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“You can call them your family too.”
I peeked up at him, cataloging his features. His soft lips, his week’s-worth beard, his hazel eyes with his pupils already dilating. I could feel him hardening against my stomach, but he didn’t make a move, respecting my pace. I shared his lust and also felt something blossoming inside my chest. Something I wasn’t ready to name, but it felt an awful lot like love.
Moved by so many emotions, I crashed our lips together, pouring all my feelings onto them. He kissed me back, jumping right into it and letting his tongue seek mine in a private dance. I thrust my fingers into his unruly hair, pulling him even closer to me as he grabbed me by the butt and placed me on the counter.
I needed him something crazy, and I showed him that when I started grinding my core against his crotch, feeling heady and proud when he let out a groan. We broke our kiss, gasping for air, and he ran his thumbs over my cheek when he cupped my face.
“I want nothing more than to feel you against me again. But we need to do this right this time.” I was in such a daze, I couldn’t grasp what he was saying. “Every Sunday, we all have dinner at the Bryants’ house. I’ve missed quite a few. Since I...since I screwed things up with you.” He diverted his eyes in shame. “It’s time to go. To have dinner with them.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond; I just knew I wanted to be with him again. “You can come here after dinner if you want, I’ll wait—”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I want you to go with me.” He clasped our hands. “I want you to meet them. I wanna introduce you to my whole family.”
His ever-flirting eyes were vulnerable as he waited for my answer. Even though I was nervous about the prospect of meeting the Bryant seniors, there was no way to respond other than, “I’d love to.”
As we neared the Bryants’ house, the butterflies sharing space with my Little Bean went crazy. This was nothing if not me meeting my boyfriend’s parents. The neighborhood was quiet; if I wasn’t so anxious, I would’ve noticed how nice it was. Not luxurious, but pleasant.
We arrived at what I assumed was their place, and I saw Mia and Zach’s cars were there. I looked at the house, and despite my nervousness, I felt warm.
The lawn was well-kept, with a few flower beds—nothing ostentatious, just to give the place some color—and several kinds of stones sided a path that led to a couple of steps at the entrance. As I looked to my left, I saw there was another path that led to the yard, where they already were, based on the noise coming from the back.
As I took it all in, I didn’t realize Ben had already gotten out of the car and was opening my door and stretching his hand to help me get out. I placed my hand on his, and he squeezed mine in reassurance.
We weren’t entering any nefarious situation. But that was huge for me. When I looked at him and noticed his purposeful eyes, I realized it was huge for him as well.
We walked the path sided by the stones and climbed the few steps. My Little Bean was particularly bouncy. If it was because of my nerves or his excitement, I wasn’t sure.
When we approached the front door, Ben turned to me. “Are you ready?”
“Are you?”
He chuckled. “To be honest, I shouldn’t be nervous. Neither should you. Rosalinda and Jackson are wonderful people. If they took me in when I was an annoying teenager, you have nothing to worry about.”
“Then why are you nervous?”
He thought for a moment and looked me straight in the eye. “Because this is important to me.”
Before I could say anything, he knocked on the door, grabbed his keys from inside his pocket, and opened the door. Looking at my puzzled face, he just shrugged with a small smile.
“We just let them know we’re here, but we all have the keys.”
We stepped into the hall still holding hands, and I saw a living room to our left and stairs to our right. The place was cozy and lived-in. It wasn’t pristine by any means. A blanket was haphazardly thrown over the couch. A few toys were scattered.
But what grabbed my attention was the many pictures exposed everywhere. The mantel over the fireplace, several others were nailed to the wall. Over the piano, surprise, more photos. Up along the stairs, again pictures.
Zach and Mia playing as kids. Their parents’ wedding. A shadowy picture of the guys’ grandparents. As time passed for them, they included some familiar faces, like Ben, Haley, and Gabe. Even Danny and Sofia made appearances. I didn’t see anyone who could be Andrea, though.
I didn’t even realize I’d let go of Ben’s hand to see them all. When I reached the mantel and its back wall, I saw many other moments the Bryants had eternalized. With my heart warm, I grabbed one of the photos.
The whole Bryant clan was portrayed, plus Ben, Haley, and Gabe. They were all wearing matching Christmas-themed pajamas, even Hugo. One could think it’d be tacky, but it seemed fun and something a loving family would do. The picture was hilarious, and even being static, it showed glimpses of their personalities.
Mia was sitting cross-legged on the floor, laughing so hard that there were tears in her eyes. Gabe was round-eyed on her lap, pointing at Ben, who was sitting on the floor next to them, with a disgusting look on his face, as he tried to get away from Hugo, who was humping his arm. Behind them stood Haley with her hands over her mouth, with an adorably shocked yet entertained face, while Zach had his armcasuallyaround her waist and was looking at her with barely contained admiration. Mr. Bryant was trying to keep his composure while looking at the camera, the ends of his lips turned up and his nostrils flared in an attempt not to laugh, and Mrs. Bryant was looking at whoever was taking the picture, telling them to wait.
A few of the pictures werecivilized, poised. But most of them were like one in my hand. Free and finding them having fun, without even realizing they were being photographed. Or an attempt to be a professional and organized moment turned into a chaotic and exciting memory.
Wherever you looked, you saw love and care. It was beautiful. Also overwhelming. I didn’t realize I was quietly crying until Ben ran his thumbs under my eyes.
“You were so lucky.”
