Surrendering (Surrender 1)

“What’s up, guys?”

“We were just talking about our plans for Thanksgiving.” Ella answers. The tone in her voice alerts me that there is more to the story. She looks away and I see Declan grinning at me out of the corner of my eye. Abbi looks the other direction.

“Why are you all being weird? What are your plans?”

No one answers at first. Declan walks over and settles behind me. He wraps his arms around my waist and lowers his mouth to my ear. “We were wondering if you would invite us to your Thanksgiving dinner here.”

“Why would you need an invite? This is your house too?” I point to Abbi and Ella.

“Well, we know your parents are out of town and we didn’t want to crash your plans with Robbie.”

“You guys are my family too; of course we can celebrate together. What about your dad? Won’t he be upset if you guys don’t go home?”

“No, we’ll invite him here. He hasn’t been to town in a while and a change of scenery will be good for him.”

I get a pit in my stomach; I haven’t met their dad yet and I’m not sure what all he knows about me. Declan feels me tense up and holds me tighter. “Babe, my dad is awesome. He knows about you from all of us. He also knows I’m head over heels in love with you. It’s time we introduce you. Besides, he’d love to meet Robbie too.”

I relax my head against his chest. I know their dad has to be incredible because his children are amazing.

Abbi takes out some paper and a pen. “So it’s settled. We’ll have our Thanksgiving here and Ella and I will help cook. Let’s talk about what we’re going to make.”

We start planning our meal with each of our favorite dishes. When it was just going to be a few of us, I had thought about only doing only two side dishes with the turkey. But now that we’re going to have at least six people, the amount of food to be made has increased significantly. And I’m pretty sure we’ll have three or four more guys joining us.

When we finish planning the menu, and everyone has a list of things they need to do, Abbi and Ella go their separate ways. Declan and I head to my bedroom so he can watch football while I call Robbie to let him know our new plans.

Robbie likes the new idea, but takes the opportunity to tease me about meeting Mr. Collins.

“Kinda big step sis, meeting your boyfriend’s dad and cooking for his family. Are you nervous?”

“I wasn’t until you said something, you ass hat! Why did you have to bring it up? You do know I was a roommate before I was a girlfriend. Maybe this would have happened even if Declan and I weren’t together.”

“I don’t think so, Baby Girl. This gathering is because you’re the girlfriend, so just a head’s up.”

“Are you serious? How do you know for certain? Abbi and Ella wanted their dad to do something different this year. They told me so themselves.”

“I’m sure that’s true, but I know for a fact that this was Declan’s idea. He wants his dad to meet you.”

“How do you know?”

“Because he called me a few days ago and asked me if it was okay with me if they crashed and combined Thanksgiving. I told him to talk to you, but I thought it was great idea.”

I look over at Declan who is lying on my bed watching TV. He looks at me and gives me a shit eating grin. I pick up a pillow and throw at him.

“So, Robbie, my dear brother, you’re telling me I was played. This whole thing was a set up?”

“Yep, he asked me to let him approach you with the idea so he could see your reaction.”

“I need to hang up now so I can strangle my ex-boyfriend with both my hands.”

“Go easy on him; he’s crazy for you. He just wanted my permission before he asked you. If he was one of my guys, I would call him pussy whipped. But since you’re my sister, I admire the sentiment. Talk later- love you.”

“Love you too; see you in a few days.” I hang up and turn my body to pounce on Declan. He’s ready for me. Before I know it, I’m on my back and he has me pinned to the bed with my arms over my head. I wiggle beneath him to try and get away, but I accidentally rub against the bulge growing in his pants and I stop.

“You played me this morning, Declan, why?”

“Sparkle, I wanted to spend our first holiday together. I didn’t want to be away from you all day and I knew you wanted to cook here for Robbie. So when the girls and I talked about it, we agreed to approach you about it together to see if you were okay with it. It wasn’t a secret mission. I just wanted to talk to Robbie first to get his thoughts.”

He has a smile on his face that makes my heart melt. I start to squirm under his hold, but he just tightens it.