Unconventional

  Just then, Banyan appeared holding a black bag. “It dawned on me that you don’t have the right clothes. Not to eat with Barbara. I ordered some. Try them on, I got multiple sizes just to be careful.”

  The blankets were on top of me, and I pulled my knees to my chest. I hadn’t thought about clothes at all. I guessed that mattered? “Is she going to judge me on my clothes?”

  Banyan plopped down on the bed. “Yes. Maven’s mom is not nice. She’s smart, good at her job, and she works hard. But she can be condescending as hell.”

  Maven shrugged. “Pretty good description. Want to back out?”

  I did. But I wouldn’t. “I know that you’ve all seen me naked at this point.” I couldn’t believe I uttered those words, but I did. “I’d still like to get out of bed unviewed, if that’s possible.”

  Chance rocked back on his feet. “Let’s give her a few minutes.”

  “Thanks for thinking of the clothes, Banyan.”

  He winked at me as he exited. Maven stayed behind as the other two left. “I won’t let her make you upset. It should just be lunch and then done. If she gets… nasty with me, that’s fine. But if she says anything to you that you don’t like, we’re out. Okay?”

  I shook my head. “Is she going to just go around saying obnoxious things?”

  “No. She’ll say it so that you’re not one hundred percent sure you were at all insulted. It’ll be beautifully delivered. And then she’ll change the subject. Forget it. Don’t go. You don’t need this.”

  I shook my head. “Give me a minute. I’ll get ready.”

  If there was anything my years of trailing after my parents as their third silent wheel taught me, it was how to get through uncomfortable situations unscathed. Maven nodded. “You’re really the best.”

  He turned and practically fled the room. Most people would never see Maven like this. I shouldn’t be so sure of that, but I was. Chance had called it right. When Maven was anxious, he obsessed. If I could somehow make this whole thing less stressful for him, then that was what I was going to do.

  I ended up wearing the clothes that Banyan bought me. They weren’t fancy, but he had decided to put me all in black. I had on a pair of black pants and a sleeveless black tank top that had ruffles near the top. He’d topped it with a blazer that was a shade lighter black than the rest of the outfit. He’d also thought to get me some black boots.

  If I ever had to blend into the night like some sort of spy, I’d be golden. I could picture it now. I was hiding in a back alley and…

  No. Internally, I shook my head. I had to stay present. In the here and now. Barbara Stone wasn’t to be trifled with. That much I discerned as soon as we sat down in the small French bistro around the corner from where Chance lived. She’d ordered a scotch, even though it was noon, and hadn’t touched it yet.

  I sipped my water.

  “So let me get this straight, most of the time you lived in Kenya?”

  Maven hadn’t touched his food. He’d ordered a croque monsieur, and he was playing with it, not really eating. I’d stuck with salad. It was easier to move around on the plate. “Yes. That’s right. My mom was always particularly interested in warfare, as it changes from culture to culture. There is evidence of ancient mass murder in Kenya. It was a good place for her to start.”

  She set down her fork. “And you just hung around?”

  “I was homeschooled. I studied. A lot.” Read books that no one approved of.

  Barbara was a beautiful woman. I’d thought she would be flawless, fixed up by plastic surgeons to look her son’s age, but that wasn’t the case. She had lines by her eyes and mouth. If I recalled correctly, she was an attorney. Maybe aging was something she’d actually had to do to gain credibility in court.

  “It’s just fascinating. Very different from his upbringing. We stayed around here most of the time except for vacations, and I’m afraid it was a bit of a mundane existence. Skiing. Yachts. I’m not sure Maven would know what to do with himself without luxury around.”

  He shifted in his seat, and I sat back in mine. “Everybody wants to be comfortable if they can be. But Maven stayed back at school, and would still be there if he were allowed, to do community service over his whole vacation. He rescued me from a fire. I’m pretty sure he can handle himself in most situations.”

  I might have made that seem more dramatic than it was, and I didn’t care. He stared at me over his glass of red wine. Unlike his mother, he was touching his drink. “Thanks.”

