Page 47 of Champagne Kisses
I, on the other hand, am head over heels for Adam and have been, maybe since that first night on the phone. He listens to me, he excites me, he just…gets me. No matter what we’re doing, I enjoy being with him. Once I’m sure he feels the same way, I’ll tell him I love him every day and twice on Sundays.
Adam’s mom comes in with a roast turkey and Henry clears the charcuterie board to make room.
“Now that everyone’s here, we can eat. Boys, can you grab the sides from the kitchen?”
Chapter twenty-five
Adam
Mom has always been a great cook, but she pulled out all the stops for Damon’s going away party. I use my roll to sop up the extra gravy on my plate, though I seriously considered just licking it clean. Cory had more than considered it, hence why he's now wiping gravy off his chin with a dinner napkin.
He’s been weird all night and it's really pissing me off. Maya’s looking especially stunning tonight, and every chance he gets, Cory’s been saying something snide about her under his breath.
“What’s so special about you that you got my brother to change his ways?”
“So why’d you leave yourrealjob to get into sewing?”
“You’re nothing like the women my brother usually goes for.”
“Oh, you went to Pratt? That’s cool if you’ve got the talent to makea living doing art.”
Maya had taken it like a champ, but I was so mad I had to let go of her hand or I would’ve broken her fingers. The others noticed too, but no one wanted to spoil Damon’s big night. My mom puts another slice of turkey on Dad's plate.
"You know, Adam. This Maya girl you brought home is great…except for the fact that she keeps calling me Mrs. Park." Maya lowers her eyes and tries to hide her smile by pressing her lips together. I squeeze her thigh gently.
"Yeah, she does that. Don't worry. She'll start to relax after a few more hours." Cory sucks his teeth.
"Two months of dating and already he's a Maya expert," Cory mutters. He barely lowered his voice this time and I scoot my chair out from the table about to punch my bother in his dumb face, but Maya quickly grabs my hand and shakes her head slightly. Mom and Dad are shooting daggers are Cory, who's suddenly very interested in his potatoes.
"I'd say it's time for dessert," Mom interjects, always first to try to deescalate a "battle of the bros". Dad coined the term when Henry Jr. and Noah had both asked Madeleine Pinkett to Homecoming their sophomore year in high school. They even asked on the same day, though Noah picked lunch and Henry Jr. waited until the pep rally. That night at home, they both ended up with black eyes. After all that, Madeleine went with Noah (hedidask first), but left early to make out with Jeff Michaels under the bleachers. We don't argue much—not seriously, anyway—but when it happens, it tends to require outside intervention.
"Cory? How about you grab the brownies and ice cream from the kitchen?"
There is no way I’m letting Cory continue to disrespect Maya. I follow him to the kitchen when my mom sends him for dessert. Once out of earshot, I round on him.
“Hey Cory. What the fuck is your problem, man?” He pivots to face me and looks almost bored. That makes me even angrier and I clench my fists at my sides to keep from socking him in the jaw.
“No problem here, bro.” I can see the anger in his eyes behind the feigned boredom.
“Why the hell have you been being so rude to Maya all night? Saying all that stupid shit under your breath. We can hear you." I fight to keep from yelling. "Mayacan hear you.” Cory rolls his eyes.
“After all the grade A women you’ve been with, I didn’t expect you to bring a girl like her home to your family, that's all.” I’m so mad I’m actually starting to get hot.
“You wanna tell me what you mean by that?” I ask through clenched teeth. Cory folds his arms over his chest.
“Don’t play dumb, Adam. You know what I mean.”
“I truly don’t. Maya is smart and funny. She’s super talented – you should see the ceramic stuff she makes – and super fun to hang out with. And she’s got the biggest heart of anyone I know.” Cory puts his hand up to stop me from gushing further.
“But notbeautiful. Smart, kind, funny—sure. But you’re telling me you’d really want her on your arm for celebratorydrinks with your boss when you get that big promotion? You’d want to show her off in front of Bryan and his frat brothers? You’d really want to be seen at the beach with her?” Cory isn’t hiding his anger now. Before I can tear Cory a new one, we both turn towards a noise behind us.
Maya is standing in the doorway. Her eyes are wet, but her jaw is high in defiance. She turns to face only me.
“Your mom sent me in to see what was taking so long with the dessert. I’ll let her know you’re on your way out.” I see her lip quiver, but she doesn’t let herself cry. Then she turns and heads back to the dining room before I can stop her. From the corner of my eye, I can see Cory looking thoroughly chastised. Good. I'm gonna do worse to him later.
Maya is noticeably quiet for the rest of the dinner. Thankfully, Cory has also stopped with his rude remarks. Maya won’t let me hold her hand, though, and she’s barely made eye contact since the kitchen, neither of which are a good sign.
With dessert and coffee done, we give hugs all around. Damon promises to call regularly and Mom and Dad invite Maya back for our annual Halloween party. I knew they would love her. Probably because of the incident in the kitchen, Maya says she'll try to make it.Try. Taking deep breaths to keep from hyperventilating, I hold the front door for Maya. On the streetin front of Mom and Dad's place, she once again doesn’t let me hold her hand.
