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“They have an amazing film and video studies program. You two should come out to Lawrence some weekend. I’d be happy to give you a tour.”
“That’d be amazing,” I said enthusiastically.
“We’ll swap digits before you leave tonight so we can figure out when. Ian, come let Dad and Maya meet your girl. We’re in the living room.”
“Come on, Ky,” Ian sighed.
I waited until Izzie left and then turned to Ian and gave him a kiss. Again, he took the little peck I gave him and multiplied it tenfold. He’d been doing that a lot lately. It was like one little kiss wasn’t enough for him. Like he was as addicted to kissing me as I was to kissing him.
“Calm down, babe,” I told him. “Izzie’s nice. I’m sure your dad and Maya will be too. And I love Sergio already. You’re stressingmeout with how stressed you are.”
“Sorry,” he sighed, kissing my forehead. “Okay, let’s get this over with so I can have you to myself after dinner.”
I smiled. “Okay.”
Ian led me through the foyer and into the living room, where his dad and his dad’s girlfriend were sitting on the couch with glasses of wine.
Ian had told me that his mom died in a car accident when he was ten, and his dad and Maya had been together since he was twelve. When they’d moved from Wichita to the Kansas City area after his dad had gotten a job offer to work for the district attorney’s office here in Johnson County, Maya had decided to move with them because she didn’t want to break up or do the long-distance thing. Since she was a chef, she’d known there were plenty of restaurants here that could use her skills. She had a job at an amazing five-star steakhouse on the Plaza downtown that IwishedI had the money to try.
“There you are. I was starting to get worried,” Ian’s dad chuckled.
“Ky had to give me a pep talk,” Ian admitted sheepishly. “Ky, this is my dad, Gary, and his girlfriend, Maya. Dad, Maya, this is Kyler.”
“It’s nice to meet you both,” I told them, shaking their hands. “Ian’s told me a lot about you.”
“So it goes both ways, then. Because he doesn’t shut up about you,” Gary teased, winking at his son.
Again, Ian turned bright red. It was kind of cute seeing him get so embarrassed over his family telling me how much he talked about me. But I liked that he talked about me that much. It meant that he liked me enoughtotalk about me.
“Let up on him, Gare,” Maya chuckled as we sat down on the couch. “Kyler, it’s wonderful to meet you. Ianhastold us a lot about you. I kind of feel like I know you already. And I really hope you’re not a vegetarian, because I’ve got some New York strips marinating as we speak.”
“Um, isn’t it some sort of sacrilege to be a vegetarian when we have all of this amazing barbecue here in Kansas City?”
Gary laughed. “Right answer. Now, I have averyimportant question for you, Kyler. Are you a Joe’s person or an Arthur Bryant person?”
“Oh, Joe’s. Hands-down. Their sauce is way better. But I actually like the meat from Johnny’s the best.”
“I don’t think we’ve ever had Johnny’s,” Maya said. “Where is it?”
“I think the closest one to us is the one on Old 56 Highway. Their smoked sausage is amazing. And their beans.”
“She knows her barbecue. She’s a keeper, son,” Gary said with a grin.
“You’re not going to ask me about Jayhawks or Wildcats?” I chuckled, referencing two of the three big college teams in the area.
“As long as you’re not a Mizzou fan, you’re welcome in this house,” Izzie laughed. “Butclearlythe Jayhawks are superior.”
“Says the KU student,” I giggled.
“You mean you’re not going to cheer for me if I end up at K-State, Iz?” Ian teased.
She groaned. “I will if Ihaveto. But our football program needs you, bro.”
“We’ll see what happens,” he chuckled.
* * *
Ian’s family was warm and friendly and basically the exact opposite of what I’d grown up with in my house, even before my parents divorced. The conversation over dinner was easy and natural, a stark contrast from what had happened when Ian had met my mom.
