~ 1 week later ~

Despite our agreement, I had to stalk Annabelle for the entire week to make sure she's not gonna back from the deal. If she had, I don't know what I would have done, and with only Devon, the plan wouldn't be as complete and perfect!

Now, all I could hope for was that her outfit is gonna be a bomb! She has a beautiful figure, but with specific clothes, she can set a man on fire. Of course, I mentioned none of this to her.

Devon and I are sitting in the car, waiting for her in front of her apartment. Before we left, I thought she was going to be pissed because we were running late. Getting the gift that Annabelle wrapped so meticulously for Aidan in the car was a total bitch. How I handled the deal might not be completely legal. I put it in the back seat next to the kid without any straps because I couldn't bring them to stretch that far. But if we won't crash into another car, Devon should survive.

He is more than fascinated by the big silver bow on the gift. I keep swatting his hands away in fear he's gonna ruin the bow, but when he threatens me with a huge crying face, I put the pacifier in his mouth and strap him... a bit tighter in his seat. He makes no other attempt but whenever I look at him, his eyes are strangely judgemental.

Annabelle finally comes from the building of her apartment and my jaw hits the floor at the sight of her in a light white summer dress with acrylic flowers scattered around. To complement her look, even more, semi-high white summer sandals elongate her legs and her hair pushed to the side and braided down make her look like real-life Disney princess. A bit hookery if we count the short dress, but I'm not complaining.

I'm used to sleeping with pretty women, I'm used to looking at them, but... People will actually think that we're dating, I freaking can't stop looking at her. She walks down the stairs and she doesn't need a fan to blow hot air at her to make her look even better, 'cause she's freaking gorgeous.

She sits in the car with a somewhat nervous smile. "Hi," she says as she shifts in the seat, squeezing her thighs together, pulling the dress down by the hem and up by the straps. When she's either done or has given up, she sighs and stretches her hands out theatrically, "Will this do?"

What if she looks too pretty for this scheme? Sometimes having naturally good looks is a curse, I know that more than anyone.

I scoff and don't try to hide how my eyes travel up and down her body. I wouldn't mind making a stop for another quickie while she's wearing all of that. "I'm actually worried you look too good."

"Is there such a thing as looking too good?" It's obviously a rhetorical question because the next moment she's stretching back to say hi to Devon. She loosens his straps and takes out his pacifier, "Why is he strapped like a prisoner?"

So, yeah, I'm gonna ignore that. I don't want to fight with a lovely woman; it rarely turns out good. "I thought the outfit I picked really suits him. He's like a little cowboy."

At first, she wants to argue back, but I suppose she gives up on it half the way. Instead, she fastens her seat belt and inspects my GPS device, "So, where's the World War III front, now?"

I snicker as I get on the road "Brookline. The most family-friendly place in Massachusetts."

"Something tells me you don't really dig suburbs, huh? 'Cause of the family-oriented environment?"

"Nah, I just like living in the city. Civilization and all that. I don't dig the American dream that much, to be honest."

"You don't say." She chuckles and the entire loose atmosphere drops. At the next red traffic light, she scoots in her seat, so she's facing me with her entire body. "Nathan... Is this a good idea, though? Obviously, you and she have unresolved things. Maybe you shouldn't drag everyone in this and just try to talk it out with her?"

As if I haven't tried that before. It's surprising that it was me who wanted to talk about everything that went down and not her. People like to say I'm cold and reserved as long as there's no sexual mischief to make, but in the end, I was the only one ready to go over everything with her. Instead of clearing it up, which would take ten minutes at most, she brushed it off by saying it's pointless to talk about the past.

I get why Annabelle would be nervous about this. If a woman is anywhere near mentioning any family events, I'm out of the door, but maybe that's not exactly the best comparison.

