Page 58 of Infinite as They Come
Chapter 15
Holly
Dinner with my boyfriend’s parents. I didn’t think I’d ever have to do it. It was stupidly daunting as I stood there in front of the bathroom mirror, turning left and right and then left again, twisting around as I eyed my reflection. Every curl of my hair felt wrong. Every streak of blush against my cheeks felt too much. And every single dress I had slipped into felt like some horrid, terrible choice.
Blowing out a frustrated breath of air, I smoothed my hands over the champagne colored silk of the latest dress I had put on. The material felt cool against my skin, the neckline and shoulders covered in delicate lace detailing. I turned, looking over my shoulder to take my reflection in again before deciding that I had wasted enough time getting ready.
Moving back into the room, I saw Sawyer sitting in the chair up against the wall, his brows deeply pulled together and one shoe covered foot tapping against the floor. He was ready. God, he had been ready twenty minutes ago, and there he was waiting on me. He had his phone in hand, eyes unblinking as he stared down at the screen.
“I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” I said, leaning a hand against the bathroom doorway.
His eyes stayed stuck on his phone, his thumb swiping away.
“Sawyer?” I said, grabbing one of my heels I had kept by the bathroom door. One hand still clinging to the doorway, I lifted up a foot, slipping it into one of the shoes. “Are you ready to leave?”
Still no response.
I pushed a foot into the second heel, patted down the skirt of my dress, and crossed the room over to him. It was only when I was standing right in front of him that he noticed me, jumping a little as he hastily shoved his phone into his pants pocket.
“You’re on another planet,” I said. “I am too. I’m so nervous.”
Standing up, he pushed his hands through his hair. “You’ve got nothing to be nervous about.”
“I’m meeting yourmom, Sawyer.”
He chuckled. “You already met her.”
“I know, but this time it feels more… I don’t know, more real.” I shrugged. “More formal I guess. Like it’s actually happening.”
“Yeah, I get it,” he said, eyes raking over my body. “Christ, look at you. You look beautiful.”
“Sorry it took me eighty years to pick a dress.”
“Worth the wait,” he said, giving me a quick kiss before clasping his hands together. “I guess we should go now. You ready?”
I shrugged. “Let’s do it.”
Hand in hand, we left the motel room behind and made our way down the stairs. We bumped into Tommy along the way who was harassing the vending machine, and when he couldn’t get his extra can of soda out, Sawyer helped him give the machine a perfectly strategic shove.
“You’re so bad,” I said as we walked over to the truck.
Chuckling, Sawyer pulled open the passenger door. “Getting a free drink out of a vending machine is an artform. Don’t be jealous you can’t do it.”
I hummed as I slid into my seat. “You’re right. You should teach me.”
It was a quick drive over to Sawyer’s mom’s place, my foot tapping nervously against the floor of the truck the whole time. I just wanted it to go well. Every other interactionhadgone well, really, but there was something about tonight that felt oddly intense and serious. That bridge between Sawyer and his mother had yet to shrink, and I knew I couldn’t push him to close it. She couldn’t push him either. It was up to him and him only for that to happen, and if it didn’t happen at all, I couldn’t fault him forit.
When we got to her place, Sawyer helped me out of the truck, our fingers laced together as we moved up the driveway. The sun had only just started to set, a blend of orange and yellow streaked behind us as Sawyer gave the door a knock.
It opened in a flash, and there stood Spencer, all dressed up in a little blue button up and black pants. There was a clear sign of a bruise there on the skin around one of his eyes, purple and alarmingly bright, and the thought of him getting hurt made my heart get all twisted up. He had new glasses on, a bright green pair, and he slid them up his nose as he gave us a little smile.
“Hi, Sawyer,” he said, eyes all big as he stared at his brother. Then they moved over to me. “Hi, Holly.”
“Hey,” Sawyer drawled. “How’s that bruise doing? You feeling okay?”
Spencer nodded eagerly. “It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt anymore. But guess what? Guess what happened?”
“What?” Sawyer asked.
