She pats his arm as she walks past, bringing Widget out the front door. Hugh rushes after her. I can hear Mom checking the ice in the freezer, and setting glasses on the countertop.
“It’ll be like when we’re at school,” Eli says in a low voice. “I won’t reach for you or anything, but I don’t know if I can stop myself from looking at you.”
“Why would you worry about any of that?”
School is one thing. It’s not that we’re hiding that we’re dating. Anyone could guess. We just aren’t kissing in the hallway wheneveryone’s around, because neither of us want to seeanyonedoing that in the hallway, so we won’t do it. Basically, we’re following school rules about PDA.
“I wasn’t sure how you wanted to introduce me,” Eli says, looking down. “I don’t want to put any pressure on you for attention when you’re with family you never get to see.”
I grab a fistful of his shirt and pull his face close, demanding his eyes. “I’m introducing you as Elliot James, my infuriating dumbass of a boyfriend.” I search his gaze. “Them being here doesn’t change anything about how we have to act around each other. You always have my attention, and my affection. I’m not throwing you aside because my family is visiting. I’m not throwing you aside ever. I want youbymy side, to meet them. Got that?”
He darts in and presses his lips to mine, and the prickle of anger that had run through me fizzles out beneath his touch.
“Yep, you got it,” I manage in an unsteady voice, when he draws back.
He pulls my hand from the front of his shirt and cradles it, massaging his thumb over the back of my palm. “Whenever I doubt myself, you make it better.”
I blink. “I called you a dumbass.”
He exhales a laugh. “It fit, in the moment. And you said I was yours.”
I hold his gaze again, gentler this time. “I’d scream it from the rooftops, Eli.”
His hand squeezes mine. “I love you.”
Mom hurries past, heading to the front door. I tug Eli in that direction. “Love you too. Now come meet my extended family.”
Their rented minivan turns into the driveway a few minutes later. Uncle Henry leans on the driver’s side door when he gets out, looking at the house and rubbing at his scruffy brown beard. “Well, this place looks perfect for you, Lilah!”
“Look at the house later,” Aunt May chides him, shutting the passenger side door. The cousins unload from the minivan, and it’s warm, buzzing chaos for a minute as initial hugs and greetings are given.
“Haven’t seen you before,” Uncle Henry says after he’s hugged all of us, standing in front of me and Eli. “I’m Henry, Lilah’s brother.”
“Elliot James, sir,” Eli says.
I grin. “This is my boyfriend. We call him Eli.”
“B-Boy . . . well okay then!” Uncle Henry says, reaching for Eli’s hand, the surprise on his face vanishing behind a genuine smile. “Nice to meet you.”
My nineteen-year-old cousin Grant stares at me, green eyes narrowed. “You have a boyfriend.”
Uncle Henry shoots Grant a look after shaking Eli’s hand. “Does it matter if he’s seeing a girl or a boy, or if he’s seeing anyone, if he’s happy?”
Grant is frowning. “I just didn’t know you liked boys.”
“One,” I tell him, and twine my fingers with Eli’s. Some of the tension I can feel coming off him eases at my touch. “This one.”
“I’m looking forward to learning more about you, Eli,” Uncle Henry says, and pushes Grant ahead of him to go say hi to Janet.
Eli leans close to my ear to whisper, “Is your cousin okay with . . .”
“I don’t know. He’ll have to be while he’s here. Mom and Uncle Henry would never let him disrespect either of us in front of them.” I look after Grant. “He’s always been a bully in general. We’ve never talked about dating stuff.” I squeeze his hand. “I never really thought about it until you, and what was there to think about other than that we fit together?”
Eli rests his head against mine for a fleeting instant, and I introduce him to the rest of my extended family that’s here: Aunt May (I whisper to him that at least once a visit we referenceSpider-Manwith her around), my seventeen-year-old cousin Zach, and my fourteen-year-old cousin Georgia.
“Hannah is at the hotel with Jared and Diana,” Aunt May says, giving everyone a second hug. “That’s from her, until they can come later.”
“My oldest cousin, her husband, and their baby,” I tell Eli.
