Page 31 of Loved

Chapter 10

Wednesday

"What's the game plan?" Penny asked. "Should I just tell them everything real quick? Just throw it all out there?"

She was adorable when she was nervous. And for some reason, her being nervous made me less nervous. I could be the one in control of this situation. It was going to be fine. I rubbed my thumb against her palm.

"So, slow then? Just let it all unravel?" She bit her lip.

Please stop doing that.I wanted to be the one to bite her lip for her. "Take a deep breath, Penny." I heard a car door slam outside.

"Oh God,” Penny said with a groan. She squeezed my hand as tightly as she had this morning in Joe’s office. "Try to look natural, okay?"

"Natural.” I smiled. “Got it."

"You're dressed really professorly today by the way. I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing."

"Professorly?" I laughed. "Yeah, that's not a word."

"Now I'm making up words. How am I going to tell them that I'm dating my professor when I can't even talk?!"

I held back my laugh this time because I knew she wouldn’t appreciate it when she was spiraling. "Luckily I'm not your professor anymore. Does that make it any better?"

"Not really."

"I think maybe it makes it a little better." I raised my eyebrow.

Her face flushed. "Okay, maybe a little better."

I squeezed her hand. "Thanks for doing this. It means a lot to me. More than you know." I really did want her parents to like me.

"Sometimes it still feels like I made you up. Maybe this will make it feel more real."

"Itisreal."

She looked up at me and took a deep breath. "I love you, James."

"I love you." And we were going to get through this awkward conversation together. I squeezed her hand again as the front door opened. Coming clean to her parents was the final thing we needed to do in order to move forward. And that made it worth all the awkwardness. I just needed Penny’s parents to realize how much I loved their daughter. How serious I was about this relationship. That’s all that parents wanted, right? For their kids to be happy? For just a second I thought about my parents. I pressed my lips together. They certainly didn’t give a shit about my happiness. Fuck, what if I had it all wrong? What if Penny’s parents were actually monsters like mine?

"Penny?" Mrs. Taylor called from the hallway.

"Hi, Mom!" Penny dropped my hand and hugged her mom as soon as she walked into the kitchen.

"It's so good to see you, sweetie." Her mom pulled back. "And James!" She put down some paper bags from the grocery store and hugged me too.

I was surprised by the embrace. I took a deep breath and patted her back. I had nothing to worry about. Penny’s parents were nothing like mine. And her mom seemed to really like me. I smiled over at Penny.

It looked like she was trying not to laugh.

Was I doing this wrong? I patted her mom’s back again. I was pretty sure this was right. But I couldn’t remember the last time my own mother had hugged me.And I didn’t really know what to do with my hands. "It's great to see you again, Mrs. Taylor."

"I hope sandwiches are okay.” She looked over at Penny. “I stopped by that little French bistro on the way home that you like so much. La Patisserie."

"That sounds fantastic,” Penny said.

"If I wasn't so happy to see you both, I'd reprimand you for skipping classes today. Why the sudden urge to come home?" Mrs. Taylor opened up the fridge.

Technically I wasn’t skipping classes. I’d been fired. But I knew what she meant. The first time we’d met I’d told her I was a student. Which meant I shouldn’t be here in the middle of the day on a Wednesday.

---