“I have something to tell you,” he said.
I tensed a little. “What is it?” I asked.
“Uh… I quit today,” Devlin replied. “I’m done with the station.”
“Oh,” I said, taken by surprise. “I didn’t realize you were thinking of quitting so soon.”
“I kind of always had an end date in mind actually,” Devlin replied. “I probably should have mentioned it to you.”
“No, don’t worry,” I said. “This was completely your decision. But… what about work?”
“I’ve got this great job lined up for a local arts magazine,” Devlin explained. “In fact… your brother is the one that helped me get it.”
“Oh yeah,” I said. “That’s great.”
“Seth still doesn’t know about us… does he?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “And I’m starting to feel really guilty about it. He knows I’m kind of involved with my roommate though—”
“You told him?” Devlin asked.
“Well, yeah… and he wasn’t too pleased,” I admitted. “But that’s because he doesn’t know it’s you. If he helped you get a job that means he likes you. So maybe it’s time you met my family… as my boyfriend.”
I saw his eyes grow wide for a second and he gave me a tight smile that I found hard to decipher. “What’s wrong?”
“I… uh… don’t know if your brother is going to be too happy about me actually,” Devlin said.
I frowned. “Why not?”
“Well, because… I just know Seth and… I just think he’d be upset about us.”
I paused. “Oh,” I said, looking down.
“Hey,” Devlin said, pushing up my face to meet his eyes. “I really want to meet your mother, and I want Seth to know about us. I just think we should wait for a little. There are a few things I need to get sorted first.”
“Like what?” I asked curiously.
“Just life stuff.”
I smiled. “That’s not vague at all.”
“Just trust me, ok?” he asked.
I nodded. “I do trust you.”
“Good,” Devlin said, as he leaned up and kissed me again.
We ended up having hot sex in the bathtub, and by the time we were done, the bathtub was practically empty because of all the water that we had displaced when we were fucking in there. Afterward, Devlin toweled me off and then I returned the favor. I slipped on a bathrobe while Devlin pulled on boxers and headed into the kitchen to check on the special celebratory meal he was making
me.
When I went out to the kitchen, he had laid the table beautifully with candles and roses and wine. “Wow,” I said. “I’m feeling really spoiled.”
“That’s what I was going for,” Devlin admitted.
We were in the middle of dinner when Devlin reached out and took my hand. “You’ve changed my life, Zoey,” he said. “I never thought I’d ever be this happy. I kind of always thought I’d be the tortured artist without a home or a family.”
I squeezed his hand. “You have me now… and you always will,” I said. “But where your parents are concerned if you’re not ok with how things with them… then change it.”