Chapter 13

Gabe was next to her, a seat away from Sophia.

They made small talk as they ate, with Claire wanting to know more about Lena. She answered her questions, until she subtly asked about her and Damon. She couldn't answer what she didn't know, right?

“So, munchkin...” Lena chuckled at EJ’s pet name for her. “How’d you end up with this moron?” EJ asked, indicating to his brother with his thumb.

“I've been asking myself that same question for weeks now,” Gabe said, stuffing his mouth with roasted chicken. He looked so at home here, it was amusing. He made himself so comfortable, Lena wouldn't be surprised if he had a room somewhere in the house.

“That's none of your fucking business,” Damon shot at them.

“Language,” Claire scowled at him, her gaze moving to Ella.

The little girl piped up. “It's okay, grandma. My teacher says it all the time.”

“What?” Sophia's eyes widened.

The girl nodded. “Yeah. Mom, how do you make babies?” She was asking so casually, her small hand reaching for her juice as she drank greedily from the glass.

“What?” Claire gasped at the same time Sophia repeated.

“How do—”

“Yes, I heard you the first time. Where did you hear that?” Sophia asked, stupefied.

At this point, Damon, Gabe and Chris had their hands in front of their mouths, holding back laughter. Chris even looked red in the face. EJ was the only one laughing out loud, his deep laugh filling the entire room.

“Well, my teacher was on the phone today during recess and she was talking really low. I heard her say she couldn't wait to make babies and that they weren't going to stop till her legs were shaking and she couldn't walk.” Ella shrugged. She obviously had no idea what she was saying. “I think it's very dangerous if she's not going to be able to walk.”

“Oh my God,” Claire muttered, her hand going to her forehead.

Chris snorted loudly as he laughed and Lena could see tears coming out of Damon's right eye. Gabe was on the floor, folded into a ball, his breath coming out in little pants with his laughter. EJ was another case altogether while she just sat there and laughed. Caroline would’ve loved this.

“Was that how you made me, Mommy? You couldn't walk too?” the girl asked her mother, then seemed to have a rethink. “Wait, how did you make me?”

The volume of laughter in the room increased.

Sophia had turned a bright red, her nose flaring. “Tomorrow, we are going to school together. I need to have a word with that teacher of yours.”

Ella shrugged in agreement. “Sure. Maybe I could ask her how babies are made since you won't answer me.” She popped a piece of chicken in her mouth.

“You'll do no such thing!” Claire almost yelled as the laughter increased.

“I'm so proud to be your uncle,” EJ wheezed out through his laugh, sitting back on his chair.

The little girl frowned at him, but a small smirk rested on her lips. It was obvious she adored him. “I'm still mad at you, so don't talk to me.”

It took a while but the laughter managed to die down, everyone back in their seats, composed. The air was light, and Lena was so glad to have been invited. They finished the main course, now feasting on dessert which was mint chip brownie ice cream squares.

“I'm so glad you could come, dear,” Claire said to her with a genuine smile.

She gave an awkward chuckle. “I didn't have much of a choice,” she said, her gaze fixed on Gabe who only shrugged and winked at her. He was on his third plate and she wondered for the thousandth time how he wasn't fat.

“Still, you're welcome here anytime. You can have a room upstairs, in case you want to spend the night,” Chris added.

Her eyes widened. A room? “A room?”

Gabe nodded. “Yeah, I have one. So do Mom and Dad. Even Gerald. We all have a room here, it's like a family house,” he shrugged as he explained, going for a fourth plate. He was going to bloat, that was for sure.

She wanted to meet this Gerald everyone was talking about. Soon.

“She can stay with me,” Damon spoke up, wrapping his hand again her waist and bringing her closer. Any more, and she would've been on his lap. Her cheeks heated up.

“So you can fornicate? Yeah, right. I'm not interested in hearing any screams in the middle of the night. The other ones were so loud, it's sickening. You loud, munchkin?” It was so absurd how very casual the question flew out of his mouth, like it was as normal as a simple good morning.

If she hadn't been so embarrassed, Lena would have given the fact that Damon had slept with a ton of girls more thought.

“I... I don't know,” Lena muttered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She heard Chris titter, and even Damon chuckled, the act vibrating through his entire body to her waist.

“You know you didn't have to answer that, right? He was just messing with you,” Sophia piped up, with a small smile.

Lena blushed a deep red, knowing that she was looking like a tomato. “Yeah.. No.. Never mind,” she mumbled.

“I scream pretty loud, right grandma? I guess I'm one of the loud ones,” Ella squeaked, quite proud of herself.

