His Law Student (Lawyers Club Book 1)

8

It was only 2 seconds... they were at the door, waiting for it to open for 2 seconds. Alex took a deep breath and smiled at his mother. "Lena this is my mother, Cora Dougenis, mom this is Magdalena Castellanos." Lena smiled wide, holding out her hand to the woman with the biggest smile on her face. She was wearing an apron she swore her own mother owned as well and was pulled into the house before Alex or his mother could even wave her inside.

"Magdalena, such a pretty name for a beautiful lady. How old are you my little dear?"

"I'm 26, please call me Lena. My father is the only one that still calls me by my full name." She smiled as she was brought closer to what she could only assume was Alex's brothers playing cards. They had all stopped and were now standing as his mother pulled her closer.

"26, that's such a good age. At that age I was married with Dorian on the way and Alexander at my ankles." Lena smiled at Mrs. Dougenis and then turned her smile to the brothers. "Speaking of Dorian, this is him, and then my other boys, Hector, Mateo, Lucas and finally my baby Nikos... we call him Niko." She patted her hand and she saw how her boy lined up to meet this woman. Her second oldest was just the right age for her, almost ready to settle down as well.

"Mom, she's here for dinner, not one of my brothers." Alex's voice ran out behind Lena and she felt his hands on her shoulders slightly pulling at her jacket and she let him take it for her.

"I'm sorry I am just in jeans, if I had guessed I wold meet someone so nice I would have dressed better, my mother would definitely be sour with me if she found out." Lena knew that if and when her mother tried to set her up she had to be in a dress, in tights, in nice heels, she had to have her hair and make up done perfectly... she was supposed to make a good impression.

"Nonsense, you are just fine. Those jeans are so nice and... dark."Lena blinked as she heard Mateo and he smiled at her before he turned to smirk just looking past her at Alex. Alex glared at his brother, gave a small shake of his head to each of them before they sort of gave each other looks.

"So Lena, are you single? Dating casually?" Lucas asked and she pushed her lips together before looking right over to the others.

"No. I am not dating. I am in school. Do you guys go to school?" She asked softly just throwing the question out there for them.

"Mateo and Hector do, but my Dorian is already out and running his own tattoo shop. He loves his art." Lena looked a little harder at the second oldest. He had on long sleeves but as she looked now she could see some ink on his neck, some on his hand, and she had to wonder if he was covered already.

"I just got back from visiting Greece, our grandparents are still out there so we got to spend a year or two out there after high school. Well, all but Alex. He only spend two and a half months before he came back." Lucas told her and he smiled softly. He knew there was something going on between the two even if his brother wasn't going to tell them. The glare from Alex to be good was enough to let him know that this girl was his.

"And... I am sadly still in high school. But this is my last year, I will be 18 soon too." Nikos winked at her, taking after Mateo a bit the way he liked to rile up Alex.

"That's all cool. My brothers are all working for my father at this point in their lives. Even the youngest, who is older than me, is working for him." Lena shrugged, her dad owned one of the only plumbing and electric businesses. Her oldest brother actually wanted to go into the whole 'add-on' business where they start to add on extra things like porches, ramps, little ideas that people might want.

"How many older brothers?" Mateo asked and Alex knew this was going to be a deal breaker for the guy who didn't do drama, if he thought she would be more than a challenge to get in bed, that she had people to protect her, he would back off.

"In total, 4 older brothers." Lena told them and she saw Alex's mother sneaking off as something went off in the kitchen. "It smells really great Mrs. Dougenis... do you need any help?" She left the brothers and headed right to the kitchen with his mother as she asked her to just pull something out for her since her back was acting up. Alex would have stepped in if he hadn't seen this as a good moment to threaten his brothers.

"You all will leave her alone. She is to be  perfectly in tact when we leave, not crying, not creeped out, and no dates with any of you." Alex threatened, making sure to glare at Hector and Mateo who started to laugh lightly at him.

"Easy big brother, she looks like a good catch. Any of us could actually like her enough to ask her out and mean it." Dorian winked and passed him with a small bump before rounding him and pushing him towards the table. "See any ink on her?" He asked with a laugh and Alex brought his  elbow back into Dorian's side.

"Don't even think about it Dorian."

"You know how much he likes his virgins... give them a bit of pain and see how they take it." Alex rolled his eyes as he looked at Mateo who was grinning wide at them. 

"Enough." Alex announced and looked into the kitchen as his brothers started to pull the cards together so they could deal him in too. He saw Lena holding the hot pan as she inhaled and said something to his mother, he was sure it was a compliment with the way his mother seemed to wave her off and smile wider.

Pastitsio was one of Lenas favorites, and it smelled just like her mothers. The golden brown on top was perfect, and she set it on the counter as Cora, as she told Lena to call her, grabbed the steamed vegetables and other things not on the table yet and told her, asked her very sweetly, to bring the dish and a serving spoon out from the counter.

Lena walked in like she was in her own house, she saw the other side of the table opened but knew that was where Alex's father used to sit, she couldn't sit there. She opened her mouth to ask, but Alex noticed her hesitation right away and he smiled softly before standing.

