“Deal.” Maddox pulls himself up and does some strategic rearranging so Stacy won’t be able to see his hard-on.
I do the best I can to flatten my hair and straighten myself up before getting the garlic bread out of the oven.
“You’re in so much trouble.” My sister’s voice comes from the entryway to the kitchen.
“What are you going to do? Beat me up?” I ask, without turning her way.
“Oh, I don’t need to do that. I’ve done one better.”
“Hi, Damon, honey,” says a feminine voice I know well.
I spin and see two people I haven’t seen in a while. Not because I avoid them, but because I’m always too busy to make the trek to Long Island. “Mom. Dad.” Shit.
Maddox appears in the small space that’s only getting smaller by the second, and he runs a hand over his hair. “I didn’t cook enough for all of us.”
“It’ll keep for tomorrow. We’re going out for dinner,” my sister announces. “Mom and Dad can’t wait to get to know Maddox better.” In other words: they can’t wait to grill him.
Stacy flashes her trademark grin. It’s part-triumphant, part-smug, and part-vindictive. No one does punishment like my sister.
Ten days, and this is how it ends. Probably. My parents are great, but like Stacy, they can be intense. It’s terrifying for new boyfriends to endure. If Maddox survives this, nothing will scare him off.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MADDOX
This is a big step. Although, to be fair, Damon’s already met my folks.
I’m worried I’ll make an ass of myself. I want his family to like me. Not as Stacy’s friend, but as their son’s boyfriend.
Huh, boyfriend. First time I’ve thought of us that way. I wait for the panic to kick in, but it’s absent. Look at me being all mature and shit.
“Hi,” Stacy singsongs at the restaurant hostess. “I made a reservation this afternoon under King. Nine people.”
“Nine?” Damon and I ask in unison.
“The Davidsons are coming,” Damon’s mom says.
My eyes go to Damon to confirm what I suspect, and his skin pales. Yup. Eric and his family are coming to dinner. Brilliant.
“The rest of your party is already here,” the hostess says.
Even more brilliant.
As we’re led to our table, I lace my fingers with Damon’s. “You okay?” I ask quietly.
“Yup.” He’s lying. I squeeze his hand, but he shakes it off.
Fucking Eric.
Damon whispers, “I’m sorry for what you’re about to witness.”
I have no idea what he means until Eric and his brother, Julian, jump out of their seats when they see us. Julian goes straight to Stacy and wraps her in a hug.
Eric approaches Damon. “Hey, brother.” They shake hands and go in for a man-hug. My hand fists at my side. I don’t understand why Damon keeps up appearances.
Eric moves onto me and holds his hand out for me to shake. If it weren’t for Damon’s pleading eyes, I’d tell Eric to fuck off. Instead, I behave like a good boy and shake his hand.
“Nice to see you again, Maddox.” Eric’s tone is about as genuine as a politician making campaign promises.
“You too.” Fucker.
“Hey,” Julian says and shakes my hand too, “you run out of women or what?”
I smile politely when what I really want to do is beat the Davidson brothers to a pulp. Although, I know that’s not fair to Julian. The few times we’ve met, he’s seemed like a decent guy. “Stacy got to you, didn’t she?”
“She paid me ten bucks to say that. Figured I’d get it out of the way so I can hit the bar.” Julian turns to her. “Hand it over, woman.”
Stacy rolls her eyes and hands him a twenty. “Buy me a drink too.”
“And me,” I call after him.
“I guess we’re getting our own drinks,” Eric says to Damon and slaps his chest.
“Let’s go.”
I suck in a deep breath as I take the seat next to Stacy. I’m left with her, Damon’s parents, and Eric’s parents. I turn to my supposed best friend. “I hate you,” I mutter so only she can hear.
She leans in and kisses my cheek. “Love you too.”
“So this is the new boyfriend,” Mrs. Davidson says.
“The new boyfriend Damon didn’t tell us about,” Damon’s mom says. She pierces me with the green eyes Damon inherited. “We had to hear it from Stacy.”
“We’re really new,” I say and swallow hard.
“Eric says he met you a few weeks back,” Mrs. Davidson says.
Ooh boy. I don’t know what lies to keep up with now, so I say nothing before I can put my foot in my mouth.
Julian appears at our side and places drinks in front of us. “You know what’s crazy, I thought you two would end up together.” He waggles his finger between Stacy and me.
Damon and Eric take their seats, and I slide my hand on Damon’s thigh to try to reassure him. We can do this. We can get through this dinner.