24. Millie
CHAPTER 24
Millie
E very month, normally on the third Friday, my parents host a family dinner at their ranch. Myself, Jeremy, and the rest of our friends attend, and most of the time, it’s the only opportunity for us all to get together.
We are all busy in our different ways, so it’s a solid few hours for us to catch up.
I look forward to it.
Tonight especially.
My girls are over at my house getting ready with me. We only have a few more months until Florence leaves for her work trip, so I’m trying to make the most of the time we’re all together. It’s different when we get to chat on nights like tonight, because my mind isn’t torn between ensuring work is going smoothly and being engaged in conversation.
“I don’t know why I’m so nervous.” I plop on the bed.
Florence is reading a book about polar bears to prepare for her trip, even though I’m not sure how helpful it is. Ava and Riley are sitting on the floor leaning against my bed, scrolling on their phones .
“Well, you fucked Will and now have to see him in front of everyone.” Ava shrugs, not even looking at me.
I scoff. “I have not.” Yet.
“Okay, fine, but you have seen his dick recently, right?” Ava asks, fishing for information. She looks at me waiting for me to answer.
I give her an expression like obviously, I am a thirty-one-year old woman. I have needs.
“Case in point.” Ava smirks and returns her gaze to her phone.
“Aren’t you asking your mom to hire more help too?” Florence mumbles.
“Yep. And I trust her judgement. I’m not nervous about that.” I stand, not wanting to sit still any longer. I pace back and forth in front of Ava and Riley.
“Do I look okay?” I glance at my outfit. “I should change.” I tug at my purple silk skirt. I went with a classic Millie outfit, a skirt paired with a sweater. “Yeah, I should change, right?”
When they haven’t answered, I tilt my chin up to find my friends staring at me with furrowed brows.
“What?” I ask. “I’ve worn this before.”
All three exchange glances and shake their heads.
“Girl, you have it bad for that boy still to this day,” Riley says.
I shrug because I’m not going to deny it. And I decide to leave my outfit alone. The less variables tonight, the better.
“Okay, should we get going? Mom might throw a fit if we are late.”
“I’m worried about Jeremy eating all the cookies.” Florence slams her book shut and rolls off the bed. “I hope I don’t see any polar bears when I go to Norway. Those things appear cute and all, but I didn’t picture them as giant creatures.”
“That’s not a fun fact, you know?” Ava teases.
Flo knows a fun fact for everything.
“Being giant isn’t a fun fact, Avs. A fun fact about polar bears is that their fur is transparent, if you must know. ”
Riley and I laugh at the exchange, letting them do their thing like normal.
Ava joins in and shakes her head in disbelief. She’s the most stubborn out of everyone in our group and even though we all know she thinks that’s a pretty interesting fun fact, she won’t admit it.
I pull on my jacket and walk out of my room, hollering at them all to follow me.
We are all driving separately, but it’s only fifteen minutes away. It’s kind of on the way to Flo’s parents’ place but not as far. My parents have land, but it hasn’t been in use for a long time. Besides the wildflower field, there’s a barn that acts as a storage unit on the east side of the lot.
There are already a few cars at the house when I arrive. The others must have beat us here. Jeremy is here tonight, of course. He was able to switch his bar shift, and he always brings Grant. And tonight, Will is here.
It’s a full house.
And by the time we get inside, there’s never a dead moment.
My mom and dad greet us at the door.
“Hi, Dad.” I smile as he embraces me in a bear hug.
“Hi, sweetheart.” He releases me but holds my shoulders as he talks. “You know, your mom informed me you’re dating Will? Is that right?”
I chuckle.
“Yeah, Dad. But don’t make a big deal about it, okay?”
The last thing I need is my dad giving Will his blessing in front of everyone when we aren’t publicly dating. My nerves are an explosion ready to happen. I don’t want anything to go wrong. Because if it does, that could mean tension between him and the rest of my family. And my family is as much his as they are mine.
“No promises.” He kisses my forehead before he lets go of me. “He’s in the kitchen.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I smile and head that way .
My parents live in a ranch-style single-story home. When you enter the front door, you’re greeted by a living room with floor-to-ceiling windows. There’s a small patio out there. It was my favorite place to sit and drink coffee during high school because it overlooks the wildflower field.
If I went to the left, I’d pass my brother’s room and my parents’ room. To the right is the kitchen, and my old bedroom, which my parents have since turned into an office, sits at the end of the hall. When my dad decided to run for mayor, their entire house was full of signs with his face and banners with some variation of his vision for the town. Jeremy’s bedroom became their storage. We are both lucky to have our own places, otherwise we’d have to crash on air mattresses or the couches in the living room.
I hear everyone in the kitchen before I reach it. I left the girls and my parents behind to find Will, and sure enough, he’s leaning against the counter laughing at something Grant is saying.
Will hasn’t had a lot of time to hang out with him and Jere since he’s been home. Granted, it’s only been two weeks to this day, but he’s been spending a majority of his spare time with me.
Not that either of us are complaining.
“Hi,” I sing-song as I enter the room.
