Page 10 of Pull
“No, I know that,” he huffed then swallowed hard as he leaned into me for support. I loved when he did that.
Ryan was so damned independent; used to handling everything on his own. But ever since I brought him back from Boston to be with us, he’d begun letting us in more. I knew he didn’t want to burden people with his issues, but we’d vowed to ease him of such hardships, and we meant to do just that. I could tell he was finally starting to accept it.
“I just mean like, we don’t have to do this now,” he gulped, tugging my face back to stop my sensual kisses.
Maybe I was getting carried away, but I couldn’t help myself. I’d gone six long months without him. The honeymoon in Thailand was all well and good, but I still needed my man. Constantly.
It was starting to become dangerous.
“I can go assemble the Pack n’ Play in the shed while you guys do your dinner thing,” Ryan muttered, gliding his thumb over my bottom lip.
“Are you high?” I bit the tip of his thumb playfully. “The only reason we’re doing this is to tell them about you. Otherwise I’d sooner be downstairs, Netflix and chilling.” He chuckled, and I grinned. “Or in the shower…”
He laughed again and shook his head while I wiggled my brows at him.
“I’m just so nervous,” he sighed and began yanking me by the hand over to the liquor cabinet. “What are you going to say to them? What if they freak out? What if they scream or cry, or make a huge deal on social media??” He poured us each a glass of scotch, clinking his on mine quick before taking a slow sip.
“Ryan, ifHaileydidn’t do any of those things, what makes you think Jess’s sister or my stupid friends will?” I raised a commanding brow at him, to which he shrugged and sipped his drink again. “Honestly, she was the only person who had the right to act crazy over this. And she was fine. I mean, not exactlyfine… But she was able to be happy for us.”
“Yea, shesaidthat,” he grumbled, killing his drink already and going in for another. “But it’ll be a totallydifferent story when she actuallyseesus together with her own two eyes.”
“Well, we’ll just have totrynot to hang all over each other,” I grinned, and he stifled a laugh. “I know it’ll be like torture for you to keep your hands off, but I’m sure if you try real hard, you can swing it. I believe in you.” I winked at him and he growled, narrowing his eyes.I love that look.
“Ryan!” Jess yelped, and he was instantly darting out of the room to help her.
Sighing, I followed his lead, checking to see if I could be of some assistance, although usually the two of them took over in the kitchen, and I was lucky if I got to sneak a quick taste of whatever they were doing before they kicked me out. I truly enjoyed our dynamic, though. More than I ever could have anticipated. Everything we did just seemed to work.
I turned the corner, sipping from my glass and watching as Ryan pulled a pan of brownies out of the oven.The smell in this place… My mouth is watering.
“Babe, aren’t you going a little overboard here?” I asked my wife, lifting a brow in her direction.
“No,” she hummed with finality.Well, alright then.“I just want to make sure there’s a wide selection of treats to distract them from all of the probing questions they’ll be wanting to ask.”
“Hmm… actually that’s a good point.” I strolled over to place a kiss on top of her head. “This all looks amazing, baby.”
She smiled with pride. “Thanks. It’s weird, I think the baby likes when I cook. Maybe he or she will be a chef someday!” She gasped, her eyes widening and sparkling in excitement.
I chuckled softly, running my hand over her round belly. “Maybe.”
Ryan and I helped Jess get everything set up in the dining room. Our guests were due to arrive any minute, and I was starting to agree with Jess’s plan. Distracting them with food and drinks seemed like a solid way to go.
The doorbell rang as I was pouring myself a second drink, and warning Ryan to slow down with my eyes while he poured himself a third.
Jess beat us to the door, answering it with her usual enthusiasm, which our friends seemed to accept.And in walked Jess’s sister, Marie, and her husband Greg, along with our best friends since middle school, Bill and Rachel.Hm, they all arrived together. Was that planned?
“Come on in, guys!” Jess squealed, but I was distracted from her anxious tone by Ryan squeezing my hand so damn hard I felt bones crunching. He tossed back his drink and gave me a panicked look.
“Baby, relax,” I whispered to him, rubbing his back slowly. “Breathe for me.” He took a deep pull and held it in for a moment, then let it go slowly. “Good. Everything’s gonna be fine, alright, gorgeous? We’re doing this together, and nothing they could say or do will change anything about us, so really it doesn’t fucking matter at all.”
“I love you, Ben,” he whimpered by my ear, his voice quivering.Holy shit, he’s reallynervous. Fuck, I need to help him out. Make this a little easier on the poor kid.
“I love you too, baby,” I told him with assurance. “Everything is golden. Right?”
I gave him a megawatt smile, and he finally let a timid grin slip, glancing at the floor as he nodded.
“See? There’s that beautiful smile,” I rasped, tapping his chin with my knuckles. He smacked me on the ass and I laughed.My man’s back.
“I found an amazing recipe for buffalo chicken dip on Pinterest, so there’s that… And a meat, cheese, and fruit plate. Mini quiches… Those were frozen though…” Jess was rambling as she guided our friends into the house.
