“Yeah?” I set the e-reader down and slide my hands to the globes of her ass, squeezing and shaping them until her breath stutters. “Maybe we should explore that fantasy of yours.”
Before she went to work and I left for practice this morning, we had just enough time to sneak in a round of mind-blowing birthday sex. Even so, my cock jerks at the thought of her naked body splayed before mine.
Taking a step back, she shakes her head. “I amnotmeeting your parents with sex hair.”
I imitate Goose’s puppy dog eyes, but when Maya ignores my efforts, I grab my keys off the counter.
She’s unusually quiet on the drive over, though she’d never outright admit to being nervous. Meeting my family a few short weeks into dating may be considered too soon for some, but if I went at Maya’s pace for this, my nieces would be in college before they met her.
We’re fifteen minutes from the restaurant when I ask, “You okay, baby?”
“I’m fine,” she says, turning to face me. “Areyou?”
I cock my head to the side. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
She shuffles around in the seat, as if she can’t get comfortable. “Because today is Nathan’s birthday, too.”
Ah.I like that she knows Nathan as just my brother. She admits hockey is “sort of entertaining,” but she doesn’t want to know about his scoring average or shot percentage. She wants to see photos of the cute matching outfits we wore as kids and hear about the time we switched places to take one another’s tests in middle school. She wants me to be happy about the time I did spend with him rather than bitter about the time that was stolen from us.
“I’m okay,” I reassure her. “We never made a big deal out of our birthday.”
Her voice is hesitant. “What about your family?”
“They’ll be okay.” Not a lie, but definitely not the full story. “It’s always tough on them, but they’re more focused on meeting you than on my birthday. They’re all excited. Especially Lily and Violet.”
Excited may be an understatement. Mere seconds after we walk into the restaurant, they’re running up to her with toothy smiles and a million questions. My mom’s not much better. She throws her arms around Maya and squeezes her tight when my nieces finally take a breather.
Maya’s not anti-affection, but she’s not super tactile either, so it doesn’t surprise me when she momentarily stiffens before returning the greeting. Emily and Darby welcome her with subdued hugs of their own, but my dad and Zach stick to polite handshakes.
“Everyone,” I say with a grin, “this is my girlfriend, Maya.”
“It’s nice to meet you all.” Maya steps close to my side, reaching for my hand as if seeking comfort, and I link our fingers together.
The maître d’ appears to lead us to the table, but Maya tugs on my hand as the rest of the group follows.
I duck my head, surveying her apprehensive expression. “Everything okay?”
“You introduced me as your girlfriend,” she accuses with a cute scowl that reminds me of a hissing kitten. “And we haven’t actually defined our relationship.”
“Yes, we have. I said ‘Be my girlfriend,’ and you said ‘Oh, yes.’”
Her lips part and she barely stops herself from stomping her feet. “You asked me that during sex and I said ‘Oh, yes’ because I wasmid-orgasm.”
Smirking, I pull her into my arms and run my tongue against the seam of her lips, begging for entrance. She makes a small noise that’s somewhere between a moan and a gasp, but she returns the kiss without hesitation.
Pulling back, I tuck a strand of silky-smooth hair behind her ear. “Will you be my girlfriend, Maya? Pretty please?”
She sighs as if put out. “Fine. But only because you so nicely addedpleaseonto the end and you give me really good orgasms.”
“While I have absolutely no qualms about using my best asset to get what I want, I am offended that it’s my dick that convinced you and not my charming personality or wicked sense of humor.”
“Don’t make me rethink my answer,” she warns with a wink.
I grin like an idiot as I place my hand on her lower back and usher her toward the table. As we order drinks and appetizers, my family asks Maya the typical get-to-know-you questions, but it’s not until she’s half a glass of wine deep and talking about her job that she really starts to relax.
“I can’t read yet, but I like books,” Violet announces. “Mommy says I’ll learn next year when I’m in first grade. But I can sing the alphabet forwardandbackward.”
“I like books, too,” Lily adds. “My favorite’sIf You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Do you know that one? Or what aboutMonster Math? Grandpa bought it for me to help with my numbers.”
