Page 122 of Love Undiscovered
Chapter 33
Remi
We go back down to finish dinner after our bathroom interlude. He’s right, I am exponentially more relaxed and ready to continue to take this family on. I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever met a boyfriend’s family.
Oh shit.
Did I just call him my boyfriend?
Fuck.
I’m getting so far ahead of myself with this. I pause my thoughts in my head to see how I feel. But, oddly, I’m okay. I know it hasn’t been very long, but so far, he fits into my life really easily. My friends like him. The sex is off the charts. And, on the flip side, I seem to fit into his life as well.
I mean, I adore his family. And they seem to like me. If you had ever asked me if I would enjoy an afternoon filled with noise and chaos and socializing, I would have said fuck no. But I’ve had a really good time today; it’s like I belong. I’m welcome; wanted even. It’s an incredibly addicting feeling.
Maybe this can work. People meet in strange ways all the time. He doesn’t ever have to know it started as a bet. That Ihadto keep seeing him for a month or I would lose. Maybe he’d even find it funny. I laugh slightly to myself. He squeezes my hand as we reach the dining room. The family has resumed eating without us and the conversation has turned to sports. Apparently, the entire gang is passionate about baseball. Mike, Audrey’s husband, used to play professional baseball, which is how he met Audrey.
A fairy tale type story the way she told it to me. He was first to bat and got on third base. The next two guys were struck out. He saw her in the stands cheering like a fanatic, against his team, and was smitten. He had a ball-boy go ask for her number, which she refused to give because he was on the opposite team. Charlie snuck it to the ball-boy when Audrey was in the restroom.
Mike kept calling until he wore her down. They talked on the phone, texted, and emailed for close to a year before Mike got traded to Oakland, where he played for almost a year until he was injured. They dated, he went to law school, they got engaged, and are now married. Mike works as a sports injury attorney and Audrey is a freelance writer. And she’s pregnant with their first baby. They are perfect.
Chance pulls my chair out for me, and we take our seats and resume eating. The baseball conversation gets heated but remains respectful.
“Remi, who is your favorite team, dear?” Annalise asks me, speaking around the debate.
“I don’t think I—”
“Just say ‘A’s’,” Chance whispers.
“I don’t even know who the teams are,” I say.
Conversation at the table halts, all heads turn to look at me. Even Hailey stops chanting and cocks her little head in my direction.
I clear my throat. “Except for the ‘A’s’,” I say.
“Damn straight,” Brian thunders.
“Thank God,” Audrey says at the same time that Mike says, “I thought we were going to have to oust you just when I was starting to like you.”
“Nice save,” Charlie says to Chance as Nate says to me, “Smart choice given this crowd.”
“A’s. A’s. A’s,” Hailey yells.
“That’s right, Hailey. We love the A’s, good girl!” Eliza tells her.
Chance runs his hand along my thigh in what I’m sure is meant to be reassuring. I make a mental note to never bring up baseball to this family. At least not until I figure out how the hell the game works. I mean, I know the basics, there’s a bat and a ball and bases.
“Don’t worry, beautiful, I will get you up to speed before the next family dinner,” Chance whispers in my ear. I shiver as his lips skim my lobe. The thought of another family dinner freaks me out almost as much as it warms me from the inside out.
“There’s not even body contact in baseball,” Chance says to the table. “Let’s talk about a real sport. Like rugby.”
“Oh no he didn’t,” Audrey says.
Which sets everyone at the table off and running at the mouth again. I feel a nudge on my knee and look down, thinking it’s Chance sneaking his hand up my skirt. I’m only slightly disappointed to see Hudson’s big brown eyes looking up at me. He nudges my hand with his snout, trying to get me to pet him. I run my hand along the top of his head and scratch between his ears He, in turn, licks my skirt where the bulk of my food had fallen before.
I laugh to myself, knowing his tongue and saliva is going to kill my Dupioni silk skirt. But at the same time not really caring.
Today has been worth a hundred skirts.
