Frenemies With Benefits (Geek To Chic Book 2) (14 page)

Once the elevator came
to a stop on the first floor, they started to step out only to be stopped by
Mama Porter.
 
“Girls!”
 
She called out gleefully before pulling all
three of them into a group hug of sorts.
 
‘Where are you three off to?”

“Lunch Mama Porter, the
boys were having some super-secret testosterone only meeting so we decided to
have our own version. Would you like to join us?”
 
Roni politely asked.

“Good thing my Caroline
isn’t here today if they are have a boys only meeting.
 
She always hated when they would put up a ‘no
girls allowed’ sign on the tree house door.
 
Poor thing would come inside crying.”
 
Smiling at the memory briefly before she continued. “You girls go on
ahead to your lunch and have a good time.
 
I came to have lunch with Mrs. Frostberry, the woman deserves a good
lunch after having to deal with that son of mine every day, plus her an I have
some gossiping to catch up on.
 
Oh but
since your all here, why don’t you all come over for dinner tonight?
 
I will invite all the boys too and Gracey and
Caroline.
 
Say 7:00?
 
Oh George will be so excited to have all you
kids over.”
 
The elevator doors slid open
in perfect time for Mama Porter to leave them before they could even answer.
 

“She has timing down
pat.”
 
Roni mussed.
 
“Now since she escaped before we could answer
we all have to go to dinner.
 
Woman knows
how to get her way that’s for sure. Wait, when did you meet Mama Porter, Izzy?”
 

“I…ah…met her in the
lobby of the building a few days ago.
 
She and ale were coming in as I was leaving.”
 
Izzy quickly lied.
 
She hated how observant her friend could be
sometimes.
 

“They were probably
coming back from a pedicure.”
 
Roni
responded.
 

Both Izzy and Jemma
stopped walking, staring at Roni completely dumbfounded.
 
“Pedicure?
 
As in Alex gets pedicures?”
 
Jemma
questioned Roni with huge eyes.
 

“Oh this is too good.”
 
Izzy rejoiced, rubbing her hands
together.
 

“Shit, I wasn’t
supposed to say anything about that.
 
Oops.”
 
Roni shrugged.

Shaking their heads
they wandered out of the building and headed for the 16
^th
Street
mall to grab a bite to eat.
 

“Tell me again why we
are driving together to your mom’s house for dinner?
 
Isn’t that a little suspicious.”
 
Izzy argued.
 

“Have you met my
mother?
 
She would have a fit if I let
you drive by yourself when we live in the same building.
 
She would smack me on the back of the head
and tell me she raised me better than that.
 
Hell, I bet that Phin, Gavin and Rocco all tried to convince the other
two girls to let them drive them to dinner just so they could escape the back
of the head smack.”
 
Alex retorted in all
seriousness, absently rubbing the spot on his head she knew his mother hit
often.
 

“Fine, but keep your
hands to yourself and don’t sit next to me at the dinner table.”
 
Izzy huffed.
 

“Do you think the world
is going to end if someone finds out about us?
 
You certainly act like you think that will happen.”
 
Alex muttered, clearly irritated.
 

Sitting quietly for a
moment, she simply stared at him for a moment.
 
The man was clearly irritated with her and she could understand why.
“That was part of our agreement.
 
I don't
think the world will end if someone finds out about us right now, I think they
will read more into what we are.
 
When we
end this in a matter of weeks, they will feel they have to take sides and then
we will be right back where we started us not being able to be in the same
room.
 
Only now the rest of the group
will feel awkward too.”
 

“You’re afraid that
there will be a team Izzy and team Alex thing going on after we part ways?”
Alex smirked at her. “We’ll have to make them shirts.”

Throwing her arms up in
frustration and sitting up a little straighter she huffed a little.
 
“Yes, that is what always happens when a
couple breaks up, no matter how amicable the breakup is.
 
People choose sides, we have this agreement
in part to work out our issues to make everyone else more comfortable not the
opposite.”
 

“So we are in fact a
couple?”
 

“What?”

“You said when a ‘
couple breaks up’
, that would imply that
you think of us an official couple.”
  