I've decided if Patty will even remotely try to spend some time alone with Annabelle, I would step in between and let her suffocate on a piece of cake. There's this thing about Patty, she can be extra hot and a total caregiver, but she can be a murderous bitch. I know exactly in what kind of mood she'll be at the sight of Annabelle, and it's not related to becoming best friends with her.

"So, Patty doesn't exactly do 'discussing the past'. I tried to do it before she gave birth to Aidan, but she constantly tried to avoid it at all costs. Things remained unresolved and as years passed by, she only decided to complicate it even further by suddenly cutting all the ties with me."

Annabelle sighs and looks down "Is it possible she still has feelings for you? Maybe you don't, but... Talking about your relationship could revive the memories and emotions she once had for you."

"Trust me, Patty loves Daniel. He's like the warm version of me. He's perfect for her." And he doesn't mind if she's wrapping him around her finger.

"If you say so... I just hope they both know that. It can happen that sometimes you love someone without being aware of it."

I step on the gas when the traffic light turns green. I can see where she's coming from. I remember these exact words have pestered me for years, but after I saw Patty and Danny together, build a family and create a loving home, I knew she was more than aware of how deeply she loves him. "I know why you're nervous. I'm the one she'll try to kill, but if you will find yourself alone in a company with her, just prepare yourself for a bunch of lies about me."

"Why does this sound like we're talking about a rabid animal?" Her assumption is technically not wrong. Patty can be a crazy bitch.

"In a way, we are, yeah. By the way, how did that dinner go?" It's a strange transition from one topic to another, but sometimes I work in mysterious ways. Like god. Of sex.

Annabelle nods but in slow motion, like it could've gone better. Or maybe I'm reading this wrong and she'd just prefer to talk about something else. When she sighs, everything is clear to me. She starts fumbling her fingers together and her nose starts twitching a little. As I have learnt that is her nervous habit. "It was fine. Just dinner with parents. Like that can ever go according to plan."

Boy, do I know about that. If I remember correctly all our family dinners went to shit and all because my mother was in the same room with me. "What went wrong?"

"I didn't say anything went wrong," she murmurs it quietly like it's a response people expect from her but also not a very honest one.

"Something is obviously bothering you. Did they bring up your ex or something?"

"Let's just say Caitlin has a big mouth. She may have mentioned you in a strange context that makes me very suspicious of you." Now, that makes me look at her for a few split moments every three seconds. In the end, I manage to keep my eyes on the road, while Annabelle's are still eying me distrustfully. "Did you tell Austin anything?"

"About what? About sex?" It's... a stupid question. What else would she be worried about? That anyone knows she's babysitting over at my place? It has obviously to do with sex, and a very good one at that!

"Yes, about sex!" She exclaims and sighs exasperated, "My parents wanted to know how I'm doing and Caitlin said there's a Nathan out there falling for me. I didn't mention anything to her, so you and Austin are the only remaining link."

"Of course, I didn't mention it. I'm open that I like to have sex, but not about who I'm doing it with!"

"Well, how did she get on the trail then? It's... disturbing."

Okay, fucking, wait a moment!

My mind goes through a complete shift. Fuck it if your parents think you're getting some with another guy. How dare you relate the word 'disturbing' with having sex with me?! "Excuse me? Which part of having sex with me is disturbing, exactly?"

She puts her hands over her eyes and whispers, "Oh my God." Then she looks back at me, "I don't want anyone to know because people get weird ideas. You should be familiar with this feeling more than me, Mr No-Attachment!"

I start looking at her bit by bit, pissed that she, again, has shut me down. This seriously needs to stop, I feel helpless like I'm losing both of my testicles!

She takes a deep breath and rubs her temples, "Okay, look, did you mention to Austin anything, anything at all that could lead him onto this?"

"I didn't even say your name and 'sex' in the same sentence, not even as a joke!" But then I remember one thing that I did mention.

Annabelle spots it immediately, and she rises in her seat, "You just figured something out, didn't you? Well, tell me!"

