Mom held her hand out. “Nice to meet you in person, Reyes. I’m Katheryn.”
Rey returned her greeting before elbowing me. “Nice of you to warn me.”
“Hey, don’t look at me. I didn’t know she was coming!” I said with a playful glare at Mom.
“And who’s this?” she asked, smiling at Harrison.
“Jake! Look!” Harrison said, thrusting something bright yellow in front of my face. I pulled back enough to see the toy in his hand. I recognized it immediately. “Oh, Bumblebee! I had one of those as a kid.”
Harrison’s eyes went wide. “You did?”
“Oh, yeah. The whole gang. Optimus Prime, too.”
His jaw nearly dropped to the ground. “You hadOptimus Prime?”
Katheryn laughed. “He sure did. He used to stay up past his bedtime to play with them. I bet you do the same thing, don’t you?” she asked, looking at Reyes.
It had been an innocent question, but it caught both of us off guard, making me realize I hadn’t even bothered to introduce Harrison… or Rey for that matter. Mom had taken that into her own hands.
Reyes’s smile faded as he searched for a way to explain, so I quickly stepped in.
“Mom, this is Harrison. He’s a student of Rey’s from the soccer clinic. Rey said they’re just hanging out for a bit.”
“Oh. Sorry. I should know better than to assume.”
“That’s okay,” Rey said, though he still seemed a bit shaken, and I wasn’t sure why. Was it because Mom thought Harrison was his son, or because he was meeting Mom without any warning?
Harrison quickly began asking Mom all sorts of questions about my collection of Transformers as we made our way inside. There, Mom made herself right at home, setting her things on the chair and looking around.
“It’s smaller than I expected,” she said.
“Tell me about it,” I complained.
She smiled. “But it’s gorgeous. That molding is not something you find in homes anymore,” she said, tracing her finger along the ornate detailing framing the doorway. I raised one brow at her. I thought it was ugly as fuck and did my best not to look at it, but Mom always did have an eye for interior design.
“Feel free to look around. Just, um, ignore the mess in my room.”
Mom laughed. “Oh, trust me, son, I’m used to that.”
Reyes stayed with me but kept glancing down the hall where Harrison had disappeared with my mom, talking excitedly about Transformers as they ventured from room to room. After the day I’d had, all I wanted was to go to him and get lost in his arms, just as I had so many times before, but something held me back. I wasn’t sure how to navigate this, without giving my mom the wrong idea.
Rey saw me watching him and smiled, closing the distance between us. He kissed me once, sliding an arm around my waist. “Sorry you had a rough day,” he whispered.
I shrugged, not sure what to say.
“Anything I should know with your mom here? Any… rules or restrictions?”
I laughed. “Not really. I don’t hide much from her.”
He didn’t move. “Can I kiss you in front of her?” His tone suggested it was more than just a simple request for permission, causing my heart to pick up a few paces. There was so much hope and trepidation in the blue depths of his eyes that it broke through my fears. Rey had made it clear on the beach he was more than ready to take the next step, and in that moment… I was willing totry.
I heard Mom and Harrison coming back down the hall and decided at the last second to just fuck all my doubts. Rey was worth more than that. I leaned in to kiss him just as I heard them reenter the room. He chuckled against my lips and gave me a private smile when we broke apart. There was a glint of humor in his eyes, as if he hadn’t expected me to do that.
“Want to help me with the hamburgers?” he asked.