  “She likes you.” His mother smirked. “But then, who wouldn’t like you? Did he buy you those thousand dollar boots? He does like to spend on his women.”

  I almost choked on my water. Thousand dollar boots? I had been walking around on a grand worth of shoes. What had they done to the boots? Was it the cow that the leather came from that was worth so much money?

  “I think there are lots of women who wouldn’t like me.” He smiled at her. “With Dad being a felon, after all. I mean we pretend he’s not, right? But he is. Such a fun word. Felon.”

  His mother shot him daggers for a second and then took a long pull from her scotch glass. “Your father is fine. He is rehabbing very nicely. Seeing the prison psychiatrist. You could visit him when next I go.”

  “I didn’t ask how he was, and I’m good without seeing him.” He set down his fork and pushed away his plate. “He didn’t have time for me when he was out of prison, and I don’t have time for him now. Was there anything else? Why are we having lunch? Were you just pissed I didn’t tell you I was in Manhattan? If I had, would you have left me alone?”

  She smiled like he hadn’t insulted her. “Why, Maven, I’m just trying to get to know your girlfriend.”

  He put his arm around the back of my chair. “Well, Mom. This is Giovanna. She’s lovely. Smart. Kind. She’s funny, but she doesn’t think she is. She loves music. Movies. She lights up a room when she smiles. Totally unpretentious, and I think she’s smarter than I am. She speaks her mind. And I love her red hair. Was there anything else?”

  Just then, the door to the restaurant opened, and much as it shocked me, Banyan strode in like he owned the place. He was dressed differently than he’d been when we left. He’d put on a suit, and it looked like he’d been born to wear it. Actually, Maven was similarly attired. Both of them had gone for light blue. Banyan wore a tie, and Maven didn’t.

  He waltzed past the hostess with a smile and slid into the booth next to Barbara. “Hello, friends.”

  Maven’s mother sat up straight. “Banyan. How nice to see you. This is a surprise.”

  “Well, when I heard you were having lunch with Maven and Giovanna, I had to drop by. I can’t miss the chance to see my favorite of my friend’s moms if I get the chance.” He put his arm around Barbara, and she turned red. I looked at Maven, who smirked at Banyan before he covered the look.

  Maven pointed to the food on the table. “Hungry?”

  “No. Barbara, tell me, how do you do it? I’ve always wondered. You manage somehow to keep a thriving career, handle the stresses your husband thrust on the family, run your charities, and stay out of the gossip columns.” He shook his head. “My mother has a meltdown if the store is out of her favorite coffee flavor.”

  Barbara pushed gently on Banyan. “Oh, stop that. The things your friend says, Maven. He’s flirting with me.”

  Maven didn’t comment but took a bite out of his sandwich. Barbara was now laughing at something Banyan said. I turned to Maven slightly. “I’m… I’m not coming up with the word I want to use.”

  “I’ll just go with grateful. He did this for you. He’d leave me here with her on my own if he had his choice. We tend to stay out of each other’s parental situations if we can. Nothing much to be done most of the time.” He pointed to my salad. “Try to eat while she’s distracted. I know it can be hard to when she’s got that laser-sharp, judgmental eye trained right at you. Hard to chew and swallow.”

  I touched his arm. “I meant what I sa
id. You’d do great anywhere you went. I don’t think there’s much that could intimidate you. Outside of the person across from us.”

  He touched the end of my hair. “Thank you. I really have come to like how you see me.” He took another bite. “Make her the bad guy in a future novel.”

  She laughed again, and Banyan made eye contact with Maven. Something unspoken passed between them. I suspected it was thank you.

  Chapter 13

  “Thanks for doing that.” Maven put his arm around me as we walked down the street.

  I side-eyed him. “I didn’t really get to do anything. I think Banyan is the reason it didn’t explode.”

  “You stood up for me.” He kissed my cheek and then stopped me from walking to kiss me on the lips, hard. “I don’t need anyone to do that. But, I liked how you did just the same.”