"I just... asked him why is he more into Caitlin than into you because you give off a sweeter vibe." If I could, I would close my eyes and bang my head against the steering wheel. I didn't even imagine this would all evolve into a total gossip.

"Oh... That's not that bad, then. I thought you actually mentioned banging the soulless or something idiotic like that."

I look at her, insulted and exasperated for the second time that hour. Not just that sex with me is disturbing, but I'm also an idiot with idiotic statements? What's next? Telling me she faked both of the orgasms?

"Well, tell your parents there's no such a thing as a Nathan."

"I did," she looks out of the window and leans on the sill, "but it only caused more problems. Caitlin went on with her counter arguments and in the end, I ended up telling everyone I'm still dying over Mason."

"Maybe that wasn't a bad move, you know?" It did take me off the hook, for one. But for real, people will cut her some slack even if anyone turns up with a proof of a Nathan. "Honesty can do more good. But look, now you can at least say his name. Until very recently, you could only refer to him as your ex."

"But when you broke up with Patty, you said you weren't fine. Didn't all those people nagging you about how are you and how is it going seriously get on your nerves?"

"Yeah, but you and Mason were together for quite a while. You two were engaged and everything, that's a big commitment, so you have to understand that they worry how are you doing. Especially because you were the one on the receiving end."

"Look," she sighs and stays quiet for a moment, "Caitlin has no right to interfere. She's just... she complicates everything. I wanted to have a nice evening, and instead, it turned into a pity therapy."

If I compare her feeling of despair over a sweet dinner where her family cares deeply about her, and my own situation that usually turns into screaming and all of us leaving with haste, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. "I think it could've been worse."

"Sure, but... I may not be in the best place right now, but I'm done with people looking at me like I'm going to have a meltdown if someone as much as winks at me!" Her voice starts rising as she talks until it gets quite passive-aggressive. Life just isn't life if there's no family drama, or so I've learnt. She looks out of the window and remains completely still until she magically returns to her bubbly self. I'm starting to believe this bubbliness is just a defence mechanism of the sort. "Anyway, is there anything else I need to know about this party?"

"Let me think about it." And the more I think about it, the more I realise I don't really want anyone to talk to her. Just gawk at her, feel envious, and let us leave in peace. It's not meant in a possessive manner, but I don't want any retarded cousin of mine to show up and start loading her with more emotional baggage.

She smacks her lips together a couple of times. "Should I be, uh, worried about you thinking so hard about this?"

You have no idea!

"Just... try to avoid the women, okay? Specifically my mother and Patty. My sister, if she's around, just don't mind her."

"Jeez, what do you have against women!"

"More concerned what do they have against me." My remark, besides being completely true, really makes her laugh. Should I feel flattered, that I can make her laugh? Or is she laughing because there's obviously something women find irritating on me? Regardless, I know of one thing they don't find that irritating.

The conversation dies down. It feels so weird to drive in complete silence like this is what we do every day. What feels weirder, is the presence of that awkwardness cannot be detected. For me, this feels fine. No desire to talk excessively, no desire to break the silence, no desire to go over sex ed with her. Last part may be springing to life, though.

For most of the journey, we simply listen to the background music. Devon involuntarily takes a little nap, cars do magical things to babies, while Annabelle and I are just... on the way. While I drive, she's busy browsing and typing on her phone. It's all pretty much mundane, and in a way, I love this. There's been too many surprises in my life lately; simply driving around without any evil or sexual agenda really suits me.

Speaking of evil agendas... I may have made a mistake mentioning that, since the sole person of Annabelle being by my side in the car right now is to set Patty on fire. Metaphorically and literally.

My mind doesn't dwell on Patty for too long because I realise I'm finally going to see my nephew again. It's been months. Months. When I got a chance to talk to him over the phone, it filled my heart with joy. That time I actually believed I could deal with whatever Devon has in store for me.

