“Yes, baby, she does. When I was struggling to talk to you, I asked her for advice. She’s always been wise, but she didn’t know about it before then, I swear.”
“W-what advice did she give?”
“That I should try again because you were worth ten of me.”
“She did not say that!”
“No, but she meant it, I could tell.”
I chuckle. I can’t be mad at him when he can disarm me so easily with his self-effacing charm. I roll my eyes, but I relax my shoulders and he rubs his hands up and down my arms.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, baby, but I’m not sorry I asked for her help. She’s my mom and she’s always had my best interests at heart. Yours too now, I imagine.” He laughs and I give a little sigh. There are worse things, I suppose.
When I pull up outside Theresa’s house, I peel my hands from the wheel and wipe them down my pants. Then I take a few deep breaths to bring my heart rate under control. I’ve known her for years, but this is different, very different, and I’m not sure what to expect. I never met the parents of previous boyfriends, though most of them met mine. I was never invited, which tells me a lot about them and why none of my relationships worked out. Not that I’m sorry, of course. Especially not now I have Reece.
Reece, who I haven’t seen since yesterday and it already feels too long. I can’t believe how quickly my life—physically, mentally and emotionally—has accommodated him. It’s like all of me hasbeen waiting for him, and in a way it has. That connection I originally felt back in high school was never fully broken, though we both thought it was.
I know Reece feels the same way too, and this is the happiest I’ve been in my life so I shouldn’t be nervous, but even so, I feel that this is an important step.
Reece opens the door to my knock.
“Hey, baby. You look good.” He smiles. “That color suits your gorgeous eyes.” I laugh and maybe preen a little because I had chosen my sweater vest carefully. It’s a reddish brown with an orange pattern.
“Thanks. I brought gifts. The flowers are for your mom and I have yarn for Marina. She was admiring it the last time she was in the store.”
“What about me? Did you bring me anything?” He gives me his best puppy dog eyes, which, well, they do work. I place the flowers and the yarn on a table in the hallway and step closer to him. Then I put my arms around him.
“I brought this,” I say and kiss him deeply. He catches me around the waist and kisses me back, his tongue dancing with mine, and I lose myself in him, conveying how much I’ve missed him with my mouth.
“Hi, Holden.”
I nearly choke when I hear Theresa’s voice. I try to prise myself out of Reece’s grip, embarrassed to have been caught making out in the hallway, but Reece doesn’t let me go.
“Can you give us a minute?” he asks, his eyes never leaving my face, which is in a rictus grin of horror.
“Well, don’t take too long, boys. Dinner is in ten.”
“Okay,” he calls and turns back to me. “I can think of lots we could do in ten minutes.”
I giggle despite the deep embarrassment, which he spends the next few minutes trying to make me forget with his mouth. Even so, my anxiety goes through the roof when I walk into the kitchen.
“H-hello, Theresa. T-these are for you,” I stammer out, and hold the flowers out like some sort of shield.
“Thank you, that’s very thoughtful of you,” she says, taking them from me. “They’re lovely.” She doesn’t mention anything about catching her son with his tongue down my throat, so I relax slightly.
“Marina, I got you these.” I hand her a bag stamped with the store logo.
“Oh wow, thank you, Holden. These are great. I’m already thinking of a project they’d be perfect for.” She envelopes me in a large hug and goes to show them to Theresa.
Reece offers me a drink and I ask for a soda, then he leads me through to the dining room.
“Should we offer to help?” I whisper.
“I’ve tried,” he whispers back, though I’m sure it’s loud enough for his mom and Theresa to hear. “But I’ve been told to go away so many times I’m starting to get a complex. It’s better we just stay here out of their way.”
We’re sitting close enough for him to wedge his leg against mine, and he reaches over and places a hand on my knee, gently caressing my thigh.
“Tell me about your day,” he asks, and I impart a few details, but his hand is very distracting and I know I trail off a few times. By the time Theresa and Marina start to bring dishes through I’m in a state of semi-arousal, which makes conversation difficult at first. But as he has to place both hands on the table, my desire banks down to the background lust I usually feel around him.
