When we finally arrived, I felt as though I could breathe again. But I wouldn’t be able to completely relax until I had Ember in my arms again.
I turned my phone back on and was irritated to find, yet again, no messages from my girl. There were a couple from Naomi, but I left them for later.
Since the trip was last minute, and Ember and her dad were most likely at the hospital, my only choice besides a hotel was to go to my parents’ home. And if my mother found out I was in town and staying at a hotel, she’d be hurt, which would not only make me feel horrible, but it would piss my dad off, making me feel even worse.
I requested a rideshare as I made my way through the airport, and it showed up within minutes of my arrival to the designated spot. During the fifteen-minute drive, I debated whether to let Ember know I was in town. Then again, all of my other messages were still unread, so she probably wouldn’t get it anyway.
It was midafternoon when we drove into my parents’ driveway. I tipped the driver, grabbed my bag, and climbed out of the car. Both Naomi and I still had house keys because our mom and dad insisted that this would always be our home. So I unlocked the door and walked in, dropping my bag and calling out, “Mom? Dad? Anyone home?”
A gasp floated out of the kitchen a second before my mother came hurrying around the corner. “Nix?” A wide smile creased her face, and her eyes sparkled as she ran toward me with her arms outstretched.
“Hey, Mom,” I greeted her with a mirroring smile as I picked her up for a bear hug. My mom was tiny compared to me, a lot like Naomi, where I’d taken after our dad in height and bone structure.
“I’m so happy to see my boy! What are you doing here?” I set her down, and she suddenly frowned up at me and smacked my shoulder—she couldn’t reach the back of my head anymore. “And why didn’t you let me know you were coming?”
“It was last minute,” I admitted, wondering just how much I should tell her about the situation. But my mom had a way about her. Everyone just naturally gravitated toward her and couldn’t help confiding in her. “Did you hear about Ember’s mother?”
My mom cocked her head to the side, studying me in a way that always made me feel as though she could see inside my head. “Yes. I’m actually preparing dinner to take to them tonight. How did you hear about it?”
“Naomi told me what happened.”
She looped her arm through mine and led me toward the kitchen. “Your sister always said that you and Ember were basically mortal enemies.” Something in her tone had my eyes whipping to her face. But her expression was blank…too blank.
“That’s a bit of an exaggeration,” I sighed. “Ember and I…” I trailed off, not sure how to explain since I wasn’t about to tell my mother how I’d spent last night.
“I knew it!” she crowed, releasing my arm to do a little dance.
Frowning, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Knew what?”
Mom’s smile was sly now. “Naomi was clueless, but I knew from her stories that you two were fighting feelings for each other. So? What happened? Did you finally give in to your undeniable passion and devour each other?”
My nose wrinkled. “Gross, Mom. Seriously.”
“Oh, come now, Nixon,” my dad said as he strolled into the room. He went straight to my mom and slipped an arm around her before giving her a kiss that made me feel very awkward. Well, more awkward than I already was after my mom said things about…no. Just no.
“Your mother is a knockout, and we have two beautiful kids. Clearly, we know a thing or two about passion and—”
“Stop,” I begged, covering my ears.
Both of my parents snickered, but then my mom patted my arm, and I warily took my hands down. “We’ll stop teasing. Now come sit down and tell me all about you and Ember.”
I scrubbed my face, suddenly bone-tired from lack of sleep and a long-ass day of worrying and missing my girl. “I will, Mom, I promise. But right now, I just need to go see her.”
“Of course, dear. If you’ll wait just a bit, I’ll finish up this food, and we can go together. In the meantime, why don’t you put your things away?”
I nodded, but after I’d retrieved my bag and taken it to my old room, I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to spend another night without Ember, but the idea of sleeping with her in my childhood room, or hers, was decidedly unappealing. If I knew all we were going to do was sleep, that would be different. But I knew myself well enough to know that I wouldn’t be able to resist Ember’s delicious curves and the feel of her tight pussy wrapped around my cock.