“I’m sorry.”
He pulls me into his arms and kisses my forehead. “Don’t be sorry, beautiful. I’ve never met a guy’s parents before.”
“I haven’t brought a guy home before. If it’s too much, say. It’s not as if we’re—we’re—” I open and close my mouth a few times as my voice refuses to work and then give up. “You don’t have to come.”
Kyle takes the glass box from me and wanders over to the kitchen. He puts the box on a tray, removes the plastic lid, puts foil over the top to keep the moisture in, and turns the oven on to preheat. Considering I’ve brought food over every evening I’ve come around, I’d have thought he would have started preheating the oven in advance.
“Kyle.”
“I’d like to come. Tomorrow night would be great,” he says at last.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
I send a quick text to Mum and then stand on the opposite side of the breakfast bar to him and lean onto it. “I have to warn you that my parents will grill you. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they turned out to be spies or sleeper agents.”
Kyle laughs. “I think all parents are like that.”
“They are?”
“Yes, beautiful.” He leans over the breakfast bar and kisses me.
“Have I freaked you out?” I’m freaking out.
“A little. But for the record, I’d do anything for you. Including meeting your parents.”
I bite my lip as everything flutters. My heart. My stomach. My groin.
“I have a question for you,” he says.
“You do?” Oh fuck, does he want me to meet his parents? Which is scarier? Him meeting mine, or me meeting his?
“It’s not related to what we were talking about.”
“Oh, okay, ask away.” I must have had panic written on my face.
“Do you have your own restraints?”
I raise my eyebrows.
“Don’t keep me waiting for an answer, sweet thing.”
“Um, yes, but they’re in storage with the rest of my stuff. It’s not the kind of storage you can dip in and out of when you want. That costs more. I didn’t think I’d need them while I was here.”
“Do you want to snuggle on the sofa and choose some restraints from a store I’ve found?”
I’m back to opening and closing my mouth like a fish. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, beautiful.”
“To use?”
“I thought we could hang them around the flat like fairy lights.”
I put my hands on my hips.
“You don’t think that would be a great decorating statement?”
