“Dreadfully sorry, dear, I shouldn’t bother you with this.”
“No, that’s alright.” I raised my hand slightly to wave away the awkwardness.
“So,” she said, crossing her long legs slowly, “what does a boy like you do for fun?”
“Well, I teach karate in the summer, I play guitar, I paint, I write, I play video games…”
“Very much the Renaissance man.” She noted appreciatively.
“That’s what I like to tell people.” I smiled impishly.
“How old are you, Aaron? You look quite young.”
“Ah, um… I’msixteen…” I mumbled.
“Come again?”
I cleared my throat and spoke up. “Sixteen, ma’am.”
“Hmm. You look much older…” She said absent-mindedly.
I didn’t know how to take that, so I was grateful
that Emily and her father came over at that moment. “Are you two behaving?” Emily asked mock-sternly, one hand on her hip.
“Well, he is,” Mrs. Osbourne answered casually, getting up from the couch, “I, on the other hand, have been very bad.”
“Glad to hear that.” Emily kissed me softly and quickly with a small, sweet smile on her face.
“Come along dear, let’s give them some time to themselves.” Mrs. Osbourne looped her arm through her husband’s and led him away.
I waited until they were out of earshot before talking. “Your mom is…”
“Creepy?” Emily interjected. “I know, she hits on every boy I introduce to her. It’s weird.”
“She looks very young.” I observed.
“Yeah,” Emily sighed, “she’s my dad’s second wife. They had me when she was about 19.”
“Do you have any siblings, then?” I wondered aloud.
“Two,” she answered, ” a half-sister and a half-brother: Hannah and Michael. They live back in England, though.”
“Do you ever miss England?”
“Not really. I left behind a lot of… unhappy memories.”
“You alright?” I squeezed her with a single arm. She had a melancholy look in her eyes, but it slowly melted away when she leaned into my hug.
“Yeah. My mom and step-siblings and I used to fight a lot. It got better when I went to college, though.”
“I know what you mean.” I comforted her. “My mom and I argued a lot more often for a while after my dad disappeared. Then, we realized that we needed each other more than ever, so now, we’re closer than ever.”
“Hopefully not too close.” She teased.
“Ew. I thought I pushed the limits with comedy.” My nose wrinkled in disgust. No offense to my mom, but… gross.
Emily’s parents returned and they looked like they had an agenda. Her mom spoke. “Aaron, how would you like to join us for dinner at the house later?”
“If Emily doesn’t mind hanging out with me a little longer.” I smiled at her. I would also have to get the “okay” from my mom, but I decided not to mention that.
“Of course I don’t mind, dummy.” She smacked my arm and planted a big kiss on my cheek.
“In that case,” her mom declared, “we should probably go shortly after the luncheon. We don’t really want to drive on those winding roads in the dark.”
“Sounds good.” Emily said, settling down next to me on the comfy couch to wait for lunch.
I quickly sent my mom a text asking for permission. She said yes, so I was good to go.
We made small talk until lunch had passed and it was time to go. Emily’s mother took the lead again, saying, “Emily, you ride with Aaron: you know the way.”
“Ok, mom!” Emily agreed cheerfully.
We got into my car and cranked up the heat. It had gotten colder and colder as the night progressed, and there was a chance of snow.
“I think my parents really like you.” Emily beamed.
“I hope so,” I grinned, “I’ve been pretending to be a nice guy for the whole time and I don’t know how much longer I can keep it up.”
“You’ve never had any trouble ‘keeping it up’ before.” She smiled mischievously.
I laughed. “That’s because you,” I said, reeling her in for a kiss, “are sexy as hell.”
I kissed her soft lips until I heard the roar of the Vantage’s V12 engine coming up behind us. Mr. Osbourne pulled up next to us and motioned for me to roll down the window. “Just follow us, yeah? Emily knows the way in case we get separated.”
I gave him a thumbs-up and waited until he drove in front of us to turn to Emily. “Ready to go?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she responded, “but it’s such a long ride. I don’t know how I’ll entertain myself…”
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