03

I think I was on the edge of losing my shit.

« And if you ever swear in my house again, your thighs won’t be the only thing that will be red. » Did he really just say that ?

My heart was beating out of my chest, my cheeks were even more flushed than usual and I wanted to run for the hills, but there was no other option than going downstairs. After all, dessert was waiting for me.

I quickly put on Brandon’s sweatpants and hurried downstairs with a pit in my stomach. How was I going to act around Mr. Adams after this ? He probably didn’t mean anything by saying what he said, he was just pissed off that I disturbed dinner. In a way I get his frustration.

The thing I couldn’t quite put my finger on though, is why I was feeling like this. Why did I feel like I had just done something I wasn’t supposed to do ? I don’t know, it could have to do with the fact that my boyfriend’s father had just seen me without any pants on.

I took a deep breath and headed down to the kitchen.

The lasagne I had dropped earlier was cleaned up and it was replaced for a bowl filled with chocolate chip ice cream. I sat down and looked at Jocelyn in an appreciative manner, ignoring the burning eyes of Mr. Adams on my body whatsoever.

Why didn’t he just get the memo and realized he was making me feel uncomfortable ?

« Once again, I’m so sorry, » I mumbled, afraid to look any of them in the eyes. I took a bite of my ice cream, careful not to spill anything this time.

Jocelyn smiled at me, shaking her head. « I promise you it’s no problem, honey. I don’t know if it was your intention, but you surely did make a first impression. »

I chuckled softly.

« Yeah, you could say that. »

The rest of dinner was uneventful. We talked some more about school and Brandon bragged about how our school’s basketball team was beating every other team.

After fifteen minutes or so, dessert was finished and I decided to help Jocelyn by putting the filthy dishes away. Since Brandon and Mr. Adams were somewhere in the living room, I saw this as a good opportunity to get to know her a little better.

« For how long have you and Mr. Adams been married ? » I asked, trying not to sound too curious.

« For sixteen years already. Noah and I met in high school ; we’ve been together ever since. When I found out I was pregnant, Noah and I decided to keep the baby even though we were both only eighteen years old. When Brandon was born, we got married as well. Sometimes things just don’t go the way you plan them to, but I’m happy with all of our decisions and I love Brandon with all my heart. »

For a second I didn’t know what to say, mostly because I didn’t exactly expect her to get so personal with me this fast. I must say I was impressed by her story though. For starters because Brandon never told me any of this and second of all, I finally knew Mr. Adams his name.

Noah… It suit him.

Suddenly my phone went off and I quickly grabbed it from my pocket, hating the loud noise it made. I looked at the display and I sighed when I saw it was my mother who was calling me.

« I’m sorry, my mother is calling me, » I apologized. Jocelyn sent me a smile and I left the kitchen, heading to the backyard where I sat down on one of the couches. I didn’t think I would ever get used to the luxury Brandon lived in. A part of me was a little jealous of him. Not just because of the house or backyard, but because besides that he also had two parents who loved him dearly.

I wasn’t in a place to complain. I knew even though my mom didn’t always show it, she loved me and Rafael more than she lead on. She had a big mouth and a small heart.

« Hey mom, » I said.

« Valeria, ¿dónde estás ?! I’ve been spamming you with texts for over an hour ! » she practically yelled through the phone, causing me to roll my eyes.

« I haven’t been using my phone for the last few hours. I went to Brandon’s house right after school, I told you that ! »

My mother sighed from the other side of the phone. « Bueno. Just make sure you’re home at ten. »

« Okay. Bye ma, » I mumbled.

After I ended the call, I returned to the kitchen and noticed everything was already cleaned up. I decided to make my way to the living room since that’s where I last saw Brandon. When I found him, he was watching some football game that was on and Mr. Adams was reading the paper.

I sat down next to Brandon and he casually threw is arm around my shoulders. I loved how our love was so simple. We didn’t need to post several pictures on social media to show how cute we were and we never played any stupid mind games to make each other jealous. We knew what we needed and could expect from each other. I guess that’s the reason why it worked so well between us.

I nestled myself up against him and joined him by watching the football game.

Not even a minute later I realized I hated sports and that I was bored already, so I decided to ask my boyfriend for attention. What else are boyfriends for ?