Devotion - Chapter 10 #3
"I know everyone's waiting for us, but I want you so badly right now." He grabbed my thigh and pushed my skirt up. "Tell me to stop now, or I'll be too far gone."
I laughed and grabbed his face. "I'd like to be there to introduce our parents to each other."
"That's not going to go well."
"So optimistic." I looked up into his dark brown eyes.
He smiled. His dimples pooled in his cheeks. "Just honest."
"Do you think your mom is really going to make a speech?"
James lowered both his eyebrows. "You're right, we should probably get in there." He let go of my leg. "But, just for the record, I will have you one last time as my fiancée."
I smiled. "I can't wait." Although I had no idea when he was planning to fit that in.
He grabbed my hand and held it tightly as we walked back into our home.
I was surprised to see James' father and Mr. Caldwell sitting together laughing.
James' mother was at the bar. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Daphne kiss Rob's cheek and whisper something in his ear.
He had a bad temper like his brother and I was surprised to see that he had calmed down so quickly.
Daphne must have secret powers. Maybe she could tell me how she did it.
I couldn't wait to get to know her better.
"So where are your parents, darling?" Mrs. Hunter said as she walked up to us. She drew out the word darling. She was clearly mocking me, but I didn't really care.
My mom peered out of the kitchen. She pulled my father out beside her and came over to us.
"You must be James' mother," my mom said. "I'm Julia, Penny's mom. You have such a lovely son."
"Do you know my son well?"
"Well, yes. We all try to get together a few times a month for dinner and board games. James is the undefeated champion of Sequence."
"That doesn't surprise me at all."
"It's a team game, though," my mom said. "Penny's always his partner. They make such a good team."
"Mhm."
"And I'm Peter," my dad said. "Penny's father."
"Are either of you employed?" Mrs. Hunter asked.
"Excuse me?" my father said.
"My husband is missing all the niceties. Jonathan, get over here," she said. "Now."
Mr. Hunter clapped Mr. Caldwell on the back as he stood up. He walked over with a smile on his face. "You must be Penny's parents," he said. "You can call me Jon." He stuck his hand out for my dad.
I was shocked at the exchange. James' dad had always seemed as snooty as his wife. But here he was making an effort at least. He was so much warmer than Mrs. Hunter.
"We are so happy to finally meet you," he said with a smile.
Finally? He had only just met me a few weeks ago. I didn't care if it was just a show, it was nice of him to try. He looked genuinely pleased to meet them.
"We love your son dearly," my mom said as she shook his hand. "He's such a wonderful addition to our family."
Mrs. Hunter frowned. "I'd like to make a toast," she said loudly so that everyone could hear. "Can someone turn off that retched music?"
I saw Rory press some buttons on the sound system. First it got louder and then he successfully turned it off. He gave me a thumbs up.
"Honestly, you should get some better help," Mrs. Hunter mumbled.
Rory's friend that had been flirting with Melissa laughed. After getting a death stare from Mrs. Hunter, he grabbed Rory's arm and they both retreated into the kitchen.
Mrs. Hunter cleared her throat and lifted her drink in the air.
"I'd just like to make a toast to the happy couple.
Clearly there is some kind of substance there since they're actually going through with this whole thing.
It's definitely not the arrangement we would have hoped for.
" She glanced at me. "Clearly. I admire a girl for marrying up, but how this young girl got her claws in. .."
"What my wife is trying to say," Mr. Hunter interrupted and grabbed the glass out of her hand, "is that we are very happy that the two of you found each other.
Happiness is the most important thing in this world.
Life is much too short. It goes by in a flash.
So hold on to each other. Hold on to that feeling that you have right now.
And, Penny, you seem like such a lovely girl.
My wife and I are both excited to get to know you better.
I'm just sorry it took so long. Welcome to the family.
Cheers to the happy couple." He raised the glass in the air.
Everyone clinked glasses.
"We're happy for you, son," he said and put his hand on James' shoulder.
James looked down at his dad's hand like it was a foreign object. "Thanks." He said it more like a question than a statement.
"If you'll excuse us for a second." He grabbed his wife's arm and pulled her toward the kitchen. A second later, the catering staff came running out.
"I think your father might be having a midlife crisis," I said.
"Yeah. Or maybe he's finally trying to be a good dad."
