“I’m not,” I assured him. “It’s not my dick making this decision. I love him, Damon.”
Damon nodded. His expression softened as he offered me a small smile. “Yeah, I know. I think I saw this coming a long time ago. He better make you happy. I really don’t want to have to kick his ass.”
A weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Damon could have taken a stand and refused to be involved with the Kings. Thankfully, he was open-minded enough to give this a try.
I had no way of knowing what the future had in store for any of us. But I was ready and eager to find out.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
DOM
The next two weeks passed in a blur. Noah and I spent every free moment together. Sometimes at his house, sometimes at mine. Although my friends were more accepting of our relationship, Damon was starting to come around. He even hung out with us one night and watched a movie.
There had been some further discussion about Damon and Noah joining the Kings. Rebel wanted to make it official at our upcoming spring break party in April. I felt like it was the right move for all of us.
It was late one afternoon when Noah asked me if I would come for dinner at his mom’s house. We were walking through the parking lot after classes. I’d never had any anyone take me to meet their parents before. Immediately, I felt a nervous twitch in my stomach.
“You want me to meet your mom? You don’t think it’s too soon for that?”
“Of course not. She knows I’m seeing someone. It was her idea to invite you. I’ve never been this serious about anyone before. She sounded excited when I talked to her on the phone.” Noah gave my hand a squeeze. “You don’t have to if you’re not ready for that kind of thing.”
“It’s not a problem,” I hurried to reassure him when I saw the uncertainty in his eyes. “I wasn’t expecting the invite. I would be happy to go for dinner.”
That’s how I found myself standing in the kitchen at home asking Codie for her opinion. “Is this too casual? Am I supposed to dress up?”
I wore my usual blue jeans with a T-shirt and a hoodie pulled over top. I felt comfortable, like myself. Noah hadn’t indicated this was a dress up event. Still, I worried about making the wrong impression.
“I think whatever you wear will be fine.” Codie patted my arm, offering me a comforting smile. “Can I just tell you how adorable you are right now? I love seeing you in love. It’s like this cloud has been lifted and you’re blooming.”
I frowned, snatching the protein bar from her hand and taking a large bite. “Blooming? Like a flower? Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve never met anyone’s parents before. I don’t want her to think I’m a lazy slob for wearing jeans.”
Codie chuckled, waving away the rest of the protein bar when I tried to hand it back. “You’re overthinking this. She wants to meet the guy her son is head over heels for. She’s not going to care what you wear. Focus less on your appearance and more on being yourself.”
“Noah is taking you to meet his mom?” Auryn entered the kitchen, having overheard some of our conversation. He stretched an arm over his head, grimacing when his shoulder popped. “That sounds pretty serious. I can’t believe I lost you too. I’m the last one standing.” When Codie shot him a pointed look, he added, “I mean, I’m happy for you, dude. Don’t sweat it. His mom will love you.”
Codie shook her head, rolling her eyes. “I can’t wait for the day that love makes you it’s bitch, Auryn. If anyone deserves it, it’s you.”
“Never gonna happen. I’m a lifelong bachelor. Get some and get the hell out. That’s my motto.” With a cocky smirk, he pulled a bag of chips out of the pantry, stuffing a handful in his mouth.
“I can’t believe some lucky girl is missing out on this.” Codie’s tone dripped sarcasm. As she left the kitchen, she paused in the doorway. “Everything will go better than you think, Dom. I can’t imagine anyone not liking you.”
When Noah arrived in his new car to pick me up, I was vibrating on the inside with nerves. This wasn’t like me at all. Usually nothing shook me.
I got into the passenger side of his new black Mercedes, immediately hit with that new car smell. I had yet to replace my car. Eventually, I would get around to it. I’d been catching rides to campus with Stray and Noah.
I was glad to see Noah also dressed casually. Maybe I really had been overthinking my attire. After putting on my seatbelt, I sat there stiffly. Unable to relax.
“Jesus, Dom, I can practically feel you vibrating from here. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” Noah reached over to place a hand on my thigh. “Maybe this is too soon for you.”
“No, I’m good. Just nervous. I want to do this.” I really did. I knew that it meant a lot to Noah for me to meet his mom. Her and his brother were his only close family. That made it important to me as well.
Noah leaned across the console to press a kiss to the corner of my lips before putting the car in gear. “You are the perfect man.”
My stomach continued to flip-flop as we drove through town. I wanted his mom to like me. I couldn’t remember the last time I gave a shit if someone liked me or not. I had to chuckle to myself. Being with Noah really had changed me.
“Obviously my family doesn’t know anything about what Damon and I do. They think we run some online business. Website and media management for other companies.” Noah’s gaze darted to mine when we pulled up at a red light.
I nodded, understanding completely. Doing what we did wasn’t something that could be shared with just anyone. The fewer people that knew about it the better.
