Page 82 of Take Her On

“God, no. I think I’ll just go home.”

It was strange, Maya realised, how little she actually knew about Jamie’s parents. Since they’d come round for dinner all those months ago, Jamie had never really mentioned them. Was that because of Maya? Maya herself had not been shy about keeping their relationship on the downlow. Maybe she was giving Jamie the wrong messages.

“You could always come in,” she heard herself say.

Jamie glanced at her, eyebrows arching. “What, really?”

Yes, Maya, are you sure about that?

Properly introducing Jamie to her grandparents made her intestines tie themselves into knots. It was a big step, with a lot of implications.

Her family had always known Carly from when they were kids. Maya had never introduced them to anyone she was dating before. It was new territory.

But she wanted to prove to Jamie she was serious about their relationship, and that she could trust her. She wanted to do this. But was she ready?

Jamie’s sad little eyes looked back at her, and her heart squeezed.

Maya exhaled. “Yes. If you want to come in, that is. But no pressure.”

Jamie smiled, and the sight loosened the tension in her chest. “I’d love to.”

Maya was expecting Grandma to be waiting inside watching the soaps or pressing her nose to the window, but the house was quiet and dark.

Jamie removed her Nike trainers and lined them up beside hers. The quietness only emphasised the sound of her own heartbeat. Why was this so damn scary?

“I…uh, my grandpa. We should see if he’s okay.” She led the way up the stairs, and Jamie followed.

Maya knocked softly and pushed the door open. Grandpa looked up from the TV, the light flickering across his features. A smile stretched across his face.

“Hey, kid,” he greeted.

“Hey, Grandpa. Where’s Grandma at?”

“She, uh, sent one of those…emails.”

An email?

No wonder Maya hadn’t read it. She couldn’t stop the laughter bubbling in her throat. Grandma thought emails and texts were the same thing. It was surprising that old people could still function in this century at all. She hovered in the doorway, suddenly feeling very unsure.

Grandpa’s attention moved behind her. “And who you smugglin’ in there?” His words were a little slow and slurred, but he was making good progress with his rehabilitation, despite still spending most of his time in bed.

“Grandpa, this is Jamie. She’s…”

Shit. They still hadn’t spoken about the title of their relationship. Maya had no idea if they were dating or not. She couldn’t call her a friend—that would be absurd—but she didn’t want to freak Jamie out, not with everything else that was going on. “She’s…special to me.”

She cringed as the words left her lips, but Grandpa smiled. “You best come in then,” he said. “Sorry ’bout the mess. My cleaner is a big-time football star.”

Maya blushed. She’d only cleaned his room for him yesterday, but there was a fresh spill on the carpet by his feet. Jamie was letting her gaze wander, taking in the surroundings. Maya wished she knew what she was thinking.

She scratched her neck. “Where’s Grandma, then?”

“Tourin’ with the Beatles…last I heard.”

Maya smiled. She loved days where Grandpa cracked jokes, even if they seemed to confuse people.

“The Beatles?” Jamie asked.

God, her confused face is so cute.