  Banyan came up behind us, pulling my hand gently. “She’s coming with me. Alone. That’s the price I’m exacting for having flirted with your mother for an hour and a half. Go home and hang out with Chase.”

  Maven let go of my hand. “Assuming she wants to go with you.”

  “I’m really up for anything.” I looked between them. At lunch, I’d felt like they were speaking without words, and now I couldn’t get over that sensation. Were there still undertones I wasn’t understanding?

  My lunch date nodded. “Then I’ll see you two later. Did you get it?”

  “It?” It took me a second to realize that he wasn’t talking to me, but to Banyan.

  He held out a card. “I did. Giovanna, congratulations, you’re now twenty-two years old. Hold onto this. Don’t get it mixed up with your real ID. Like don’t try to use it to get on a plane. The bouncers won’t really care to analyze it that much; you’re a hot girl. TSA might feel quite differently.”

  I stared at the ID he handed me. “Where did you get this picture? Is that my picture that’s on my library card?”

  He shrugged. “It’s on the school website. I downloaded. Uploaded. Boom. The guy I know made the ID. Problem?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “It’s fine. I guess the concept of a fake ID was one thing. Having one is another.”

  He held out his hand. “I’ll take it back.”

  “I need it? To go wherever you want to go the rest of the week?”

  Banyan took my arm to move me out of the way of two people hurrying down the street. “Maybe. I don’t know. It’ll be useful for you at school if you want to go out somewhere off campus, like a bar. Up to you.”

  I put it in my pocket. “I’ll keep it. But if I get arrested, you have to come get me out of jail. My parents are in India. I don’t think they’d fly home. I’d have to stay behind bars.”

  Banyan’s face fell. “I’d never let anything happen to you. And I’ll always show up.”

  Maven patted Banyan on the arm and leaned over to kiss my cheek. “See you two later.”

  Banyan hailed a taxi, which stopped quickly for us.

  “Do you guys ever take the subway?”

  He shook his head. “No. I mean, I have. There was a period of time when I did it all the time just to tick off my mom because she hates the subway, but generally speaking, if I can get a car, I get one.” He gave the driver an address I didn’t know, and we were off, traveling, I thought, downtown and in the opposite direction of Chase’s house.

  “Where are we going?” The fake ID burned a hole in my pocket. Or at least it did in my imagination.

  He leaned back in the seat. “I bought something a year ago. I wanted you to see it. I’d like your opinion. I haven’t shown anyone yet so… you’re the first. Is that okay?”

  “Yes.” I stared at his hard profile. Banyan had a lot of layers. He could go from easy going and funny to very serious in no time flat. Did his moods shift like that, or was he always covering one for the other?

  Banyan took my hand. “Thanks. Seriously, by the way, if I have to flirt with Maven’s mom one more time, I am going to lose my mind. This would be the third time.” He winced. “She grabbed my leg under the table. That’s why I said no more after the last time. Paying her attention to get her sharp focus off Maven is one thing. Having her basically proposition me nonverbally is something else entirely.”

  I scrunched up my nose. “Have you told Maven that she does that?”

  “Fuck, no. Things are complicated enough in that mess of a relationship. I mean, he has to see how she responds, and that’s far enough. I won’t be taking her up on her proposition, but I think I’ve got to stay away from this point on.”

  I leaned my head down on his shoulder, deciding not to analyze why I wanted to do that after hearing about another woman hitting on him. This was all going to get muddled if I didn’t get my head straightened out. “Thanks for showing up. She hadn’t really done anything yet, but I could feel it coming.”

  “Yep. Passive aggressive bullshit.”

  The car slowed down, and he got out of the car, taking my hand to help me out of it. I didn’t really have issues getting in and out of cars, but I’d gotten sort of used to the guys doing it regularly now. I was going to miss it when it stopped.

  I squinted in the sun, looking around the block. “Where are we?”

  He pointed at the building to our left. It was red brick and taller than Chance’s home. “My loft. I bought a space. I’m going to paint here. This is where I’m going to do all my work.”

