Drinks 'n Dares

Old Man Murphy is a Moron

Chapter Eleven - Old Man Murphy is a Moron

Claire's POV

"Honey, I'm home." Jon announced dryly the moment I opened the door.

Rolling my eyes I motioned for him to come in. Personally, I thought he would regret it. The heat wave had not only continued over the last week but had spiked. Today it was over thirty-eight degrees Celsius outside. In my apartment every window was open and every fan (count: one) was on but it wasn't making much of a difference. It was still hotter inside than out. Until Jon had arrived I had been wearing only a sports bra and some jean cut-offs, but I had respectfully thrown on a t-shirt when the door had rung. Jon was dressed similarly in shorts, flip-flops and a light shirt. I had to admit he looked incredibly attractive and then I mentally bitch-slapped myself. What was I thinking? This was Jon.

"So what brings you to my humble abode?" I asked abruptly.

"Other than your charming self?" he asked flippantly.

"Why Jon," I said in mock-surprise. "I didn't know you could joke."

"It's the damned weather." He replied lightly. He leant back against the kitchen counter. "Brings out the worst in me."

Despite myself I chuckled and that seemed to bring a sincere smile to Jon's face. He shook his head, still smiling.

"I came to tell you that my parents cruise has been delayed." He said more seriously. "They'll be at least another week before they dock."

"Oh." I instantly sobered. "That could be tricky."

"Why is that?"

"Because you're supposed to be coming down to meet my family next week. I thought things between us would be wrapped up by then..." I trailed off.

"But obviously they won't." Jon said, his eyebrows coming together. He pushed off the counter and started to pace. "I must admit I'd entirely forgotten about that. But if we can't get the ring off and cancel our engagement by next week I'll just have to meet your parents and play it by ear."

"Yes," I said, tempted to join him in pacing. "We should probably make up some details at some point or another. We don't want to get our wires crossed."

He shuddered delicately. I was willing to be the sum of my low bank account, my crappy apartment and even my cat, Gatto, that right at that moment he was thinking of his sister. And that reminded me...

"Oh! I meant to warn you." It was my turn to look serious and worried. "My brother Aden found out about our engagement. He, Collin and Brett want to drive up to meet you."

"Is that the one that called you? Just before you ran off from the mall the other day?" he asked.

I nodded. "That's him. I was hoping to avoid thatparticular encounter but there seems there's no avoiding it. I did tell them that traffic was killer at the moment so if we're lucky we might not see them until next week. I wouldn't count on it though."

He leaned against the counter. I ignored the slight sheen of sweat that had gathered over his skin and the spark of vitality in his eyes. "Will it be terrible?"

Unwittingly I found myself leaning against the counter beside him. Our arms were close enough to brush. Would it be terrible? "Well," I considered. "Not Collin. He's sensible enough. He and his wife live in Wellington so he'll have to fly down or catch the ferry. He's my second-oldest." I added after a slight pause. "Brett's my younger brother and he's full of hot air. He'll probably want to beat you up but I don't think he actually will."

"And Aden...?"

I smiled. "He will beat you up if he thinks you're hurting me. But he's sensible too. He reminds me a little of Stephanie when he's being protective. Otherwise he's just a load of fun to have around."