Page 83 of The No Touch Roommate Rule
“What?” she asks, catching me staring.
“Nothing. Just thinking about tomorrow.” I wasn’t thinking about tomorrow. Not right then, anyway, but I’ve been thinking about it for most of the night. I’ve been wondering. Hoping… “How would you feel about a detour?”
Her brow furrows. “What kind of detour did you have in mind?”
“The kind where we skip Destin, and I introduce you to my grandmother, instead.”
She goes still beside me on the path. “Your grandmother? The one in Oxford?”
“Yeah,” I say, surprised that she remembered. I only mentioned Nana once, when we were making cornbread after she moved in, and I suggested we should try my grandmother’s recipe the next time. “I haven’t seen her in a while, but she’s the coolest. My favorite family member, by far. I think you’d like her and…I’d like you to meet her.”
I brace myself for the Makena bolt. She probably won’t make a literal break for it this time—I think we’re past that—but this is another big step, just hours after we decided to make things official and move in together.
I could be pushing too hard, too fast.
“I wouldn’t rush,” I add, when she doesn’t respond right away, “but she’s eighty-two and had a heart attack a couple of years ago. She’s doing a lot better now, but she’s obviously not going to be with us forever, and?—”
“I would be honored,” Makena cuts in, giving my hand a squeeze. “Really. Sorry, I left you hanging. I was just…” She shrugs, a little self-consciously. “I was just surprised, I guess. It’s been a long time since someone asked me to meet their family.”
“Well, you’ve already met the less enjoyable members of mine,” I say. “Figure you should meet the fun one, too.”
She exhales as we start back down the path, still hand in hand. “Speaking of the less enjoyable members of your family, what are your mom and dad going to think about you shacking up with your old babysitter?”
I shrug. “I doubt they’ll care. These days, they don’t have a lot of energy to care about anything except making each other miserable in court. Dad only came to two of the Voodoo games last year, even though his condo is literally ten minutes away.”
She makes a sympathetic sound. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not,” I say, smiling down at her. “I’m excited. You’re going to love Oxford. Tons of kick-ass places to eat breakfast.”
“Well, you know how much I love breakfast,” she says. “Especially when it comes with strawberries.”
The callback to this morning makes my cock twitch.
“Careful,” I warn. “Keep reminding me of how good you taste, and I might have to go down on you again before bed.”
“Oh no,” she murmurs, her eyes dancing. “That would be terrible.”
Spoiler: it’s not terrible.
It’s amazing, and after I’ve tasted her and fucked her and wrapped her up in little spoon position for the night, I feel like the luckiest man in the world.
Tomorrow, I’m taking my gorgeous, sexy girlfriend to meet the only family that matters. Tonight, I get to drift off, holding my future in my arms.
Right where she belongs.
Chapter
Twenty
MAKENA
Our audiobook for the drive is killer. David Sedaris is a genius, and by the time we reach the part about his evil Parisian French teacher, I’m laughing so hard my ribs hurt.
Parker glances over at me with a satisfied smile, as if my giggles are a personal victory.
“The teacher called someone a ‘dirty toilet’? Really?” I gasp.
“In front of the whole class,” Parker confirms, grinning as he takes the exit for Oxford. “But don’t worry, David gets vengeance. Eventually.”
