Page 51 of Alfie: Part One
I clenched my jaw. “No, Idon’tknow. He was what?”
They exchanged a look, and Mom sighed and put her hand on mine.
I was quick to withdraw it, causing her to sit straighter and jut her chin a bit. Her stubbornness was making an appearance.
“You were blinded by your feelings,” she told me. “We don’t fault you for that. But we’re your parents. It’s our duty to make sure you don’t get hurt.”
“So you told my future husband at the time to be a good boy?” I asked incredulously. “He’s not a fucking dog.”
“West—language,” Mom chastised. “You can curse at home if you insist, but not here.”
“It’s baffling how this comes as a surprise to you,” Dad stated. “Every social function he attended became awkward because he said something crass or inappropriate. It reflectspoorly on us, you know. Even your sisters noticed it. How come you’re the only one who didn’t?”
“Maybe because I’m not a fucking asshole?” I snapped. I was fucking done here. I threw down my napkin and rose to my feet, and I?—
“You can’t storm off until we’ve worked this out.” Mom grabbed my hand and shot a look of warning to Dad. “Bob, don’t make this worse, please. We should have been open about this from the beginning.” She shifted her gaze up my way, and she all but pleaded with me to see her side. “I do understand why this is a shock to you, darling. Despite our thoughts about Alfie, we decided to let this run its course. He was your choice, and we respected that. I had a talk with your sisters too, after they made some comments to him. They’ve been on their best behavior since that.”
Wait, what? My sisters?
“What did they say to him?” I pulled away from her again and willed my brain to fucking think. Or process. But I couldn’t. This came out of nowhere, all the while…
Aw, fuck.
You knew the ingredients were incompatible and hoped that the final result was going to be good.
“I genuinely don’t remember,” Mom replied. “It was a long time ago—but I told them to be nice.”
Alfie’s texts came back to me. More specifically, the part where he’d pleaded with me to admit that I’d dismissed him the times he’d said he didn’t think my family liked him. It made me fucking sick. What if he was right? What if I’d ignored him? And what the hell had my sisters told him?
Actually, did I really need to know? Because when push came to shove, I knew why I didn’t particularly like them. I knew how catty they could be. I knew they’d bullied others throughout high school. I knew they talked a lot of shit.
Screw this, I was going home.
“Where are you going?” Mom asked worriedly.
“Home.” I walked back inside and ignored when she called out for me.
“I want you to meet my family…” Part of me couldn’t believe I’d said it, while the other part remained calm and certain.
He was fucking it for me. This crude young guy had trapped me completely.
He grinned crookedly and sat down on my stomach, the covers pooling around his body.
His delectable fucking body…
I couldn’t get enough of him.
“Do you hate your family, papi?” he chuckled.
I laughed quietly and watched my hands roam his thighs, up his hips and sides, and I let out a long breath.
My little hellion.
The faster we made things official for our families, the sooner I could ask him to move in with me.
Some might call it a whirlwind romance. We’d been at it almost nonstop for five months, and I hated spending a single night without him. Which would’ve bothered me more if he hadn’t felt the same way. But it looked like I’d found a guy who didn’t struggle expressing himself. He was so affectionate and sweet behind his armor of cockiness.
“There’s no rush,” I made sure to add. “I wouldn’t wanna subject you to my family during the holidays. But after…? We could fly out together for a weekend.”