“Mia, it’s so great to see you again,” their mother says, placing a cloth napkin over her lap.
Drew slides a chair out for Mia and she sits down right next to her. Drew sits between Mia and Travis. Smart. He knows there needs to be some kind of buffer between her and well, everyone.
“It’s wonderful to see you, too, Mrs. Hennessy. And of course, Mr. Hennessy.” She nods over to him, but his eyes haven’t moved off her chest since the moment she walked in. “And of course, you too, Mr. Fisher.”
“Oh, please. Call me Carla.”
“Drew,” Viola grabs his attention from across the table. “We’re doing family wedding stuff. You should’ve told me you were bringing a friend with you.”
I want to die with laughter at the way she just called him out. We never know what they are, relationship-wise, and I’m pretty sure they don’t either. They’re never together long enough during one stretch to be anything aside from a week-long booty call.
“What’s it matter? Mia and I already had plans when you called this little get-together. And plus, Courtney isn’t family.”
I gasp, and I swear Viola is ready to punch him in the face. “Yes, she is,” she says between gritted teeth.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Mia interrupts in a sickly-sweet tone, and I can tell by the way Viola’s clenching her fists that she’s ready to jump over the table and claw her eyes out. “I won’t get in the way. I have a hair appointment tomorrow, so I’ll have to drive back home at some point anyway.” She turns to gaze into Drew’s eyes, and I have to swallow down the vomit before the words come out of my mouth. Hair appointment? She acts like she’s going to work or something.
“What a shame,” I blurt out, grabbing my napkin and aggressively shaking it out before I fold it on my lap. Viola turns and looks at me just as Drew does. Shit. I guess I said that too loud or maybe it was the pop of my napkin that caught their attention. Either way, Drew’s eyes are burning holes into me.
“It’s going to be so fun,” I quickly add with a smile that says I’d rather eat dirt than be anywhere near Mia. I grab the glass of water on the table and take small sips to stop the words from flowing freely.
“Oh, no worries!” she exclaims as she turns toward Drew and gazes into his eyes, overly exaggerating her movements and silently marking her invisible territory so I know he’s taken. “I’ll be back to visit my Drewberry Muffin every weekend starting now.”
The way she says his name in a nasally baby voice has me spewing water out of my nose and mouth faster than I can cover my lips. It flies across the table and nearly reaches her face before she squeals and backs away. I cannot handle her being at my house every weekend until the end of time. I will fucking die.
I hear Travis chuckling at my expense, but Drew is giving me those eyes. Those same eyes I dream about at night and fantasize to in the shower. Except this time, they aren’t bedroom eyes I’m seeing; instead, they’re shooting daggers at me. He clears his throat, making it known that he doesn’t appreciate the way I’m acting, but my heart is beating so hard in my chest, it might break through and punch Mia between her eyebrows that are on point.
I wish I were sitting in front of Viola so then at least we could exchange eye rolls, but I’m stuck in hell, sitting in front of Drew and the devil incarnate. He sneaks glances at her, and I can see her hand on his lap. As she giggles, I can’t help but roll my eyes. What makes this situation even sweeter is Mia hates me as much as I hate her. She’s always been weird around me, probably because she’s intimidated, which she should be. I’ll snatch her man so fast, the Gucci bag she has hanging off the back of her chair will be out of style before she can order lunch.
During one of their many breakups, Drew agreed to have me as his roommate. After graduation, I refused to return to Texas, which didn’t make my Dad happy, so he refused to renew my lease. Considering my circumstances, I had to find a more affordable living arrangement and Drew conveniently had an extra bedroom. He worked weird hours, so for half the week, I’d be home alone which was perfect considering I lived alone for years. Viola loved the idea but only because she secretly wished we were sharing the same bed. But that hasn’t ever happened, and by the looks of it, I don’t believe it’ll be happening anytime soon.