowing. Nothing was left by the end, and when he swallowed the last piece, he sat back with a satisfied grin.
“How the fuck, man?” groaned X. He had the food sweats going on himself. “I try to keep up but never manage.”
“I don’t know why you bother,” said Phil, getting his pissy face on. “I don’t expect anyone to keep up with me. I’m fuckin’ massive. I need the calories.”
“Yeah, you are.” I sighed, and then I turned pink and clapped a hand over my wayward mouth. I meant only to think that in my dirty mind, not spew it out for all to hear.
Alys busted out laughing and then groaned.
Phil just winked and grinned.
Everyone called it an evening when X pulled his Jeep into the driveway at the Plantation House. Fat and sassy, we all said our good nights and headed in opposite directions. X and Alys made their way inside as Phil and I walked around the side, bypassing his front door. We walked through the backyard, hand in hand, in silence. I couldn’t tell if it was comfortable or not.
Probably not then.
I knew he was thinking about earlier, and I knew it still bugged him.
My house was quiet as we went in.
“Are you mad at me?” I asked him, tossing the keys onto the side table next to the front door.
“No.”
“Disappointed?”
His arms slid around my waist and pulled me into him. “No.”
Sighing, I melted into his embrace. “I’m sorry. I never thought to mention it before.”
“I know. It’s not important.”
“It is to you,” I stated.
“I think your real name is beautiful. I love it.”
“You are mad at me!” I laughed.
He chuckled. “Seriously, I’m not.”
“Good. Then, I can happily give you your present.”
Taking his hand, I led him upstairs and headed for the nightstand. Picking up the box with the green bow, I handed it over. His eyes sparkled, and his sweet smile did funny things to my heart.
“What’s this for?” he asked.
“It’s for you.”
“But what’s the occasion?”
“Can’t a girl just want to make her man happy?”
“You already do,” he replied, removing the lid and glancing down. Tucking the box top under the bottom, he lifted out the badass key. “What’s it to?”
“I had an extra house key made for you. You know…kind of like if we lived together or something.”
His gaze shot to mine, and the emotion packed behind it nearly knocked me to my knees.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. I mean, I’m not ready to—”
Yanking me into his arms, he hugged me tight.
“I love it,” he whispered into my hair. “Thank you.”
I laughed and hugged him back. As fiery as his temper could be, he was ridiculously easy to please.
“What aren’t you ready to do?” he asked quietly.
“Leave this house behind. Right now, there are too many memories I’m not willing to give up just yet. But that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to share them. I…”
“You what?”
“I don’t want to have to sleep without you next to me either—ever, if I can help it.”