“With the kind of uncles you have, I don't know if you'll make to eighteen as a virgin,” Chris muttered, shaking his head.

“What's a virgin?” Ella asked.

Her inquisitiveness was alluring. Her need to know everything was a bit too forward, but Lena guessed it was a child’s thing. “It's...” she drew out, searching for what to say since no one else was going to answer. “It's where a girl loses her most prized possession. Like, for example, you have a special doll and you lose it, then you're not a virgin anymore.”

“Oh shit,” Gabe said as he burst into laughter.

Ella seemed to think for a moment. “What about you? Are you a virgin? Do you still have your special doll?”

Crap. She didn't know what to tell her. Lena looked to Claire for help, and she shook her head, laughing. “Nope. I'm not interested.”

Sophia leaned away, “You started this. Leave me out of it.”

“I'm sure she already lost it. Right, munchkin?” EJ looked at her, smirking as he sipped wine from his glass. His beautiful face twisted in amusement, his eyes glistening with laughter. He sure was having great time teasing her.

Lena swallowed, blushing. “Uh...” Did they know she’d slept with Damon?

“Again, you don't have to answer that,” Gabe said, chuckling.

“You're such a moron, EJ.” Damon rolled his eyes, casting him a blank stare.

“Coming from you, that's rich.”

She decided to keep her mouth shut, seeing as it was getting her into awkward situations a lot. Her throat felt a bit dry, making her gulp down an entire glass of wine. She felt a gaze on her, her head turning to meet Damon's eyes. It was dark and hooded, promising her of the future and what was to come. Swallowing, she pressed her thighs together to keep blood from rushing to her core. His intense gaze kept her rooted on the spot, and she couldn't look away.

“Jesus, he's already eye-fucking her,” EJ said in disgust, his face scrunched up.

“Elvis-Joseph! Language! I will not have you speaking in that manner when a child is present.” Claire scowled firmly, her eyes travelling to Ella who had no problems with the curse word at all. She was too carefree for her own good.

“But it's true, Mom, just take a good look at them,” he insisted.

Lena felt her ears heat up, fixing her gaze on her laps. She didn't think she'd ever been this embarrassed in her entire life.

“Mind your business, son. When are you going to introduce a girl to us? We're not getting any younger, you know,” Chris added with a look of disapproval.

EJ rolled his eyes. “Here we go again. Same old, same old. I'm not getting married anytime soon, alright. Leave me alone,” he said as he got up from the seat and headed to the kitchen.

“No one’s saying anything about marriage,” Gabe added. He'd already unbuttoned his shirt, leaning back on his chair.

“What about you, Gabriel? You have a love interest?”

Lena saw a shadow of a smile crossed his face, then he nodded. After a few moments, he added, “Yeah. Sort of.”

Damon's brows rose. “How come I don't know her?”

“That's because I haven't told anyone yet.”

She smirked, because I was obviously the only one that knew. It was juvenile how he hadn't told her yet, but she decided to give him time. There was no need to rush.

“I'll introduce her in due time, okay? Calm your tits.” He rolled his eyes, chuckling as Claire shook her head in disappointment at the curse word.

“The food was delicious, Sophia, Claire. Thank you so much,” Lena said, smiling in gratitude. It was a pleasure to have been invited.

“Sophia?” EJ reentered the dining room, with a wrapped present in hand. “It was all Mom, munchkin. Sophia can burn cereal,” he snorted.

Sophia fixed him a glare as Damon laughed, “Shut the hell up.”

Rolling his eyes, he said, “Chipmunk, I got you something,” EJ handed the package in his hand to Ella, whose eyes lit up like it was Christmas. “As compensation for your hair.”

It was a big package, and she was as eager as the little girl to know what was in it. Claire offered to help as she unwrapped the box.

Ella dipped her hands in and brought out a huge teddy bear.

“Uncle EJ!” she exclaimed with excitement and Lena couldn't help the laugh that escaped her mouth. “I love you so much! You're the best uncle in the world!”

“Hey!” from beside her, Damon called out at her choice of words. EJ stuck his tongue out childishly, and Damon reached over to slap the back of his head.

“You're just jealous because she doesn't love you,” EJ cooed.

“Ha ha. Real mature, EJ. Real mature,”

“What name are you going to give it, honey?” Chris asked.

“It's a boy, right?” she asked.

“Mm hmm.” He nodded.

“Uh... I think I'm going to name him...Jackson.”

The silence that ensued was deafening. The entire table came to a standstill and again, Lena wondered...

Who was this Jackson?