9. Nikita #3
“Anything,” I say, not even having to think about it. I would do anything for her, no matter what.
“Will you come with me to meet my parents this Wednesday night?”
“I will. I’d love to meet Grace and Phil,” I tell her.
Her eyes widen in surprise, but then she just shakes her head and laughs. “Of course you know their names already.”
“And their address and some basic info, but that’s not the same thing as meeting them in person, which I’d very much like to do.”
“Thank you,” she says before lifting her bra up.
I give her breast one last squeeze before letting her go.
She grabs a shirt from her closet, ignoring the huge pile of clothes that are still draped over her chair.
I’m not sure if it’s her I need to wash these pile or her These are clean, but I don’t feel like putting them away pile.
Either way, I think it’s cute that she’s a little bit messy.
We finally manage to leave her room, but even though I know we’re late, I’m not worried.
My family’s always been pretty laid-back, and there are so many of us now that they’re probably still arriving and having a few before-dinner drinks.
Even if they were strict as hell, I still wouldn’t have rushed this time with Savanna.
Before she pulls her helmet on, I kiss her cheek, right where her dimple is currently hidden, and say, “I was right. You look gorgeous when you come.”
As soon as that dimple appears, I kiss her again and get on the bike. Her blushing face disappears under the helmet, and when she’s on and hugging me so tightly it’s hard to breathe, I start the bike and head for my Uncle Vitaly’s.
The traffic is bad, but it always is, and I don’t mind that it takes us longer than it should to reach the high-rise building in the heart of downtown.
I recognize the vehicles parked near the private elevator and squeeze my bike next to my Uncle Matvey’s Camaro.
I pull my helmet off after Savanna gets down and when I hold my hand out for hers, she takes it, but her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
She squeezes my hand and asks, “What if they don’t like me?”
“They already love you,” I remind her.
“But that was before I showed up as your girlfriend.”
I can’t help but smile at what she’s said. “That just means they’re going to love you even more.” When she still looks worried, I say, “Don’t forget Cindy will be here. Family supper, remember? Everyone shows up for food.”
She brightens up a bit at that, and when I start to pull her towards the elevator, she quickly falls in step beside me. Our hands are still entwined when we get to the penthouse apartment, and the first person we see is my Uncle Vitaly.
His eyes immediately go to our hands before a huge smile lights up his face. “I see you finally got your head out of your ass,” he tells me in Russian before giving Savanna a hug and saying in English, “I’m so glad you came. It’s good to see you again, Sav.”
“Thanks for having me,” she says, and then blushes like crazy when she adds, “I’m sorry we’re a little bit late. It took me a bit longer to get ready.”
My uncle laughs and gives me a wink. “You both look guilty as hell. It’s pretty fucking adorable.”
Savanna blushes a brighter shade of pink and grips my hand tighter, making my uncle laugh even harder before he takes pity on her and says, “Don’t worry.
We’re all thrilled you two are finally done hiding how you feel.
” He points a finger at me. “Your Uncle Lev owes me fifty bucks. He thought you’d hold out another six months, but I told him with the amount of sexual frustration coming off the two of you, there was no way you’d last that long. ”
“Oh my god,” Savanna whispers while I tell my uncle in Russian to stop or I’m never going to erase his porny elevator footage again.
He holds his hands up. “I’m just happy for you.
I won’t tease you in front of the others.
Not even about your matching messenger bags, which I just want to say is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
” Turning so we can follow him into the living room, he says over his shoulder, “They’ll be more than happy to pick up where I’m being forced to leave off. ”
He’s right. As soon as we step foot in the large living room, every mouth stops talking, and every eye turns to us.
Savanna gives my hand a hard enough squeeze to hurt. She whispers a quick, “Holy shit,” while giving my entire family a wide-eyed, caught-in-the-headlights look.
I ignore my well-meaning but imposing family and step in front of a still very terrified-looking Savanna. Hooking a finger under her chin, I gently force her gaze off of them and onto me.
“Relax, Van. Just remember they already love you, and even though they’re pushy as hell and have no understanding of personal boundaries, they mean well, and they’re just really fucking happy for us.”
I cup her face and give her a kiss. It’s a chaste one, but I still hear a collective sigh from every woman in the room, and quite possibly some of the men. My uncles have become just as sappy over the years so there’s really no telling where it originated.
“It’s just you and me, beautiful,” I whisper close to her ear.
I hear her inhale before she whispers back, “Okay, let’s do this,” right as she squeezes my finger for support. “I’m terrified,” she admits, “but you’re worth it.”