Love Online(29)

“Son…just watch yourself.”

“Thanks for your concern. I’ll be back soon,” I said before hanging up.

***

Flanked by two cactus trees, Eden’s house was one level and small. Inside it was cozy and warm—the total opposite of the huge, over-the-top mansions I was used to in L.A. This was the type of house that made you feel like you were home the moment you stepped into it. Well, maybe it was the people, not the house. I was used to stepping into echoey silence.

When I walked in the door, Ollie was sitting in the kitchen with his sister.

“Ryder’s back,” he said.

I put the paper bag down on the counter. “You smell me again or something?”

“No, it’s your heavy foot. I could hear it. I bet you have giant feet.”

That made me laugh. “Ah…so you sayin’ I’m like Bigfoot?”

“Yeah.” He giggled.

Eden smiled over at us as she unloaded the dishwasher. She looked down. “Come to think of it, Ryder does have big feet. You’re very perceptive, Ollie.” She winked at me, and I definitely felt it below the belt.

Fuck.

“You know what that means,” Ollie said.

Eden and I both froze and turned to him at the same time.

Her brow lifted. “What exactly is that supposed to mean, Ollie?”

“It means he has really big socks, too.”

The two of us collectively sighed.

“So…so far, I have big feet and I smell,” I joked. “Way to keep making a good first impression.”

“My sister told me you were coming back for dinner, so I was sort of expecting you anyway. It wasn’t just your big feet.”

“Ah, okay.” I sat down across from him at the table and took some time to observe him. Ollie kept his eyes mostly closed. I had so many questions, ones that weren’t exactly appropriate to ask. Like, could he see me at all, or was he totally blind?

Eden wiped down a plate. “Ollie, Ryder works in Hollywood with all of the movie stars.”

Damn, that got his attention. The kid whipped his head in my direction. “Do you know Gilbert Gottfried?”

“No, actually, I don’t.”

“He was the voice of the parrot in Aladdin and the duck in the AFLAC commercial.” Ollie mimicked the duck, “Aflac!”

“Sounds to me like he’s pretty good at playing birds, then.”

“He’s so much more than a bird. He’s really funny.”

Eden looked over at me. “Ollie got in trouble for listening to one of his standup acts on the iPad that wasn’t very age appropriate.”

“Uh-oh.” I laughed.

“Yeah. He’s so funny, though. It was worth getting in trouble.”

This kid definitely had a mischievous side. He reminded me a lot of myself when I was younger, always trying to get into things I wasn’t supposed to.

Eden explained, “Because Ollie can’t see, he’s drawn to really strong voices, and I guess Gilbert fits the bill.”

“I thought I knew all the cool people, too. But apparently not,” I said.

Ollie shrugged. “Guess not.”

My gaze wandered over to Eden, who was now leaning against the counter, crossing her arms. Our eyes locked, and it hit me that it was probably a good thing Ollie couldn’t see me, because it was inevitable that I would get a hard-on for his sister at some point tonight.

I could get hard just looking at her. I couldn’t remember ever having this kind of physical need for anyone before. The past several weeks had been like one long episode of foreplay. Now that I was near her, I couldn’t help being so physically turned on, even though she wasn’t doing anything specific to incite that. She didn’t have to do anything except exist.

My brain was telling my dick to slow the fuck down, that we had to back up several miles now that we knew what was really happening here. But he wasn’t quite getting the message.

I snapped myself out of my gawking. “Alright. Are you ready for me to take over the kitchen? Chicken pot pie-making is serious business. You need to steer clear, because I’m gonna need all this counter space.”

Eden smiled. “Well, it’s not every day we have someone cooking for us, so we will gladly steer clear. Right, Ollie?”

“Yeah, no one’s cooked for us since Ethan.”

Ethan?

Who the fuck is Ethan?

“Oh yeah?” Looking over at Eden, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Who’s Ethan?”

Ollie laughed. “I bet you thought I said ‘Eden’ at first, right? Ethan sounds like Eden.”

“Yeah…sure does,” I said, still curious as to who the heck Ethan was.

“Ethan stopped coming around a long time ago,” he said.

“Ethan is my ex-boyfriend,” Eden admitted.

“I see.” Not wanting to ask in front of Ollie, I didn’t pry about what had happened to Ethan. If she wanted to tell me, she would. But right now, wherever Ethan was, I was glad he was gone.

I’d picked up a bottle of white while I was out. I remembered she’d once told me she loved pinot grigio. I poured Eden a glass so she could relax while I cooked.

Eden and Ollie sat at the table while I prepared the ingredients. I even made the crust from scratch, because that’s how my mother taught me to do it. It took a little bit of time, but I always thought it was worth it.