  We walked into the building together after he used his key to get through the front door. It was quiet inside, except for a buzzing from a fluorescent light. “They have this lighting all over the building. I’m going to change it in my loft. I want soft tones and natural light. Not this crap.”

  The elevator was slow, and it groaned before it shuddered. I didn’t really consider myself claustrophobic, and I’d never been nervous in an elevator before, but I didn’t like this one. Not at all.

  But Banyan had a huge smile on his face. He was so happy to be in the elevator and the deathtrap skidded to a stop with a moan and a jiggle. The door opened with another key, and we stepped inside.

  It was one big room with huge windows that stretched from ceiling to the floor. He left the lights off, which I appreciated, because I could really see how the room glowed from the sun coming in through the panes.

  “When I saw this place, I couldn’t believe it.” He did a circle around the room. “I can see the canvases. I had to have it.”

  Banyan’s grin was infectious, and soon I was beaming back. “This is a great space. Will you live here, too?”

  “Yes, technically, I think this will be my home. I might crash at Chance’s a lot. But this will be my home address.”

  I walked over to the window and looked down. The buildings were taller on this side of town. Everything looked a little bit newer. I smirked. Except for Banyan’s elevator. “How long have you had it?”

  “I got it over Thanksgiving. My mother checked herself into a clinic for her latest disorder, whatever it is this time, and didn’t show up for dinner. I bought this the next day.”

  I turned around. “Congratulations, Banyan. I love it. I think you’ll make great art here.”

  He rushed at me, picking me up by the waist and spinning me in a circle. All of this twisting was going to make me dizzy, but I just decided to go for it. I squealed, a pretty unusual noise for me to make.

  I wasn’t really a squealer.

  Banyan set me down, bringing me against him in a hug. He smelled like sugar. I breathed him in. “Why do you smell so sweet?”

  “Can’t help it. My natural scent. I’m just irresistible. Like candy or donuts.”

  I groaned. “Seriously.”

  “I’m being totally serious. You had fun last night? At the Broadway show? I want to take you to my favorite dance club tonight. It could be a little intense. Nothing will happen to you as long as you’re with me.”

  Whatever he wanted. “I’m game. Particularly with my new card that could get me arrested.”

  “I k
eep thinking…” He shook his head. “Never mind. Can I kiss you?”

  I raised my eyebrows. “You think you have to ask?”

  He raised his gaze slowly, his attention never moving from my eyes. “I just want to be sure. Do you suppose we could have met in a different way? Like, if Maven hadn’t gotten your attention on the street that day and I’d driven up. Would we have met?”

  I blinked. He’d certainly moved on from kissing me to a different subject very quickly. “You’re doing the covers for the literary magazine. Maybe we would have met?”

  Probably not, because I would have figured out how to manage the whole thing online and never have to meet in person, but I’d leave that as a maybe just for the heck of it.

  He lowered his eyes, his gaze on my mouth. “I like that idea. Sure. We’ll go with that.”

  Finally, he kissed me. His lips were soft, and we just stood there, breathing together, our lips hardly touching. And then he deepened it.

  His arms came around me, and my body was on fire. Banyan had the ability to move me, and I couldn’t exactly pinpoint why. Right then, I didn’t even want to try. I just wanted to exist in this space in the universe where Banyan kissed me and nothing else mattered.

  I pressed my tongue into his mouth, taking control for a second, and he moaned. His body hardened against my own.

  “Fuck, sweetheart, we’ve got no furniture. It’s not going to be comfortable for me to do all the things I want to do with you here.”

  I gave him a little shrug. “Who needs comfort?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Where do you want me?”

  I pointed at the floor. “On your back. There.”

  He backed up, letting me go. “All right. Apparently I take directions pretty well when you’re the one giving them to me.”

  When he was flat on his back, I straddled him, pressing my most sensitive area against his. He sucked in his breath, and I grabbed onto his shirt. “Terrible? Like too rough on the floor?”

  “Sweetheart, all I’m feeling right now is your hot little body on top of mine.”