“What time is it?” I ask, yawning.
“It’s almost six. Sorry I woke you. I just couldn’t resist kissing you, the way you were lying there, looking all sexy like that.”
“The only thing you need to be sorry for is leaving me to attend to this for myself.” I grin and glance down at the tent covering my cock. “Well, that, and that you have to start work so early.”
“I bet you’re sorry.” She narrows her eyes at me and then stands up, shrugging on her jacket. “Don’t forget dinner tonight at Matt’s place—with Mom.”
“Looking forward to it.” I grin. My eyes widen.
Wait, what?
I stare at her, open-mouthed. She frowns back at me, looking confused by my reaction.
“Your mom?”
“Yes. I told you that.” She almost sounds defensive.
“No, you said Matt and Annie,” I correct. “There was never any mention of your mom being there. Ever. Trust me. I’d have remembered that.”
She frowns at me and crosses her arms over her chest.
“If I didn’t tell you, then I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional.” She pauses. “It’s not really that big a deal, is it?”
Not a big deal? Jesus, is she kidding me?
I take a deep breath and force a smile.
“It’s fine. I’ll meet you there, okay? I’m not sure how late I’ll finish, but I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
She frowns at me for a moment before leaning over for another kiss, her lips lingering against mine.
“Okay.” She turns around and walks out.
I lie back, my heart pumping in my chest. I’m sure as fuck wide-awake now, and I definitely won’t be going back to sleep anytime soon after that bombshell. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, because it obviously wasn’t one to her, but shit… meeting Mom?
Why do I feel like we’ve skipped a dozen steps somewhere in between getting together and this? Maybe it’s just me, and I’m making this out to be worse than it is. It’s probably not helping that my own relationship with my mom is so bad. I wouldn’t even think about introducing a girl to my mother until maybe my wedding day, though there was a solid chance that even if I did end up inviting her, she wouldn’t come.
I guess it’s not that crazy that I’m meeting her mother so early in the relationship, considering she’s so close to her mom and Matt.
For her, this is probably nothing more than a Friday night dinner. Her mom has probably met all of her boyfriends. I frown, hating the thought of her with anyone other than me.
Having nothing else to do, I throw back the covers and get out of bed, walking naked across the hallway to the bathroom. I have a long shower, since I have time to fill in, enjoying the feeling of the scalding hot water as it nearly penetrates into my back.
Aside from me freaking out about meeting her mother, things with Laura are really great. Actually, great isn’t the right word. They’re fucking fantastic. But it’s not just Laura—everything is going well. I love my job and the relationship I’m forming with Lewin and that feeling of being overwhelmed and completely out of my depth is slowly beginning to fade.
Being forced to live and work together could have made things really awkward for Laura and me, but it hasn’t. I’ve always lived alone, but it’s a nice change not having to come home to an empty apartment. And if anything, living together has strengthened our relationship. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I was a little nervous about how our dynamic was going to change next week when I moved out.
What if this is only going so well because we’ve been forced into each other’s pockets?
#
“Fancy running into you here.”
I glance over and see Laura sitting in the corner of the staffroom. I smirk at her and glance around, making sure we’re alone before I walk over there to kiss her. There’s nothing to say we can’t fraternize at work, but I’m pretty sure it’s looked down upon.
I’ve just finished my shift, and I’m pretty sure she finished a couple of hours ago.
“Checking up on me, making sure I’m not inventing overtime?”
I’m mostly joking, but her eyes narrow as she picks up on the small part of me that isn’t. The thought had crossed my mind, and if she wasn’t standing in front of me right now, it might still be crossing my mind
“No.” She holds up some papers. “I thought it would be easier to get this done here.”
“What’s that?” I lean closer with interest.
“My application for a research position Marina is looking to fill with a third year.”
“Really? Nice.” I’m genuinely impressed. That kind of thing always looks good on a résumé. “Mind if I read?”
I don’t expect her to say no, so I’m kind of surprised when she moves it out of my reach. Her cheeks flush pink as she avoids eye contact.