Much to my relief, Finn smiled at her. A nice reassuring smile that would hopefully set my mum at ease. “You’re absolutely right. And I can assure you I won’t be inviting any random strangers inside my house.” He addressed me, lips quirking into a smirk. “I hope Jasper won’t be either.”
“Oh yes, that’s a good point.” To my horror, she turned to face me. “I’ve read all about that Grindr app. I hope you don’t have that on your phone, Jasper.” I barely managed not to look guiltily down at my phone and instead glared at Finn whose shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. I wanted to point out that Finn probably had it on his phone, but I also wanted to end this conversation right now, not drag it out.
“Come on, Mum, let me show you my room. This box is getting heavy.”
She glanced down at the box in my arms and instantly looked a little guilty. “Oh, of course. Sorry, love.”
We trooped inside after Finn, but when he and Angus went into the living room, I took Mum upstairs.
Once safely inside my new bedroom, I closed the door and raised an eyebrow at my mother, who was openly grinning at me.
“Really?”
She laughed. “Oh, come on. I wanted to see if he had a sense of humour. You know I was only messing. Sort of.”
“Yeah, I know. I only hope Finn does too.”
She took the box from me and set it on the bed. “Stop panicking; he was fine.”
“Hmm.”
Eyeing the box, she made a gesture at it. “Can I look in here?”
The fact that she had to ask told me she’d already found something in my stuff that she shouldn’t. Figuring my cheeks were going to be a permanent red until she left, I accepted defeat. “Yeah, it’s just clothes and shoes.”
“Right, well I’ll start putting these away for you while you go get the rest.”
“Okay, thanks.”
I left her to it and headed back downstairs.
Finn met me at the bottom, arms free of cat. “I’ll give you a hand if you want.”
“That’d be great.”
We made short work of the rest of my stuff between us, and I managed not to flinch when Finn grabbed the box with my dildos and lube in. Better him than my mum.
I dissuaded her from unpacking all my boxes and coaxed her downstairs with the promise of a cup of tea. Angus jumped up next to her as soon as she sat down, and she smiled as he settled beside her.
“Aren’t you a beautiful boy.” She tickled him under the chin, laughing when he began to purr. “What’s his name?”
“Angus.”
“Hello, Angus.” She cooed over him for a bit longer before sighing wistfully. “I do miss cats in the house.”
Finn pointed at Angus. “He was a stray that ended up at my mum’s. I’m sure she could point you to many more cats in need.” His wry smile wasn’t one I’d seen before, and though not directed at me, I found my gaze lingering on it.
“Oh, I’d love one, but Clive’s allergic.” The longing in her voice hit me somewhere behind the ribs, and I didn’t realise I was grimacing until Finn caught my eye, eyebrow raised in question. I gave a quick shake of my head, and thankfully he let it go.
My mum’s phone chimed with a text, and she whipped it out of her bag to check it. A few moments later the doorbell rang. “That’s Clive now.”
“Oh.” That was news to me. “I didn’t know he was picking you up.”
“Yes, we’re going to get our tree while it’s still light.”
Oh.
“Tree?” Finn asked, frowning. “Bit early, isn’t it?”
