Page 96 of You Found Me
Last night when I got off work, Spencer was there with a bacon cheeseburger and a flavored sparkling water for me.
He knew that I had not been eating dinner the last few nights I’d been at work. I came out wearing leggings and a sweatshirt—that I definitely stole from his closet last weekend. I could see the moment it clicked for him that it was his soccer sweatshirt from college I was wearing and all I could do was smirk.
“You little thief,” he said in mock outrage. “How did you get that out of my closet without me noticing? I thought I left it at my parents’ house. It happens to be my favorite sweatshirt.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about Spence. This is my sweatshirt.”
“Oh, so now we lie to each other?” he paused, placing a hand to his chest. “I’m hurt.”
“Fine, fine. I took it the morning after we officially started dating. It just looked so cozy. I can give it back if you want,” I said before dropping my bag down and reaching for the hem of the sweatshirt. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken it without asking.”
He placed his hands on mine and gave them a gentle squeeze. “Shortstack, you look incredibly sexy in leggings andmysweatshirt. Now that I’ve seen you in it, I never want it back. In fact, I think I want to see you in more of my clothes in public.”
I felt my cheeks pink up and before I could argue with him, he added, “Now get in the truck before I have us putting on a show for your co-workers. I wasn’t joking about how hot I think you look.”
I rolled my eyes and brushed past him to get into the truck. But before I could climb in, he grabbed my arm, spun me around, pulled me to his chest, and kissed me. Deeply. I felt myself melt into the kiss and wrapped my hands around the back of his neck. Before it went any further, he pulled away leaving me breathless. “Okay, now you can get in.”
Unfortunately for him, I fell asleep not long after I devoured the burger. I made sure to thank him profusely for thinking to grab me dinner since I only had a protein bar before my shift ended. I was jolted awake about two and a half hours later fromhim putting the truck in park. I looked over at him with what I’m sure were wild, confused eyes.
“Well hello, sleepy head. Looks like you’ve got a little drool right there.” He pointed to the side of my face.
I scrambled to flip his mirror down and noticed my right cheek was red and imprinted with lines from the sleeve of the sweatshirt, which also happened to be a little wet. He was right. I was drooling. Since I knew he wasn’t saying it to be mean, but to joke around, I joked back. “Don’t make me go in there and tell your mama that her son is being rude to his girlfriend.”
Instead of answering, he laughed. To which I responded by playfully shoving him.
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I’m a terrible road trip partner.”
“You’ve been working so much and so hard lately. I expected you would fall asleep.” He patted me on the leg. “Are you ready to go in and deal with the crazy that is Holiday June Hale?”
“Absolutely. I want to see how long it’ll take for her to embarrass you.” My face split into a grin.
***
Thanksgiving with his family was just as interesting as the weekend of his dad’s birthday, minus the tropical storm.
His childhood home was just as full with people milling about, only this time it was all family. I met some family members that made June seem completely chill.
Spencer apologized over and over after one of the younger cousins on his dad’s side found out I was a nurse during lunch and dropped his pants once everything was over to show me a spot at the top of his butt crack.
After I told him that since I’m not a doctor I couldn’t diagnose what the spot was and told him to call his doctor on Monday, he immediately turned around to ask if besides the spot, did I like what I saw. The giggle that came out surprised even me, causing me to slap my hand over my mouth. Spencer chose that moment to make his way back over to me.
“Derek, what the hell are you doing, dude? Pull your pants up and stop showing your lily-white ass to my girlfriend.”
We stayed for a while after the majority of his family left to help clean up. After singing June and Bill’s praises for an incredible meal, we made our exit and are now almost back to Meadow Springs. “When we get into town, if you don’t need to go back to your apartment for anything, we should just head to meet my parents.”
“Meet them? Are we not going to their house?”
I smile at his confused look. “Nope. We’re going to Edie’s Eats.”
“Why?”
“A little back story, Edie bought the diner from someone else when my mom was in college. She ended up getting a job as a waitress and worked as much as possible during her breaks from school so she could avoid spending time at home with her parents. Edie became like a second mother to her. When she moved back to town after finding out she was pregnant with me, Edie let Mom stay with her so she didn’t have to move back in with her parents.
“After my grandparents died, Edie started opening up the diner at dinner time on Thanksgiving and Christmas for anyone who didn’t have family or for those that couldn’t travel. Mom always said she knew Edie set it up that way so she wouldn’t feel like it was a pity thing.”
“Edie’s special. I’m glad that she was there for your mom and you. Do you not go to your other grandparents for either holiday?” Spencer asks me.
“She is. But no, Dad said they always went on a beach vacation in Florida for Thanksgiving growing up, which is something they continue to do. And as for Christmas, they tend to go to a Caribbean island or to Mexico for the week.”
