Page 61 of The Boyfriend List
“That’s not on the contract.”
“Can we ratify the contract?” He reaches a hand over to take the napkin, but I hold it out of his reach.
“Nope. Rules are rules. You’re coming to karaoke with me. But we’ll have to do it before the end of October, because I’ll be visiting my family for All Saints’ Day.”
He abandons his quest to grab the napkin. “Remind me, which Catholic holiday is that again?”
I explain it to him, since it isn’t the best-known Catholic holiday. It’s a time where family gathers to care for the graves of their deceased family members. “Plus, SB19 will be performing there on Halloween. I get to see my family again and go to one of my favourite concerts.”
“Can I come with you?” he blurts out.
“You’d want to come to the Philippines with me and go to an SB19 concert?”
“Sorry if that’s weird to ask. I don’t want to intrude on your family trip. You haven’t seen your family in years. We see each other every day, I don’t need to invite myself along on your vacation. It’s just right after my sister’s wedding, so I expect I’ll want to get as far away from that stressful situation as possible.”
I bite back a smile. His rambling is adorable. “No, London. I’d love to introduce you to my family. And who else will sing along to SB19 with me?”
“Your cousins? Paulo? Your mom?” he suggests.
“Maybe. But they wouldn’t know all the words like you do,” I say. I know he listens to SB19 when I’m not around—I’ve seen his Spotify Wrapped.
“So you’re saying I can come because I’m an SB19 fan?”
“You’ll be my concert buddy.”
London cringes. “Please never call me your ‘buddy’ again.”
“Okay,bud.”
He groans, like he’s about to hit his forehead against the steering wheel. “Ria.”
“Fine,babe.”
“What happened to ‘Leeds’ or ‘Bath’ or ‘Lyme’?”
“Those are pretty weird nicknames.”
“Maybe, but theyareplaces in England.” He shrugs.
“You’d prefer I call you a random place in England than ‘babe’ or ‘buddy’?”
“Anyone can call me ‘babe’ or ‘buddy’ but only you can call me ‘Worcestershire’.”
I choke on a laugh. “I’ve never called you that!”
“Only because it’s impossible to pronounce.” He chuckles. “But if I’m meeting your family, please tell me you’ll come with me to my sister’s wedding.”
I sigh, even though the thought of seeing London in a suit mostly outweighs any dread I feel at being around his mildly dysfunctional parents and siblings. “Deal. So, karaoke next week?”
Chapter Twenty-Two: London
Gloria and I spend our evening comparing flights, booking tickets, making travel itineraries, and curating a themed playlist (well, she curates the themed playlist since she knows more SB19 songs than I do). We’re lucky enough to snag the last two seats on the floor; the rest are balcony seats.
“This is so exciting,” she says. “I can’t wait for you to meet my family. They’re going to love you.”
“I hope so,” I say, checking my email to make sure the tickets arrived in my inbox. “Otherwise it would be an awkward five days.”
She rolls her eyes. “My mom is always bugging me about meeting you. She thinks we’d be a perfect match.”
