Page 46 of Reaching Roland

He groaned, but he finally fluttered his eyelashes open and smiled up at me with such adoration that my breath caught in my throat. What did I do to deserve this? To deserve him? A glance at the clock on my dashboard showed that our kisses, which had seemed like mere minutes, had been over half an hour. Of course Kenny would get me to make out in the car like a teenager. “Come on, you. Let’s get you upstairs.”

He leaned in, and I wrapped my arms around, squeezing him tightly. “At least tomorrow is Sunday.”

“So?” he asked, sounding confused.

“Farmers’ Market and family dinner day.”

“Family dinner?” he whispered. There was more horror in those two words than the first time I asked him to come.

I kissed his forehead, and as I hopped out, I said, “Indie’s going to be so cocky.”

He whimpered again, but this time, it wasn’t in pleasure. “He’s going to be unbearable.”

“True. But he was right.” I blew him a kiss, shut my door, and walked around to open his door, cackling at Kenny’s pained expression, but giddy with happiness. Change was in the air, and I was here for it.

Chapter Sixteen

KENNY

My date with Roland had been everything I’d ever wanted and more. Dinner had been nice, but that wasn’t what made it so special. No, that was him and how he listened to me, discussed things with me, and reassured me about the things I’d been trying to pretend I wasn’t worried about. There was also how he shared his own concern with our age gap, which definitely didn’t matter to me. A sexy silver fox? Yes, please.

Then there was kissing at the end of the night. I didn’t get the impression that Roland was wild and hooking up often, so maybe it was how long he’d been married, or maybe it was just him. Whatever it was, the man could kiss. Like, I never wanted it to end, but I was so painfully hard by the time we stopped that I’d been worried I was going to come in my pants just from his tongue stroking against mine.

There’d only been one thing I’d left the evening nervous about. Family dinner. My anxiety had only increased when Cameron, Miss Georgina, and Indie, showed up with Chip, Luca, and Julian in tow. Well, Julian hadn't so much been a problem. I'd known him since he was young. While he'd always been like apart of Austin's family, since he was Austin’s son, Joel’s, best friend, it was even more so now that Joel and Julian were dating.

I didn't know what Roland had said to them before coming over, but no one batted an eye at the way Roland continuously touched my hand or arm and smiled at me with such open affection. Well, that wasn't quite true. Indie smirked the whole night like he was personally responsible for Roland and I finding our way to this point.

Indie stretched his arms over his head with a fake yawn. “That was delicious.”

Julian nodded enthusiastically, patting his stomach. “One of the best meals I've ever had.”

I glanced at Roland in confusion, and he eyed them suspiciously. We picked up corn-on-the-cob and potato salad at the Farmers’ Market, and then we threw hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill. It was good, but I didn't know if it merited that level of enthusiasm.

“I think I need to let my food settle before dessert,” Indie said.

Cameron whipped his head around and looked down at his boyfriend. “Really? Are you feeling sick?”

Indie’s pupils went heart-shaped as he pecked a kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek. “No, but I want some of Grandma’s pie, so I need to rest for a few.”

“I think that's a good idea,” Chip said, looking strangely eager for a break before dessert. What was wrong with them?

“Kenny, you want to come sit in the living room with us?” Indie asked.

Miss Georgina giggled, staring fondly at her grandson. No, seriously, what was happening?

“With who?” Roland asked, putting a protective arm around my shoulders and drawing me into his side.

“Us.” Indie rose to his feet and made a stand-up gesture to his friends, then grinned at me maniacally. It was a little creepy. And scary. It was there all over his face. He wanted to corner me and ask me twenty questions.

“Can we sit in the gaming room?” Chip asked. “We've never hung out in there before.”

Suddenly, my concern about what Indie wanted evaporated. I knew that Roland used to have frequent game nights with his friends, where they hung out in his den around the poker table. He'd told me that he hadn't stepped in there except to dust and vacuum every now and then since he'd stopped associating with them. His face went through a complicated twist of emotions before he nodded, smiling tightly. “That's a good idea. We should use that room more.”

“You sure?” Cameron asked with a frown, probably knowing even more than me how complicated his father was feeling right now. But Roland’s face eased back into a more natural smile, and he nodded.

Indie clapped his hands together. “Okay, that's settled. Come on, Kenny.”

Julian and Chip jumped up, and Luca shook his head. “That was subtle, Indie,” he said, rising slowly.

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