Grant reaches me first, enveloping me in a giant hug. I’ve never had a thing for Grant even though he was around as much as Will.
“Lover boy wouldn’t stop asking when you were going to get here,” Grant groans as he peers over at Will. Will shakes his head but doesn’t deny it.
“He’s obsessed with me, I know,” I say, grabbing Grant’s shoulder and laughing.
“Always have been, Rose.” Will raises his voice to make sure we both hear.
Grant takes a step back and hands me a sparkling water he grabbed off the counter.
“You know, I’m glad you two are finally dating,” Grant says.
I pop the tab on the can and take a sip, staying quiet. And before Will has the chance to say anything, the girls come barreling through the door arguing about something.
“Ladies, no need to fight over me, I’m right here.” Jeremy pumps his chest and spreads his arms wide as he comes from the other side of the kitchen. He must have come from the spare room since he didn’t come through the same way the girls did.
“God, Jere, we aren’t talking about you,” Ava sasses.
“Yeah, Jere.” Florence sticks her tongue out at Jeremy and he responds by squeezing her in a hug. “Ugh, let me go!” she yells.
“Where’s Tom?” Grant asks Florence, referring to her fiancé.
She shakes Jeremy off and pushes him to the other side of the room, which has me laughing.
“Who knows.” She shrugs.
“He’s in the city,” Ava says, throwing her fiancé under the bus.
Florence glares at her.
“What? It’s true, come on Flo. It’s not a secret.”
“I don’t want to talk about it, okay? I don’t need to agonize over it.” Florence tries to whisper-yell, but it’s her normal angry tone.
“Fine, fine.” Ava holds her hands in front of her chest in a truce.
Will takes my drink and sets it on the counter. He grabs my hand, interlacing our fingers together, and tears me away from everyone else in the room.
“Millie!” Ava yells after me. “Where are you going?”
“I’m stealing my girlfriend away,” Will yells back.
I chuckle.
He guides us out of the kitchen, to the left, and into my room at the end of the hall.
“Will, what are you?—”
I’m not able to form a complete sentence. I’m too shocked by his sudden movements. He moves me out of the way to close the door and proceeds to push me against it.
“Will, we can’t do this here. What are you doing? ”
“Be quiet and kiss me, Millie Mae.” His eyes bore into me as I stare back, wondering who this man is and why he’s decided to do this in a household with every one of our closest friends and my parents.
“You can’t be serious,” I deadpan.
And in Will fashion, he uses that torturous mouth on my skin as a way to answer my question.
“Will, I’m trying to talk to you.”
“Mm,” he mumbles while kissing my jaw. His right hand cups my breast over my shirt and squeezes.
Will pushes the fabric of my sweater over to the side, letting his mouth have access to my collar bone. I’m afraid I’m addicted to his small kisses, and if we weren’t in my parents’ house, I would have already stripped this fabric between us. A moan surprises me when his teeth lightly scrape my skin, and he uses a hand to cover my mouth.
I’m so fucking turned on right now.
“Be quiet, love.”
“Kiss me, damnit.” The words come out jumbled against his palm.
Will has a small piece of hair curling over his glasses as he smirks at me. He’s the most attractive man I’ve ever seen. Hands-down. No competition.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” he whispers into my ear, his teeth grazing my lobe, his hand trailing from my mouth to my breast.
“Kiss me, please .”
“I love it when you beg.”
And before I have time to register what’s happening next, his lips are on mine. Will runs his tongue across the slit of my lips and I open them, inviting him in. My right leg lifts to hook around his thigh, the need for him to be closer growing inside. The sounds of people fade in the background as I’m overtaken by my feelings for this man .
Except I don’t have long to relish in them because there’s pounding at the door, and it scares me so much that I scream.
“Yeah, they’re in there,” Jeremy yells from the other side of the door. “Dinner’s done, you two, don’t make us wait.”
Will chuckles as Jeremy’s voice moves further away and I hide my face in his chest.
“This is so embarrassing.” I cringe, burrowing myself deeper into him.
“Aw, love, it’s nothing less than they expected. I couldn’t wait any longer. One glance at you in this skirt, and I was a goner.”
Will kisses the top of my head, which helps. Only a little. I’m not embarrassed to be with him; it’s what everyone expects. But I am a thirty-one year old woman. We aren’t in college anymore. Getting caught making out with my fake-boyfriend is not something I should be doing, yet here I am, wishing we had an extra five minutes.
I lean my head on the door, doing my best to fix my eyes on Will. “We should get out there before Jeremy has a fit. You know how he is.”
Will takes a few steps back and adjusts himself, drawing my eyes down his body. He’s not wearing his jacket, so his sleeves are on display, and it strikes me that I haven’t taken the time to study them.
“When did you get your arms done?” My fingers trace over the flower petals.
Will cups my hand, then brings it to his lips to plant a kiss. “Three years ago.”
I want to ask him more about them. Why does he have so many roses tattooed on his body?
But instead of having the time to do so, Will reminds me that Jeremy will be anxiously awaiting our arrival, and I’d rather not have a large entrance into the dining room.
The last thing I want is so much attention on us.