And I was better off without them.
When I finally got my lazy, relaxed ass up to join the family for dinner, I noticed that Anna wasn’t as refreshed as I was. “What’s up?” I asked her, as Alfred set a plate of steak and potatoes down in front of me. Yes. Sex, steak, and starch…every day should end this way.
Anna sighed as a smaller plate was sat in front of her. “It’s just…I know we haven’t been here long, but…the people here are so fake, it’s already driving me crazy. I can’t tell who is being nice to me because they like me and who is being nice because they want something from me. And it sucks not having someone around here I can hang out with.” She looked over at the girls. “An adult who doesn’t pick on her sister every minute of the day or need something from me every five seconds…” She sighed again as she looked over at me. “It just makes me miss home.”
She had a frustrated expression on her face, and even I understood the real meaning behind her words. “We are home, and we’ll make new friends, Anna. Actor friends who are almost as successful as me. They won’t use us for anything. It’ll be completely legit. Just give it time.” We’re not moving back to Seattle.
Like she heard my silent addition, Anna frowned and let out a small sigh. I wasn’t sure if she was purposely trying to hate it here, but she refused to get into L.A. life. I think she would have before we had kids, when she was a little more wild and carefree, but now everything just seemed to annoy her. Even the near-constant sunny weather. More than a few times, I’d heard her sigh and say, “I miss rain.” It was weird to me. Who actually missed rain?
“Actors as friends,” she muttered. “Yes, I’m sure they’ll be completely real, all the time. Nothing fake there…” She looked out the window while I cut up my perfectly cooked steak. Gibson beside me was picking up pieces with her fingers while Onnika was helping herself to some baby oatmeal. Everyone was content but Anna.
Wondering what could perk her up, since the awesome sauna sex hadn’t done it, I tossed out, “Well, we could invite some friends down? Maybe…” My voice trailed off as I ran through Anna’s list of friends. Not Jenny, she would bring Evan. Not Rachel, she would bring Matt. Not Kiera, she would bring Kellan. Why the fuck did all of Anna’s best friends have to be in relationships with my best friends! Well, my ex–best friends. Irritated, I finished with “Troy and Rita?”
Anna snapped her gaze back to me. “Troy and Rita? That’s the best you could come up with?”
I shrugged. “Some of your Hooters friends then. I don’t care, invite whoever you want. Have a girls’ weekend.”
Anna turned thoughtful, so I knew she was considering it. Good. Maybe she’d like it better here if she realized it wasn’t a life in solitary imprisonment. We had the means to make most anything happen. For now. God, I hoped the full season got picked up soon. Anna would flip if she found out I was making minimum wage, or damn near it.
Right at that moment, Onnika decided playing was more fun than eating. With a mouth full of oatmeal, she blew a raspberry right in my face. The sticky, half-eaten shit went all over me. “Goddammit, Onnie.” She laughed while I wiped oatmeal mud off my face. Anna laughed with her. “Hilarious,” I told them both.
Handing Anna the spoon, I walked over to the counter to get a towel for my face. And hair. And behind my ear. How the fuck did it get back there? While I worked, Anna said, “Okay, Griff…I’m going to take you up on your offer and have some girls over this weekend. Could you find something to do for a few hours?”
I gave her a thumbs-up. I could handle myself for a night, and besides, I think Anna really needed this.
When I left that Friday night to hang out with the cast at Elijah’s, Anna was all smiles. I wasn’t sure who she’d gotten to come over on such short notice. Maybe Kate? She’d probably come down just to see Justin.
After saying good night to the kids—reading Gibson a princess story, while we both wore tiaras, of course, and singing a lullaby to Onnika—I gave Anna a long, savory kiss. “I’ll be fucking you later,” I murmured in her ear, “girlfriends or no girlfriends.”
She bit her lip and pulled on the waistband of my jeans, until our hips met. “Yes, you will,” she matter-of-factly stated.
Fuck me running. Why couldn’t this party be over with already?