Page 96 of Becoming Selfish

“You didn’t have to wait for me,” she says, walking up the driveway.

“I wanted to.” I grab her hand, intertwining my fingers with hers. “You good?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know.” I shrug. “You just met my parents. I wasn’t sure if you were feeling nervous or anything.”

“I was, but I feel better now. Are you good?” She laughs at me and my apparent anxiety. It’s not that I’m worried my parents won’t like Logan. I mean, it’s impossible not to. To be honest, they’ll probably end up liking her more than me. On a more serious note, my concern isn’t that Logan won’t fit in. It’s more so that this makes me think of her parents and that I won’t ever get the chance to meet them. I don’t want her to feel sad being around my family, knowing that I’ll never get to do the same with hers.

“I’m good if you’re good.” I lean down and place a kiss on her forehead.

I open the front door for her before ushering her inside.

“Holy shit.” I follow her eyes towards the large glass window facing the backyard. “I didn’t know your parents’ house was on a lake!” she exclaims, all the while keeping her gaze locked on the scenic view.

“You’ve never been here when it’s still light outside, huh?”

“I guess not. Damn,” Logan says as I pull her away from the foyer and towards the living room where my family is hanging out.

“Logan, the Warriors and OKC game just started,” Marc informs her from his spot on the couch opposite of my dad, both of their eyes glued to the television screen.

Logan quickly releases my hand and plops herself down on the couch between my dad and brother, all three of them now intently watching the basketball game on TV.

I guess I don’t have to worry about Logan being comfortable around my family.

I follow my nose towards the kitchen, where Mary is putting out boards filled with meats and cheeses on the counter. I snatch a slice of salami before taking a seat at the kitchen island.

“Nice game, EJ. You looked good out there,” Mary proudly tells me as she garnishes the cheese boards.

“Thanks, I felt good.”

“You looked calm. You looked like your old self, only better.”

“Yeah, I’ve been feeling better lately. Less anxious.”

“I’m happy to hear that. And Logan is adorable.” She eyes me, silently telling me she knows the reason that I feel so at ease lately.

“Yeah, she’s the best.”

“When did that start?”

“We met the weekend before school started. But I just recently got my shit together,” I tell Mary before shoveling a handful of sliced prosciutto in my mouth.

“Well, do me a favor, and don’t fuck it up.” She points the cheese knife at me in a playful manner. “I finally get to have another woman in the house.”

“You had Lauren, whenever she decided to come around.” Though we both didn’t like Lauren for Marc, and honestly, I could count on one hand the times she was around my family in the three years they were together.

“Please. You know how I felt about her with Marc. This is different. I can already tell how much Logan means to you. And the fact that she and Marc are so close too, I just like the whole situation.”

“Me too.” Standing, I quickly kiss her on the cheek. I love Mary. Even though I refer to her as my stepmom or by her name, Mary knows that she’s my mom. And she totally understands the fact that I keep the title of ‘Mom’ for my birth mother.

“I’m gonna go change,” I tell her before taking the stairs two at a time to head to my room here.

When I come back down wearing my jeans and a tee, I find Logan, Marc, and my dad still sitting in their same spots on the couch, watching the game.

“Westbrook is a beast,” Marc says to no one in particular.

“Westbrook is a crybaby,” Logan chimes in as Oklahoma City’s point guard whines about not drawing a foul on his layup.

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