Great Sass (Providence Family Ties 1)

“You know we’re different countries, right?” I asked, gasping when he just shrugged. “I can’t with you. All I can say is that I hope the baby gets a functioning brain.”

How he managed to drive and laugh as hard as he was simultaneously, I didn’t know, but it just proved my point that he was in complete control of any vehicle he drove. Lucky bastard.

I’d been to Florida a couple of times, mainly places like Miami Beach, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale, when I’d come over to visit Dad during school vacations. I liked the state but seeing parts of it that weren’t as tourist driven as those were was eye-opening. Yes, there were still large chunks as we drove from Sebring to Sarasota Bay that were built up for tourism purposes, but I’d never realized how beautiful and peaceful it was here.

“So you grew up in Orlando, right?” I asked him, staring out the window at the place we were currently driving through. “What was that like?”

“It was awesome. Mom and Dad have a place in Kissimmee, far enough outside of the center of Orlando to be separate from it, but not too far that you couldn’t go and have some fun when you wanted to.”

“I remember your mum telling me that. I went to Kissimmee about ten years ago when we went on holiday to Orlando. We stayed at a place called the Liki Tiki Resort, so we were only a short drive away from there, and Dad wanted us to see more of the place than just Disney, Universal, and the resort.”

“I know the place. It’s about half an hour away in Winter Garden.”

“We only spent three hours in Kissimmee, but I remember thinking it was a beautiful place, and I loved how almost every house had a flag flying.”

“Well, you get to go and stay there now,” he patted my leg. “After growing up surrounded by the mayhem of Orlando, I prefer living somewhere quiet like the place I’ve got. But if you decide that you love Florida, we can go wherever you want to.”

There! That’s why I like him so much. Elijah had a way about him that was easy going while being in complete control of the world around him, much like when he was driving.

Shooting him a grin, I went back to watching as we drove toward the house he’d bought with Cooper. The thing was, I was as easy going as he was. I didn’t mind where we lived, so long as everyone was happy. I wouldn’t ever ask him to sell the place he’d bought with his best friend because I’d never sell Mum’s house in West Wickham either. Having those places kept us linked to the people we loved and missed, so why would anyone get rid of that? I know you couldn’t hold onto them through a property, but if it kept us feeling close to them, who cared?

That actually brought up a good question for me. “Hey, Elijah, have you ever thought about going to the UK?”

“I have. I want to go to a few places there to see if they’re like in the movies, I’ve just never had the time to go. Why?”

His reply was a relief. “Just wondering.”

“We’ll go once the baby’s born so that you can see everyone and introduce him or her to your grandmother,” he assured me, glancing briefly at me.

“Not to piss on your picnic, but she’ll be over here as soon as she sniffs a due date,” I snorted. “The woman went insane when Cynthia had Wickham, and I ended up having to drag her back home.”

That was no lie. Nan had refused to give him back at the airport, and if it hadn’t been for security checking passports, she’d have had him on the plane with zero regrets.

“Do you miss your friends from there?”

Angling my body in the seat so that I was facing him, I told him all about my three best friends, Leroy, Brixton, and Grisolm—also known as Snap, Crackle, and Pop because they could beatbox like champs. Thanks to Leroy, Orson hadn’t managed to rape me, so I owed him everything, but I loved those guys like brothers.

Listening to all of the craziness that we’d gotten up to, Elijah laughed most of the time and then asked questions about them. It passed the time and, although I was still homesick, it helped me settle down the emotions that’d been flickering in and out of my body. I knew I had all of them there waiting for me when I went back to visit, but I also knew I still had the three of them with me for my life going forward if I chose to stay here. We had a bond that even distance didn’t have an impact on, and I couldn’t wait to tell them my news once all of this was over.