There’s the angst.
He holds me close for a moment, his lips skimming over my hairline, the tension in his shoulders releasing.“Give me a minute to clean up and we can get going.”
Jaeger puts away tools, wipes down a table, and sweeps the floor of his woodshop.I watch from the couch, enraptured.I could stare at Jaeger all day, moving around in his jeans that fit his butt to perfection, wood shavings speckling his T-shirt and hair, all responsible and hardworking.
He glances around as if checking for remaining cleanup, and his gaze lands on me.
I squirm, suddenly aware of the last time I sat on this couch, or rather,layon it.
Jaeger moves forward and my heart kicks up.He crouches at my feet and runs his palms up my bare legs to the edges of my denim skirt.“What do you want to do?”
Oh, I have ideas, but…
I scowl in the direction of the house.“Let’s go to my place.”
Jaeger agrees, and we make our way outside.He helps me into his truck, but his face contorts as he looks down the driveway.“Who’s that guy that gives you rides?”
“Leo?He’s in my CAD class.We carpool, except it’s not really carpooling because I don’t give him rides.I usually buy dinner after class to make up for the gas money.”
“You buy him dinner,” he says in a tone that’s not altogether happy.
“I’ve gotta do something for him, Jaeger.I’d feel like a mooch if I didn’t.”
He nods stiffly, obviously not liking my answer.“We’ve gotta get you a car.I don’t want you stranded or needing to rely on others to get around.”
“Yeah, well, that would be nice, but I can’t afford one.Anyway, for now, I’m good.When Gen and Tyler leave in the fall, I’ll have to use the bus until I can save up for something.”
Jaeger frowns out the front window of his truck as he turns on the ignition.It’s damn embarrassing to admit to your highly successful boyfriend that you can’t afford a car.
Minutes later, we pull into my gravel driveway, my eyes bugging out at my mom’s blue sedan parked on the street.
What the hell?
My mom suspected something between Jaeger and me when I visited, but I haven’t talked to her since things became official.She probably knew more about my feelings for him than I did at the time.I was still in denial and dealing with the loss of my job and my graduate school issues.
Crap, crap!I’m not prepared for this confrontation.I love Jaeger, but I’d hoped to have a private conversation with my mom.She might draw conclusions about me jumping into a relationship on the heels of my last.To her, this would look like a rebound, but it’s not.My relationship with Jaeger is the first real one I’ve had.
“So, um, Jaeger?”I say, hesitantly.
He looks over, brow furrowing.My voice is shaky and I realize I’m squeezing the bejesus out of his hand on the seat between us.I loosen my grip.“That’s my mom’s car.She’s here.I didn’t know she was coming.”
A beat passes.“You need me to leave?”He’s trying to hide it, but there’s hurt in his eyes.
“No, but it might not go perfectly.I haven’t had a chance to tell her about us.”
“I’m okay, if you’re okay.”
I smile.“I’m okay.”Or I will be after this confrontation.It’s like pulling off a Band-Aid.My mom’s a little overprotective.She might react to the suddenness of my relationship with Jaeger, but she’ll get over it.
We walk to the front door.And then I remember the tent out back and the fact Jaeger isstayingwith me.
This is going to be awkward as hell.
My mom is washing dishes in the kitchen when we enter, her back to us.She’s humming, breaking into the chorus of “Love Bites” by Def Leppard every few bars.It’s one of her favorites.If I’m warped, I blame it on the eighties music my mom subjected me to over the years.
“Mom, what are you doing here?”
She spins, gasping, her hand over her heart.“Calista, don’t sneak up.”She huffs out a breath, and eyes Jaeger.“Can’t a mom visit her children?”she says distractedly.
