Page 24 of London, Love, & A Little Something Irish

“Yeah, good! How was your flight?” I ask as we make our way to the platform.

“Long, but not bad. Decent selection of movies, and the food wasn’t terrible. Picked up a couple of things at the airport, too.”

“Oh yeah? Anything interesting?” Ilift a brow.

I wonder if he’s brought me anything. In my culture, we always have a present ready for our family or partners when we come back from being on holiday. Gifts aren’t my biggest love language, but I love gifts when they feel thoughtful. Not just a ‘I-got-you-a-gift-because-it’s-that-time-of-year’—I like gifts that say, ‘I was thinking of you and I thought you’d like this.’ I’m hoping he wouldn’t pick something up from the airport, butsomethingwould be nice to settle my unease.

He shrugs. “Nah, just some snacks. New earbuds.”

Oh, okay. I think if he had anything, he would’ve had it ready to go for me in his cabin bag. So, that’s a no then. It’s fine, I’m fine. I’m totally, one hundred percent,loved upgirl over here.

We settle onto the train seats, and he turns towards me.

“So, I think it would be great to meet your parents properly,” he says.

Wait, what? Where didthatcome from?

“Oh, really? That’s out of the blue,” I reply, blinking.

I’m definitely not ready for this. Things were uneasy as he left, and unsettled while he was away. I don’t want to be pressured into letting him meet my family. Yet suddenly, he’s come back from California with this intense desire to make it happen.

Why? What changed?

I’m not ready for this.

“It’s just something I was thinking about on the plane,” he shrugs. “I’d love to meet them, and soon, too. Like, whenever we can get down to Bournemouth.”

It feels a little… overeager. Especially from someone who barely texted me while he was away. He’s never really been crazy about me. Sure, he enjoys being around me, I can tell that. But he’s never looked at me like I amhis world. We care about each other, and we’ve had good times of course, but there’s always been this… distance. And now, out of nowhere, he wants tomeet my parents? Maybe California gave him some kind of epiphany? Or maybe this is just a box he thinks he’s supposedto check off. I don’t really know.

But shouldn’t he have broughtsomethingto show he missed me? Just a small token? I know we’re not really lovey-dovey, we’re probably a bit more practical, but a girl always wants to be romanced. Instead, it’s like… “Hey, good to see you. Here’s a plan to meet the parents.”

No warmth. No affection. Just... practicality.

And now he suddenly wants to meet my parents? I should be happy about that. It should bea good thing.

So why does it feel like a weight on my chest?

The more time goes on, the more I wonder if I’m settling for something that looks good on paper but doesn’t make my heart leap.

Then he’ll say something charming, or teasing, and I laugh and forget why I was second-guessing everything. Because charm is fun. Charm is safe.

Why does this have to be so hard?

In the movies, it’s obvious. The girl with the wrong guy? We’re all yelling at the screen. But in real life, the wrong guy sometimeslooksright. And the line between them gets so blurry, you can’t tell the difference anymore.

We hang out for a while. He’s jet-lagged. I’m tired of pretending I’m not panicking about this whole Bournemouth thing. When I finally get home, I walk through my dorm room—and my phone lights up.

Nathan. I grin before I can stop myself.

Nathan: Hey, me and some of my friends are going out to hang tonight. You should come.

It’s casual. No big deal. Friends hanging out. Except my brain feels like a jumbled-up ball of yarn every time Nathan texts me, and I don’t know if adding face-to-face time is going to help untangle it. I can already picture what it would be like.

That smirk.

The warmth in his eyes when he looks at me.

Yeah. Probably best to stay home. Maybe a little distance iswhat I need right now? Especially if I’m supposed to figure out whatever my feelings seem to be doing.

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