Page 64 of After the Storm

Again, he has a point. I wanted our first kiss to be perfect and she ran from me and didn’t talk to me for days. I wanted our first time to be perfect and she tried to do it again.

I wanted our first date to be perfect but then I opened my dumb ass mouth and brought up living together. Over and over I’ve tried to make things perfect but they turn out a mess. Somehow even though things have repeatedly been a mess with Audra, it’s perfect because it’s her.

“Yeah okay, point taken.” I laugh.

“You’re going to do fine. She’ll love you and if she doesn’t you’ll try again because Audra does,” he assures me.

“We haven’t really done the I love you thing yet,” I admit.

“Still, she loves you.” He nods to himself like he’s sure. I think he might be right but I wish I was as sure about it as he is.

* * *

I parkmy Jeep in the driveway and take a few deep breaths before getting out and coming to the door. When I knock, Liz, Audra’s mom, answers the door.

“Come on in.” She steps to the side to let me walk past her, and Audra stands behind her at the dining room table in a little black sundress. She’s all smiles at the table, and her smile alone brings my heart rate down a bit.

“Thank you for inviting me,” I say, turning to Liz. She smiles in a way that’s similar to Audra. I make note in my head about what Audra’s smile is likely to look like in a couple decades. I hope it’s still me she’ll be smiling at.

I make my way over to the table and sit next to Audra. She leans over to kiss me and I turn my cheek leaving her with a kiss to the cheek.

“What do you think my mom is a nun or something? Give me a kiss.” She laughs. So I follow her direction and I give her a quick kiss before turning my attention to Liz who is bringing dinner out to the table for us. She brings out a platter with all different type of food on it. Chicken is at the center of it all but surrounded by different sides. The smell quickly fills the entire room and it’s rich and buttery.

“That smells amazing,” I praise, wafting the air up to my face. Liz gives me a suspicious look.

“You know you don’t have to suck up to my cooking, right?” she asks in a lighthearted tone.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Mrs. Hart.” She gives me a wink and my nerves settle some. Everything is off to a good start and while there is still plenty of night ahead of us, I can at least take a breath of relief. Liz takes a seat at the dining room table sitting opposite to us. Carefully she reaches to the center of the table and makes up a plate for herself. Audra does the same and I take that as my cue to make my own as well.

“So, Roman, tell me about yourself,” she says and even though it’s a question that normally makes me nervous it’s hard to feel nervous when she has the same warm smile as Audra.

“Well, I went to high school with Audra and Ares, who I’m sure you know is my brother. I surfed competitively in high school and some right after. The risk started to feel like more than the reward after a while, so I saved the money from my last couple of competitions and started mainly doing surf lessons. We do more at The Surf Shop but that’s the main source of income from it. My only employee is my best friend Beck,” I say with a shrug and I can’t help the smile thinking about all the great times I’ve had with Beck at the shop. She nods, taking the information in.

“So it’s your shop then?” she asks.

“Yep, all mine. When we graduated, money was put aside to buy Ares and I each a car but since I had already saved up for my car, Ares got his car and I got The Surf Shop.” I pause, taking a sip of the white wine Liz had set out for us. “When I opened the shop I never dreamed it would be enough to live off of but between the surf lessons and custom boards, it’s more than enough,” I say proudly. I’m not an overly proud guy but a lot of young guys gifted something like that would have blown it, partied in it, or given up on it. I never did, though. I worked my ass off and turned it into something with enough income to live off of. So yeah, this is something I’m proud as hell about.

“Wow, that’s really something. You should be proud of yourself,” she praises and once again pride glows in my chest. It’s one thing to be proud of yourself but to have the validation of knowing other people are too is something else.

“I really am,” I admit. Audra looks over at me with doe eyes and a bright smile. My heart nearly catches fire from it.

“Well I don’t have to ask how you two met, I know you met through Ares. How did it turn into something though?” I look at Audra for a moment, not knowing what she would want me to share with her mom. She gives me an assuring smile, giving me the go-ahead.

“Well, when Audra and Tyler broke up she came to my house looking for Ares because she needed someone. Ares wasn’t home so I stayed at the house to keep her company until he got home. We both fell asleep on the couch waiting for him, though. After that, we just started hanging out more, and the more we hung out, the more there was between us. Admittedly, I’ve had a thing for her ever since Ares introduced us.” I wish I could go back in time and tell twelve-year-old me that he gets the girl.

I wonder if saying something all those years ago would have changed something. If we could have started this all years ago. All I know for sure is I wouldn’t change a thing if it meant I didn’t get to spend my life with her.

“So you were playing the long game then?” Liz asks with a laugh.

“Something like that.”

Dinner is amazing, and I can only hope that Audra can cook half as well as her mother can. We all finish our plates before Liz offers us dessert. My taste buds are screaming yes when she shows us the brownies and ice cream she has for us, but I know if I eat another bite, I’ll explode. After a little while, we head out to the living room to finish talking. It feels a lot less formal now like we’ve found some comfort. Audra snuggles into my side on the couch across the room from her mom.

“So I know you travel a lot for work, do you like it?” I ask in an attempt to get to know her better as well.

“It’s okay, sometimes I love it and sometimes I hate it. It was never really about loving it though, it was about making the money to give Audra the life she deserved from me.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal. It is though. I think it’s easy to look past it here in coastal South Carolina where everyone has money but she did have a lot to give to Audra. A lot of parents stick to a job they like or that doesn’t exhaust them and they just make ends meet. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but what she’s done for her daughter is nothing to turn your nose up at.

“I think that’s really cool, that you were willing to do that to give her the life you did,” I admit. Audra gives my arm a nudge and when I look over at her, she offers me a big smile that says thank you.

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