Page 96 of The Friend Zone

Mom’s laugh is conspiratorial. “Jagger is very private. Of course, I was under no illusion that he didn’t havegirlfriends. I don’t say this because he’s my son, but he’s very handsome. Iguess he hadn’t met anyone he cared about enough to want to introduce her to us.”

Fuck.

It’s my turn to blush. “Mom,” I groan. “Bay knows how I feel about her. Can we please move on? We’re here to talk about business. You’ll have tomorrow night to tell Bay all the embarrassing stories about my childhood that I’m sure you’re dying to bring up.”

My mother is the picture of innocence, as her brown eyes widen at my veiled accusation. “Embarrassing? Sweetheart, you were an adorable little boy. Besides, I want to know everything about Bay. Like I was saying, before you very rudely interrupted me, I googled Bay and I’m absolutely impressed. President of Zeta Theta Beta, two very demanding majors, a twin sister engaged to European royalty and an impressive social media empire.”

I can’t help the pride that expands in my chest when Mom lists Bay’s achievements. “Bay isn’t just beautiful,” I smile. “She’s smart and kind, and?—”

“Hush,” Mom’s scold is gentle. “Bay and I are talking.”

I stifle an eye roll, since she was doing all the talking. “Sorry.” I mutter. I swear my mom has the power to make me revert to the behavior of a three-year-old. Nana too, it’s their fucking superpower. Of course, I know better than to say any of that out loud.

“I spent several hours watching a few of your makeup tutorials,” Mom continues. “You’re incredibly talented, Bay. And I hope I’m not overstepping here, but the usual makeup artist I hire to travel with me to social events went into labor last night and I had no chance to look at the list of recommended replacements she gave me before checking into the hospital. I was hoping I could persuade you to come to my suite here at the Club tomorrow afternoon to help me get ready? My hairdresser,thankfully, is a guy, so he’s here with me. We could get ready together for the gala?”

Mom is intense.

I open my mouth to tell Bay that she doesn’t have to do it if she doesn’t want to, but my girlfriend agrees.

“That would be amazing,” she smiles. “You have an amazing bone structure. We could go for a dramatic and yet classy look. You’ll outshine every woman at tomorrow’s gala.”

Her tone is sincere and my mother takes notice of it. Rachel Connelly has the best bullshit detector in the world. This is why I never bothered introducing her to anyone before. Not that I would have wanted her to meet my casual hookups, anyway.

“Everyone says that Jagger looks like his father,” Mom smiles. “But I’m proud that he has my cheekbones and my blonde hair. The rest is all Keith.”

Bay and Mom are deep in conversation about couture and the importance of choosing the right accessories for a black-tie event when the waiter comes to take our order.

“Now that we ordered and we all have a drink,” Dad inserts himself into a brief lull in their conversation. “I believe Bay and I have some business to discuss. I promise I’m not going to interrupt you after we’re done talking about the new Zeta house.”

I was aware that Bay wanted to get ready for this meeting, but I can tell how impressed by her presentation my parents are.

“Very well,” Dad smiles, after listening to Bay’s presentation with keen interest. “My legal team should have a formal agreement ready for you to bring to your sorority’s government and to the Greek Council by tomorrow. In the meantime, we could start submitting all the paperwork you’ve prepared.”

Bay looks more relaxed now that the hardest part is done, but there’s still some residual tension in her body language. “Thank you so much, Keith. I can’t tell you how much this means to meand to all my sisters. I’m confident our proposal will be accepted unanimously. I’ve been in contact with the Zeta central chapter too and I think they’ll be extremely interested in following our project. There are many Zeta Theta Beta chapters all over the US and in some other countries, and new ones are chartered every year. I’m sure our house won’t be the only one Connelly Tech will build. The only thing that could derail our project is the university administration. The Dean has made no mystery of his distaste toward the Greek community. Without your help, he would have moved to shut down the Zeta chapter in Star Cove.”

Dad reassures her. “Don’t worry about Dean Williams, Bay. He’s hoping for a seven-figure donation from Connelly Tech, so it’ll be in his interest to remove all this ridiculous red tape. Regardless, we’ll make sure to abide by all the rules. I promise that you’ll have your new sorority house sooner than you think.”

BAY

I relax a little.

The meeting went well. If I were alone in my room, I’d cry tears of joy. The relief at saving my legacy is almost better than sex. Almost.

Talking about sex, I’m glad I could concentrate on the business aspect of this meeting, but Jagger didn’t make it easy.

I swear he has no business looking so handsome in a suit that costs more than a reasonably priced car. I’ve seen him before in the official suit the hockey team provides for the players and he looks amazing. The dark gray suit he has on today, however, was tailored to his tall, athletic frame and it fits him perfectly, enhancing every chiseled, muscular inch of his perfect body.

But his attractive appearance isn’t the only distracting thing today. The pride in his voice when he introduced me to his parents, the subtle way he’s been squeezing my hand to reassure me and show his support, is everything.

The last thing I want is thinking about my ex right now, but I can’t help but remember how my meeting with his parents went last year. There’s still a chance that Jagger's parents are being nice to my face and might disapprove of our relationship, but I don’t get this vibe from them.

Keith looked genuinely impressed by my presentation and Rachel’s warm smile is the exact opposite of Topher’s mother's formal demeanor.

“Now that the boring part of the day is done,” Rachel says. “Let’s talk about you and Jagger. You must tell me everything. How did you two meet?”

I look at Jagger. The corner of his lips lifts in a little smile that tells me he’s thinking about our first kiss. I decide to go with the truth.

“We’ve really known each other since freshman year when we were both pledges. We were always friendly, but it was just a superficial acquaintance until we got to know each other better at the beginning of this academic year.”

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