He
was all but giddy next to her.
 

“Ugh you are so
infuriating. You pick up on three words out of all the others I said.
 
And no we are not a couple, I just didn’t
have a better word to describe us.”
 

“I’m think you don’t
want to admit that we are in fact a couple.”
 
He smirked again.
 

“No we are two people that
are sleeping together, nothing more.
 
Besides having sex, we don’t do anything that a normal dating couple
does.”
 
She explained, her patience with
the topic beginning to wane.
   
 

“We do couple type
things.”
 
Alex pointed out, as he turned
onto his mother’s street.
 

“Like what things do we
do together, outside of the bedrooms?”
 
Izzy
felt completely on the defensive.
 

“We go out together for
drinks.”
 

“With all of our
friends present and we purposely ignore each other.”
 
Izzy countered.

“We have dinner
together almost every night.”

“Take out, before we
have sex.”
 
Izzy reminded him.

“You’ve met my mother
and are going to a family dinner at my parent’s house.”

“First of all, I met her
because you forgot she was coming over and I happened to still be in your
apartment after a night of debauchery, not because you took the time to
introduce us in an appropriate manner.
 
And as for this family dinner, as you called it, your mother invited
everyone we know.
 
Therefore, it doesn’t
count as an official family dinner.”
 
Izzy retorted, confident that she had made her point.
 

“Trust me, my mom
thinks of all my friends as
her
children, therefore to her this is a family dinner.”
 
Alex responded as he parked his Porsche in
the driveway of his parent’s home.
 

“It’s not like you have
taken me for a pedicure or anything special like that, so that makes us not a
couple.”
 
Izzy loved that she had that
information.
 
The look on his face was
priceless.

“Who told you about my
pedicures?
 
My mom right?
 
Ugh that woman can’t keep a secret.”

“Nope Roni.
 
So, unless you want the world to know about
your pedicure fetish, I suggest you keep quiet about us.”
 
Oh
blackmail is a wonderful thing
.
 

“I’m going to kill
Derek.
 
You know he goes sometimes
too.”
 
Alex whined.
 

“Doesn’t matter, if you
tell I tell.”
 
Izzy smirked.
 

The second her stopped
the car she was out of it, not waiting for a response or for him to open her
door.
 
She made her way to the front door
while he was still trying to lock his car.
 
Mama Porter opened the door.
 
“Izzy.”
 
She pulled her into a big
motherly hug, then held her at arm’s length, taking a good look at her.
 
“How is my baby girl tonight?
 
Oh, I know that scowl, what did my dear son
do now?”
 

Izzy had no choice but
to smile, the woman knew her son all too well.
 
“Alex doesn’t have to do any specific to get under my skin.
 
Sometime he only needs to breath.”
 

The older woman
laughed, and leaned in to whisper into Izzy’ ear.
 
“I felt the same way about his father.
 
Infuriating man.
 
Always arguing with me over nothing, simply
to get a minor point across.”
 
She leaned
back and smiled as though remembering all the arguments with fondness.
 

Izzy stepped to the
side and Mama Porter greeted her son with a kiss on the cheek, a smile and a
quick smack on the back of the head.
 

~*~*~*~

“We’re here.
 
Sorry we are a little late, we brought a
surprise.”
 
Jemma announced from the
doorway.
 
They had all gathered in the large
living room to catch up a bit, or to fill his mother in on all the gossip in
the group was a better way to describe it, before sitting down to dinner.
 

As one, they all turned
their heads to the sound of Jemma’s voice.
 
She walked in first followed by Phin, who was pushing a wheelchair
containing a frail Mrs. Perkins.
 

“Mary!”
 
His mother exclaimed, jumping to her feet to
greet the frail woman.
 

“Alice, it is so nice
to see you.”
 
Mary Perkin’s smiled in
return.
 

“I am so glad you
came.
 
What a wonderful surprise.
 
How are you feeling?”
 
Alice asked as she took the chair next to
Mary’s wheelchair.
 

“I am doing ok.
 
I hate having to carry this stupid oxygen
everywhere.
 
