“You have that boy of mine smitten,” Lucy said, drawing Eri’s attention.
She laughed. “He isn’t the only one,” she admitted.
Lucy smiled at her. “I’m glad the two of you met. Before you, he hadn’t introduced us to anyone for a few years. I honestly think the last time was right after he’d gotten out of high school. I wasn’t sure if he’d ever start dating, but I’m glad he is now. You two fit together like you were always meant to be.”
Eri nodded in agreement. She felt so at ease with him, like she wasn’t complete until they were in each other’s lives, and she didn’t doubt he felt the same way because he showed her daily.
“On another note, would you like to go Christmas shopping with me?” Lucy asked.
“Sure, that sounds good. Do you want to go over the weekend or next weekend?” Eri asked. She had no desire to go to the sales tomorrow and deal with the crowds when most of the sales would continue until Monday.
Lucy nodded in agreement as they heard cheering from the living room. Eri knew the team they were rooting for scored. They’d learned during dinner that only a few of them were rooting for one of the teams, and the rest of them didn’t care who won. Eri didn’t even know who was playing.
She ate her dessert while she continued to speak with Lucy, and when she finished, she took her plate into the kitchen as Lucy also excused herself. She rinsed her plate off and put it in the dishwasher with the others to be run later. Eri then went into the living room, and Elias pulled her down onto his lap. She got comfortable as he wrapped his arms around her and settled in to watch the rest of the game.
After the football game, they pulled out the dominoes and spades, and Eri knew the rest of the afternoon was about to turn competitive. She knew how competitive her boyfriend and dad were, and she’d seen Michael and Marco’s competitive streak.
“Let’s partner up so we can put them all in their place,” Avian said as most of the men started smack talking as they prepared for the first round of the impromptu tournament they were starting.
“I’m all for making them cry,” Eri teased.
They played several rounds with good-natured smack talk among the group. Eri and Avian played and beat their dads, and were now sitting at the table with their men.
“When you lose, are you going to cry, Amate?” Elias asked.
“Nope, because I won’t be the one losing. Don’t worry, though. I’ll let you use my shoulder.”
Her boyfriend chuckled as Marco snorted.
“We should make this more interesting,” Avian said.
“What did you have in mind, Micio?” Marco asked.
“If Eri and I win, the two of you have to do whatever we say—”
“Let me stop you right there,” Elias cut in. “How would that differ from any other day?”
“If you’d let me finish,” Avian replied, glaring playfully, and Eri laughed. “You two have to do whatever we say, for twenty-four hours on a day we choose.”
“I still don’t see how that’s different from any other day, but sure. I’m down,” Elias replied.
“Okay,” Marco agreed. “But when we win, same thing.”
Eri and Avian shared a look. “Fine, but you won’t win,” Eri countered.
They played with banter between them, and Eri and Avian won. She wasn’t sure if they had let them win or not, but she wasn’t complaining.
They stayed for a bit longer, and she saw her dad off before she and Elias said their goodbyes and headed to his house with leftovers.
When they arrived at his house, he went to the kitchen to put them away while she removed her shoes and lounged on the couch. Elias returned and lifted her legs, sat on the couch, and draped them over his lap. He ran his hand up and down her leg as she searched for something for them to watch. It was a little after five, and she wanted to spend the rest of the day relaxing.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Elias chuckled as Eri whined the next morning, holding onto him tighter. He’d been trying to get up for the past several minutes, and she’d refused to let him. It was cute, but he did need to get up.
“Don’t go,” she said.
“I have to, Amate,” he replied.
