“I’m going to kill you,” he said to Branson, quietly.
“I’m the one building the suspense. You should thank me.”
“For what? I was about to kiss her.”
“Yeah, and then it would have made her uncomfortable. Remember, we all know Aria, and she’s a little uncertain about you right now. Trust your friends to help you out.”
Eli gritte
d his teeth but saw the truth in what Branson was saying. Following his friends up to the house, he heard the feminine screech the moment he hit the doorway.
“Chris is home, darling. I told you he’d come home.” Running out of the kitchen was a small woman, in large heels that she struggled to walk on. He was convinced she was going to break her neck. “Oh, sweetie, you brought friends.” She clapped her hands.
Looking over her shoulder, he saw Chris’s father, Jonathon.
“Hello, son, we didn’t think you’d make it.”
“And miss this with Lidia?” Chris said.
“Actually, it’s Tara,” she said, holding her hand up.
Chris frowned. “Oh, right, Lidia was number three, I think. Anyway, I brought my friends, hope that is okay.”
“Awkward,” Aria said, whispering to him.
Eli smirked. This wasn’t the first occasion they’d been to one of Chris’s reunions.
“Are you staying home tonight?” Jonathon asked.
“Yeah. Mom’s out of town, on a date.”
Jonathon tensed up. “She is?”
“Yeah, some country guy. Can’t be sure, but he’s special you know. He knows how to take care of her.”
They all knew the tension between Chris and his father. This was going to be one long assed dinner. Eli could live with it, especially as Aria leaned back against him, taking his hand. It wasn’t much, but it was a start for him.
“It’s good to see you back, Eli,” Jonathon said.
“Good to be back.” He squeezed Aria’s hand.
Life had already gotten back to normal, and it was like he hadn’t even been gone.
****
“I’ve never known anything so awful in all my life,” Aria said.
“Did you see her constantly pushing out her chest?”
“I don’t even think that was for Chris’s benefit either.” Aria shuddered. “She’s an interesting one. Too young though. Jonathon will get bored, and he’ll change her within a year.”
“He loves Vicki. There’s no denying it.”
Vicki was Chris’s mom. “I know. Did you see how he tensed up when Chris happened to mention that she was dating? I thought he was going to explode.”
Eli pulled up outside of her parents’ house, and Aria sighed. She didn’t want to go inside, or for this day to end. They didn’t have to do any crazy shit to have some fun. Hanging out was fun enough.
“What’s wrong, babe?” he asked.