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Cruz grazes his lips over mine. “I’m sure I won’t be able to enjoy myself if I’m thinking about you being alone in a hotel.”
I collect a puff of air in my cheeks before blowing it out in defeat. “Fine. What do I need to bring?”
“Just you.” That fucking buoyant smile is gonna be the death of me. “And a twenty-dollar gag gift.”
“A gag gift? What kind of weird holiday shit does your family do?”
“You’ll see.” Cruz licks his lips before pressing them to mine, and since we’re both still naked, that ends with the two of us needing a shower.
***
“Stop fidgeting.” Cruz nudges me with his elbow as I turn onto his street.
It’s quaint, with modest yet well-kept houses lining each side of the road, and kitschy decorations adorning the trees and bushes in front of at least half of them. I’m used to large homes with elegant light displays, and while those are pretty in their own way, I like the goofiness of what’s common here. I mean, there’s a pair of boots sticking out of the chimney of one home and a giant leg lamp in the window of another. It’s kind of surreal, and while I like it, it makes me realize just how out-of-place I am.
“I’ll cope however necessary.” I can't stop my fingers from drumming on the steering wheel, restless with nerves. “The last time I celebrated Christmas, Liz was six and we just found out about the cancer. We had this big over-the-top tree and tons of presents and the big dinner. My mom kept going on about how important families are during the holidays, and now I’m crashing yours. Why did you tell them I’m coming again?”
The truth isn’t something I’m comfortable with people knowing. I can’t explain it since I don’t fully understand it myself, but I think some part of me doesn’t want other people to have a bad impression of my parents, and by association, me.
“I told them there was a family emergency and your parents had to go out of town.” He gestures to a driveway, and I manage to pull in and get the car in park before my pulse skyrockets.
“And what do I say if they get suspicious or nosey and ask what happened?”
“They won’t, that’d be rude. They’ll just say they hope everything is okay and leave it at that. You won’t have to elaborate unless you want to.”
“Thank fuck for that, considering the emergency doesn’t exist. Now I’m crashing your holiday and lying about it. Awesome.” I cross my arms in front of my chest with a huff.
“You aren’t crashing anything, Sunshine. In my house everyone present is family.”
“Nicknames are gonna give us away.”
“Not ironic ones. Maybe refrain from calling me baby though.” He winks at me. Winks. “Now turn the car off and come with me.”
Reluctantly doing as he says, I shut down the engine and grab my bag—and present—and follow him to the front door.
It creaks slightly as it opens, a blast of savory air beckoning us inside. Roast, I think. I have just enough time to note the burgundy runner on the wood floors and beige walls with a chaotic mix of picture frames before Cruz announces, “We’re here.” We don’t even get our coats off before we’re swarmed.
“Cruz!” He dips down so a petite blonde woman can throw her arms around him.
“How was the drive, son?” An older but virtually identical version of Cruz asks.
“Did you bring jerky? Not that shit from the grocery but the good stuff from the roadside stand?” A slightly stooped gray-haired man says, wincing when a similarly shaped woman smacks his chest with the back of her hand and says, “Let the boys get in the door.”
Cruz pulls away from whom I assume is his mother, and gestures to me. “Guys, this is my roommate, Liam. Liam, this is Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, and…” He peeks around his grandparents. “Aunt Cheryl must be in the kitchen. Cousin Tommy, too, I’m guessing.”
I can only imagine how awkward my smile must look considering it’s not my natural expression, and my secret boyfriend introduced me to his family as if I’m supposed to call them Mom and Dad, too. If anyone else thought that was weird, they don’t show it, they just carry on like I’m some long lost relative.
“We’re so glad you could make it.” Cruz’s mom swallows me in a hug, or tries to, seeing as she’s at least a foot shorter, forcing Cruz to help steady me so I don’t topple over.
“Nice to have you, son.” Cruz’s dad shakes my hand when his wife lets me stand up, then I have to crouch again to hug his grandma, who gives me an affectionate pat on the cheek when she releases me.
There’s a lot of huggers in this house.
“Get your bags put away so we can eat. Go on.” Grandpa shoos us out of the foyer as everyone else heads farther into the house.
Cruz grabs his bag and turns to the stairs, so I do the same. “Sorry about Grandpa,” he says as we climb. “He gets hangry. He’ll be more personable once he’s got some food in him.”
“I didn’t mind.”