Spending time with Aidan has taught me some things, very useful things. Though, he is one of the nicer kids on the block and Devon not really, but some rules are just universal for all the kids. Like amusement parks.

I see the next exit on the freeway is ours, so I give the signal to both the drivers behind me and to Annabelle. I think it'd be nice to give her a heads-up that we're nearing the horror house hosting a birthday party. "We're gonna be there soon."

Annabelle looks up momentarily and her hands freeze around the phone. It's not apparent, but she is nervous to the point where it's taking the best of her. She refuses to show that, which is kind of admirable. If I have a meltdown, I have a meltdown.

A few more turns and balloons start appearing next to streets. I imagine people find this cute and innovative, but I just feel like a rat in the labyrinth, with Patty being the starving cat and Annabelle rat poison.

"I actually agreed to this, didn't I?"

"It's all going to be fine." I do kind of... ask a lot from her, don't I? For a guy who doesn't believe in attachment, I am really pushing her to meet my entire family.

I make a turn and the next street is packed with cars, probably all of Aidan's friends from kindergarten and all the extended family parked here.

She leans closer to the window and inspects the entire street before she whispers breathlessly "I thought this was gonna be a small party..."

Me too, to be honest. Though, Patty is pregnant again, so no wonder she wants everyone to come and praise her for it.

I don't give that away to Annabelle. She's already done more than enough and she's waaay too nervous already to learn this.

I find a parking space. Once we stop and I decide to leave the car and join the party, Annabelle grabs me for my hand. "Can we just... sit for a while?"

I sit back down, nodding "Yeah, sure."

It's all done in silence, except for Devon's mucking in the backseat. He's probably cranky the car stopped and his nap was so cruelly interrupted.

We probably sit in there for 10 minutes straight. I patiently wait, since I've done enough rushing already, and soon Annabelle's 'calming' breathing turns into birth-giving.

I've driven her mad...

"Hey, hey," I say to get her attention and to make her look at me. She looks panicky about this and suddenly I feel so guilty I just want to drive her back to the city and bail on this party. "I only talked about family members that are total nutters, but I promise you that not all of them are like that." She chuckles at that, since it probably sounded like I'm trying to convince her and myself that my family does consist of normal people. "For all I know, they will accept you very warmly. Like Daniel, for instance."

"Yeah, that's good. Daniel, huh? That's one out of... what? 50 nutjobs?"

I am fucked up, ain't I?

I snort and realise she's the one making me laugh while I'm supposed to do that for her. "C'mon, let's just deal with them, huh?"

"Probably for the best. Will you get Devon?"

"Nah, I'll get the gift."

We hold this conversation as we're leaving the car and each of us goes to dealing with their own stuff. I look over the fence and see the front yard has parts of a slide that still needs to be built scattered around the place, so the party is probably in the backyard. Let's just hope it's not gonna be Patty to answer the door, or else I'm just gonna get it back at my face.

Annabelle unstraps Devon from the seat, and I have the gift ready in my hands to give it to Aidan. Together, we head to the front door, and I am pretty sure, if she weren't holding Devon, she's grab my hand and turn it blue.

"Oh, one more thing," I say when we're standing before the front door and I'm right about to ring the doorbell, "don't show that you're nervous. They smell fear."

I wink at her and ring the doorbell, but Annabelle doesn't appreciate it. Maybe she sees that this is no joke, for my family can be like a pack of vultures. "Wow, Nathan, that's exactly what I need right now."

The front door opens and unleashes the ruckuss the kids are making in the background. Daniel stands before me, at first smiling, then regretting everything in his life.

I manage to hug him by holding the gift with one hand, and I smile widely "So, great to see you, Danny!"

Daniel, as polite as he tries to be, smiles at Annabelle who returns him the nervous smile, then gives me a dead look, "What have you done, Nate?"

A/N: And so the fun begins! I've been yearning to get to this part, and finally! Do you think this is gonna go well or will Nate lose his nuts?

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~Blackie