"Take this seat." Alex let her have his seat. He and his brothers had put the cards away for now, not getting into the game that far but not upset it was cut short. He pulled out his chair and set her in it before going to get another chair for himself. He squeezed in and saw his mother's face as she noticed what he was doing.

"Take it Alex." She told him and shifted her eyes from Alex to the empty seat. His brothers were quiet as he put the smaller chair back and moved to take his fathers old seat. He was fidgeting her legs, his hands, and he waited as his mother said the prayed over the food they were going to eat. Lena saw it, and she could not even imagine what was going through him mind so she shifted, when the prayer started and held his hand and then put her knee against the side of his leg.

He gave her a soft smile before his brothers noticed and she pulled her hand away, her knee stayed against his leg and he took a little comfort in her touch about what he was going through.

"Are you from around here Lena?" Niko asked as he dashed her the dish  and she shook her head.

"Boston. Born and raised, I came up for Law school." Lena said as she dished herself some.

"Do you get to go back and see your family?"

"Yes. I go back ever Saturday night, go to church with my parents, and then I come back late Sunday night after dinner." She told them and Lena saw how it made Alex's mother smile.

"Are they coming up for your trail? That is what your internship is for right?" His mother asked and Alex closed his eyes as he knew what was coming next. "Maybe if they need a place to stay, or we could all just have dinner together."

"I don't think they're coming up. I haven't told them. The internship is an amazing opportunity and while the trial is big, it's something we could potentially lose and I don't want my dad to see me do anything but good. I will go and see them in person with the news of the final verdict." Lena saw how conflicting that news was for his mother, but she nodded slowly and set to work on eating. She heard the minimal conversations between brothers about usual things... and she felt like she was home.

Kind of anyways. She could feel the pressure of Alex's leg pushing into her a bit more when he leaned forward to eat a bit and she ate her meal slowly but with gusto since it was delicious.

She might be smacked for telling her mother, but there was something in this that wasn't in hers and it was a bit more delicious than what she had been having all her life.

She had room for dessert, which all his brothers told her was delicious, and she was excited to try it. While his mother didn't let her help with dishes, she was able to help with cleaning up the table. She had been doing it her whole life, and she felt bad for not doing something.

She played cards as his mother said she was going to find her favorite wine. She was gonna do the boys started to chat louder, and she was thrust back into he idea of them being like her brothers, and it was almost comical.

"So... I have to ask little miss Lena." She looked up and down the table at Dorian. "Are you a virgin?"

She let her eyes widen and she laughed lightly. Dorian had rolled his sleeves up and she got to see his ink, his art as he called it since he had made them all and had one of his people from the stop put them on him, and she had to wonder if that was what he was talking about.

"A tattoo virgin is what he means." Alex told her as he swirled the last of his soda around his glass before dropping it back like it was something stronger.

"I am... not actually." She smirked as the boys started to look at her like she was just going to pull up her sleeve and show her tattoo off. But she couldn't do that.

"What do you have?" Hector asked and she smiled.

"And where is it?" Mateo asked before smirking and looking her body up and down from beside her.

"Mateo." Alex's voice was a warning and Lena was starting to like that tone.

"It's small, hidden almost. Not very painful despite where it is." She saw Dorian raise his eyebrows before he looked into her eyes as if that was going to give him an answer. "Are you the only brother with tattoos?" She asked him back but opened it up to the table.

"No." Alex answered as well and she looked a little shocked as she looked at him. "You tell me where yours is and I will tell you where mine is." He smirked at her this time and she smiled.

"I will get the glasses." Cora, his mother called out and he looked up at her and she winked at him before turning to get the wine open. Niko got up to help her bring everything in, he got more soda since he was still underage and since Lukas was so close to 21, and he had been able to drink freely in Greece, Alex knew his mother would let him drink as well.

He sat back as he looked at his cards, and he saw what was unfolding in front of him. He might not win this round, but his little intern was going to. She won, and if they had been playing for money he was sure that his brothers would be out since most of them didn't believe that she wasn't lying about her cards.

Alex, his brothers, Lena and his mother were eating the next time his brothers started their inquisition . He learned more about her, like the fact she has broken her arm three times in the same spot between the ages of 6 and 14. He learned that she was voted best hair in high school, that she went to a private school where she met her best friend who is her actual roommate now. He learned that she did not know how to drive very well, that she would rather spend the rest of her life in New York than ever move back to Boston. Lena was never going to give up her career for anything, she had fought for it and her dad paid way too much to get her to where she is now.

Alex could tell that if this hadn't of happened he probably would have been left wondering about Lena for the rest of his life. His mother might not be gentle about the way she goes about things like this, but she was right, it was a good way to get to know a girl you might like,

And by the end of the night, seeing her interact with his brothers, owning them in three types of card games, helping his mother, being comfortable... he liked her a hell of a lot more than when he was just going to simply ask her out today.

He wanted to see her tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day... he wanted her by his side as much as possible.