"They both seem lovely," my mom said cheerily. But I could tell by her face that she was shocked. Sometimes she was as bad as me at hiding her emotions.
"A little stuck up if you ask me," my dad said under his breath.
"Dad!"
But James laughed. "You have no idea."
My dad smiled. "And they're the ones that convinced you to root for the Giants? I'll make an Eagles fan out of you yet."
"Good luck with that. I think it's much more likely I'll make a Giants fan out of Penny."
"Not a chance," my dad said.
They both laughed.
My dad had made a habit of coming up whenever the Eagles played the Giants.
He'd watch the games with us. Rob, Mason, and Matt would all come over too and cheer on the Giants.
It was just me and my dad rooting for the Eagles.
Sometimes Bee would come over and cheer on the Eagles with us.
I'm pretty sure it drove James crazy that he couldn't convert me into a Giants fan.
But I had grown up watching the Eagles with my dad.
That was one thing James couldn't get his way with.
Besides, I'm pretty sure he enjoyed the ongoing bets we had on the games.
"Have any of you gotten dessert yet?" Rory's friend Jackson asked. "It's delightful on your palette. You simply have to try it." He held up the tray of decadent chocolate pastries.
"Absolutely." I grabbed one off the tray and took a bite. "Oh my God, this is amazing." I took another huge bite.
"You really have been hungry," James whispered in my ear. "Your declaration of love for that dessert was almost orgasmic."
I laughed and elbowed him in the ribs. "It was not."
He gave me a playful smile.
Someone pinching the side of my waist made me jump. I laughed when I looked up at Brendan.
"I'm glad I didn't miss all the family drama," Brendan said. "It's always the best thing about weddings."
James shook his head. "Laughing at my torture?"
"Always." They clapped each other on the back. "Beautiful as always, Penny," he said and gave me a swift kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks, Brendan."
"Still can't believe you're marrying this clown. At least he's not your professor anymore. It actually seems like his parents disapprove of you more than your parents disapprove of him. That's pretty twisted."
James laughed. Brendan and him had grown really close ever since James had calmed down about him kissing me.
I was surprised that James was able to forget about that.
Maybe he had repressed it like me. Either way, they were friends now.
James loved talking to Brendan about his latest development projects.
"That's actually incredibly accurate," I said.
Brendan laughed. "My parents would have loved you, Penny."
"And that's why I didn't ask you to be a groomsman," James said.
"What? If I had known my flirting with Penny was keeping me out of that race I would have stopped ages ago."
"We both know that's not true," James said.
Brendan shrugged his shoulders. "I can't help what I say around beautiful women." He winked at me. "How do you like the new place? James and I had a blast designing it together."
I looked at James. "You left that part out."
James shrugged his shoulders. "It was mostly me."
"Yeah, right," Brendan said. "Without me, your plumbing and electricity would have been a fucking mess and you know it."
"Fair enough. But aesthetically, I planned most of it."
"Well, you both did a fantastic job," I said.
"I'm pretty sure James designed it with the sole idea of how many places he could bang you," Brendan said with a laugh.
"Inappropriate," James said to Brendan. "And you would have made such a great groomsman too."
Brendan gave him an exaggerated frown.
"I'm going to leave you two alone to find more dessert," I said. As I made my way toward the desserts, I saw Luke and Mason with two guys I hadn't met yet. I was promised a few stories, and I was not going to miss out on this opportunity. I walked over to their group. "Hey, guys."
"We were just talking about you," Luke said. He sounded a little drunk.
"Yeah? Hi, I'm Penny," I said to the two guys I hadn't met yet. I recognized both of them from the picture of James' frat brothers, though.
"Oh, this is Benny and Mike," Luke said and gestured to the two guys next to him.
"Ben," the taller of the two said and stuck out his hand for me to shake. "College was a long time ago but these assholes still insist on calling me Benny."
"You'll always be Benny to us," the shorter one said. "Hi, Penny, I'm Mike. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"It's great to meet you guys too. So...you were talking about me?"
"Nothing bad, I promise," Mason said.
"We were just talking about how much better you are than Isabella," Luke said.
I tried not to flinch at the mention of her name.
"I don't even know you and I can tell you're better," Benny said.
I laughed awkwardly. "Thanks, I guess." I didn't want to be talking about Isabella. "Luke promised me some stories once the two of you arrived."