I hate being in this chair
as well, but at least I have a nice looking chauffer in Phin.”
 
The two women laughed a little and launched
into a discussion only those who were mothers seemed to be invited too.
 

Phin and Jemma joined
the rest of them for a drink before dinner.
 
“Your mom looks like she is doing well.
 
How did you spring her from the hospital?”
 
Derek asked, concern laced through his
words.
 

Jemma looked at her
feet for a bit, then over to her mother, before turning sad eyes on Derek.
 
“She isn’t doing as well as she says.
 
I am worried that the leukemia is winning at
this point.
 
She seems so small and
frail.”
 
Letting out a desperate sigh,
Jemma continued. “I wanted her to come to dinner at least one time, so she can
see everyone before…before anything happens.”
 

Phin was by her side in
an instant, rubbing her back in a comforting manner.
 
Alex looked at Gavin and saw his eyes fixated
on Phin’s hand on Jemma.
 
It finally
snapped into place for Alex, why Phin and Gavin had been at odds lately.
 
They both had a crush on sweet little
Jemma.
 

“We’ll get through
this, she still has some fight left in her.
 
And I know she is not ready to leave you.”
 
Phin’s words were so sweet and kind, without
any sarcasm or humor.
 
It was hard for
Alex, and by the faces of everyone else, that Phin had been the one to say
anything like that.
 

Jemma looked up at Phin,
smiling her thanks.
 
A smile that seemed
to be more than a thank you for the kind words, but rather a smile a woman
falling in love gave the object of her affections.
 
Gavin must have seen the look as well, he moved
out of the protective circle they had formed around Jemma, muttering something
about having to use the bathroom.
 

A few months ago Alex
would never have noticed the smile or the way Phin was still touching her
back.
 
Even if he had noticed he would
never have been able to place the actions into their proper category of
affection.
 
Being with Izzy, had clearly
changed the very way he viewed the world.
 
Or maybe it was because of his feelings for Izzy that be believed
suddenly everyone was in love with someone.
 
After all Phin and Jemma acted more like brother and sister than any
couple he had ever met.
 
They played off
of each other and never took the other seriously.
 

Lifting his beer to his
lips, he casually looked over at Izzy.
 
The small demon pixie had him wrapped around her tiny finger and she
didn’t even know it.
 
He would do
anything for her.
 
He wondered briefly if
anyone had seen the subtle glances, or small smiles between Izzy and him?
 
Maybe they hadn’t been playing it as close to
the vest as they had thought.
 
His gaze
slid from Izzy to Derek, who had clearly been watching him.
 
The man had only nodded his head and walked
away as George Porter walked into the room.
 

His father greeted
everyone; with hugs and handshake for the guys and hugs and kisses on the cheek
for the girls.
 
When he made his way over
to Alex, he knew by they look on his father’s face that his mother had told
dear old dad all about her encounter with Izzy the morning after they first
slept together.
 
“How is my boy?”
 
His father asked as he pulled him into a hug.
 
“Let’s go talk in my office for a moment,
shall we?”
 
His father’s tone brokered no
argument.
 

“Dinner will be ready
in ten minutes everyone.”
 
His mother
announced.

“Let me help in the
kitchen Mama Porter.”
 
Izzy volunteered.
As he followed his father to his office, Izzy followed his mother to the
kitchen.
 
Something about how the evening
was playing out made Alex realize how much he wanted Izzy to be a real part of
his family.

“Shut the door Alex,
let’s talk.”
 
George Porter looked
neither happy nor mad.
 
Giving away
nothing about what the conversation to come would hold.
 
Sitting on one of the chairs, George waited
for Alex take a seat in the couch opposite.
 
“You know your mother told me about your tryst with Izzy.”
 

Did
my father just say tryst?
 
“I figured she would.
 
How long did she make it before she told you,
five minutes after walking through the door that day?”
  
Alex joked.
 

His dad smiled.
 
“I’ll have you know she made it until dinner,
a new record for her.
 
Although I thought
the poor woman was going to explode.”
 
George laughed, then sobered.
 
“I
am going to be frank with you son, you are what is the word your mother used,
oh yes, man whore.”