Page 52 of Praise You

"Are you ever going to wake up?"

"Soon," he mumbles, snuggling deeper into the blankets.

"Fine," I relent, turning around and walking toward the kitchen.

After we went hiking, we bought some food from a drive thru and came back here. We ate, took a bath together, and then Ronan fucked me like crazy. Then we woke up in the middle of the night and fucked again. Apparently, that must have worn him out since he's still asleep and I've been awake for almost two hours now.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, I pull out my phone to play a game when it starts vibrating. My mom’s name flashes on the screen and I quickly swipe, putting the phone up to my ear.

"Hi mom," I say, getting up to grab another cup of coffee. I absolutely love my mom, but she can be a bit much sometimes.

"Hi sweetheart, how are you doing? I haven't heard from you in a while."

"Mom," I scoff. "We just talked a week ago. We talk every week. Actually, we talk on the same day every week."

"True, but I miss my baby so much."

"I miss you too, Mom." Smiling, I pour some coffee into my cup, then head back toward the table. "How are you? How's Dad?"

"We're both good, honey. We miss you, of course. But how are you? What did you end up doing for your break from class?"

"Uh," I rub the back of my nape, wondering how much I should tell her. "I actually headed out of town for a few days. It's about a few hours away from home, but it's so beautiful here."

"Oh, really?" Her voice cuts off and I can hear her yelling for my dad in the background. "Did you happen to go on this trip alone or with a friend? Maybe a special friend?”

Ignoring what she just said, I question her, "Mom? Why are you calling for Dad?"

There are whispers on the other line before her voice comes through again, "Oliver, why can't you answer my question?"

"Ugh, fine. I came with a special friend, okay? We wanted some time away, so I booked us a trip here and it's been really great. He's really great."

In the background I can hear her whisper to my dad, "See, I told you he met someone. Finally."

Rolling my eyes, I tell her, "I can hear you."

She clears her throat before coming back on the line. "You know I've been worried about you. Being over there by yourself. But hearing that you've met someone? You don't understand how much I worry about you, Oliver. Tell us about him."

I knew my parents worried about me, but I never realized how hard it must be on them knowing I'm hundreds of miles away from them and know no one here. Wanting them to realize I'm doing okay, I start telling them about Ronan.

"His name is Ronan. He's a few years younger than me. But Mom, he's amazing. We've only been dating for a couple months, but it's really something special. He makes me feel alive. More alive than I’ve ever felt."

Ronan’s hand touches my shoulder before he leans down and kisses my cheek. Angling my body toward him, I grab his hand as he sits down on the chair next to me. He smiles and nods his head in the direction of my phone. I mouth ‘my parents’ and he beams even wider.

"I love hearing how happy you are, Oliver. You truly seem happy. And I don't want to intrude on your trip, so make sure you call me when you're home. And please tell Ronan we said hi and we can't wait to meet him."

"I will Mom."

We hang up and I set my phone down on the table. Ronan opens his arms and I climb into them, sitting on his lap.

"You told your parents about me?" He asks, gazing at me lovingly.

"I did. I told you, I love you. I want to shout it from the rooftops."

"I love you, too."

"Alright, I need you to get ready. I've got plans for us."

"Plans?" He echoes, looking at me confused.

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