Page 40 of The Soul of Archer
“That was the best day of my life son. Well, after the day I adopted you and married your mom.” Alex said, looking back at Carmen at the stove.
Lance nodded in agreement. For years, Lance still worried that Alex would change his mind and not want him anymore. Especially after Jessi and Jake were born. But his worries had been unfounded, and Alex treated him just like his own son and showed him and his siblings the same amount of love and pride. Lance sipped his coffee and chuckled when his dad stood up, and quickly pulled his mom into a short little spin around the kitchen dance floor.
***
Alora walked downstairs and followed both her nose and ears. She woke up to find Lance gone, but delicious smells drifting into the room. She had quickly showered, dressed and started downstairs. Reaching the landing, her ears picked up the sounds of laughter coming from the kitchen. She headed that way and felt herself smiling as she picked up on Lance’s rich laugh. She noticed he didn’t laugh much but when he did, it was a beautiful sound. She walked into the kitchen and Lance’s head immediately turned in her direction. He stood and walked to her.
“Morning Tigress.”
“Morning,” She giggled when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. When he released her, she moved toward the coffee pot and shared a smile with Carmen. “Good morning Carmen.”
“Morning honey. How did you sleep?” Carmen asked.
“I slept like the dead. That mattress is heaven, I think I’ll have to get one when we get back to Austin.”
Carmen laughed. “I know what you mean. I have the same type of mattress for mine and Alex’s bed. It’s like a pillow and we love it.”
Alora fixed her coffee then sat down beside Lance. She noticed yesterday that he seemed much more relaxed here. It made her want to know more about not just his family, but his home state. Over breakfast, Carmen and Alex shared stories of Lance and his siblings. She had gotten teary eyed when Carmen told her about her and Alex’s first date, which included Lance. She laughed when Alex told her how one Easter he came downstairs to find Lance, Jessi and Jake covered head to toe in food coloring.
“I was trying to stop them.” Lance argued.
“That’s not what they said.” Carmen laughed.
“Figures they’d blame me.” Lance snorted.
“Actually, they said all THREE of you were to blame.” Alex pointed out with a chuckle.
Lance rolled his eyes, but Alora could see the hint of a smile on his face. After the meal, Carmen shooed Lance upstairs to get a shower and Alex out to the living room while she and Alora cleaned up. Alora knew Carmen just wanted some one-on-one time to talk. At the sink, Carmen washed and Alora dried. It wasn’t long before Carmen started her questioning. “So, I’m taking a shot in the dark here, but I gather you and Lance are sleeping together.”
Alora couldn’t help it and blushed. “Yes ma’am.”
“Alora, I’m not judging. Trust me, I’m the last person to judge anyone. I’m just trying to get a better view of you and my son’s relationship. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him with a woman, so forgive me for being nosy.”
“Carmen, I’m not embarrassed and have no idea why I blushed. I’ve never been embarrassed about talking about sex. Guess this is all new to me. I’ve never met the parents of any of my previous boyfriends, well not like this I mean. Before college I dated guys I went to school with so obviously I knew their parents. The ones after college though, yeah never met the parents.”
Carmen finished the dishes and dried her hands. “Honey, Lance isn’t like most men. Course you know that. He’s cut from a different mold than most young men of your generation. Part of that is because of how Alex and I raised him, Jessi and Jake. The other part is all Lance. He’s an old soul to a point.”
“He and the rest of his teammates. The five of them seem to have been cut from the same cloth, despite them being different. Tony’s the funny guy, Ethan is the leader, Gage is the second in command, Grant’s the big brother and then there’s Lance. The quiet observer.”
“Yes, exactly. I couldn’t agree with that more.” Carmen laughed.
Alora nibbled her bottom lip then decided to just spit it out. “Carmen, I think, no, I know, I’m in love with your son.”
Carmen froze for a moment, then pulled Alora into a hug. “Oh, that’s wonderful.”
“I haven’t told him.” Alora sighed hugging her back.
Carmen stroked Alora’s back motherly before stepping back and cupping her chin. “You’ll know when the time is right to tell him.”
“I guess I’m…scared. Scared he doesn’t feel the same.” Alora stated.
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Just be honest with each other. The rest will fall into place. Okay?”
“Yes ma’am.” Alora nodded.
***
Lance found Alora in the backyard admiring his mom’s flower garden. When he slipped his arms around her she sighed contently and leaned back into him. He dropped soft kisses along her neck. “Hi.”
