Page 122 of Rock Bottom Girl
“I demand a recount!” Jake grabbed Mom’s stack of cards and thumbed through them.
“Well?” she asked smugly.
“Shit.” Jake threw the cards onto the table and flopped over backward onto the carpet. We were all too old to be sitting on the floor, but the violence of the game made it too hard to play at the dining room table.
I unwound my legs and stretched out beside Jake, still laughing.
“Since I am the queen of Dutch Blitz, I suppose I can cut the coffee cake,” Mom said. “Come on, Ned.”
“I hate that stupid game,” Dad griped as he followed her into the kitchen.
“Well, I’ll just, ah…go do something that isn’t in this room,” Dietrich said, ambling out.
I grinned at Jake.
“I think I overdid it,” he said. “I probably shouldn’t have ‘in your faced’ your mom at our official meet the parents dinner.”
I laughed again and wiped at the corners of my eyes. “I had no idea you would get along so well with them.”
“They won’t hate me for this?”
“Are you kidding? You’re their people, Jake.” I rolled to my side and pressed a hard kiss to his cheek. “This was really great.”
“You’re really great,” he said, suddenly serious. He cupped my face in his hand and kissed me long and slow.
My lady parts sent up flares of interest. I opened my mouth for him. This was a real kiss. All of this felt too real. I was in over my head, but I didn’t feel interested in saving myself. I was content to drown.
“Cake’s cut!” my dad yodeled from the kitchen.
“Come home with me tonight,” Jake said roughly.
“Again?” We had work in the morning. I needed my coaching gear and lunch.
“Come on, Mars. Don’t send me home alone.”
“Aren’t we moving a little fast?”
“What other speed is there?”
52
Marley
Itried to run off my nerves about meeting Jake’s mother. Four slow miles later, I still had a bellyful of anxiety, but I could afford all the calories that a birthday dinner entailed. So I considered it a win.
I showered, changed my outfit four times, and did a reasonable job on my hair and makeup thanks to the tutorials my team posted on our message board.
“Meeting the parents is a big deal,” Natalee had explained sagely.
They explicitly told me not to half-ass my preparations. I felt obligated to post a picture of the finished product for their approval.
The picture was met with a series of thumbs-up emojis and several “You’re going to be late!” messages.
I swung by Jake’s house and picked up my two handsome dates for the evening. Jake was sexy as sin in jeans, a tight waffle-weave shirt, and a down vest. I wanted to strip him naked and lick every inch of his spectacular body. But we were running a little late. After a very thorough kiss, he and Homer—wearing a celebratory bow tie—joined me in my car, and we headed across town with Jake directing me to his uncles’ house.
We pulled up in front of a classy, two-story brick home with a portico and creative landscaping. I took my time checking my makeup and grabbing my purse.
“You don’t have to be nervous,” Jake said from the passenger seat where he was watching me with amusement.
