Page 69 of Not Friends

I rested my head back against his chest. “Call them back. I don’t mind.”

“Okay.”

I listened while he said hello and got to the bottom of why they were calling. His parents were loud talkers, so it wasn’t hard to overhear. He’d left his Hydro Flask over there. It took me a minute to realize that was just a fancy name for a water bottle. Yep, quite the emergency.

“Are you dating anyone new?” his mom asked.

“Told you,” Denver mouthed to me.

I gestured for him to go ahead and tell her.

“I am, actually. Sadie Tyler. She’s here with me right now.” He gave me an embarrassed smile and took my hand.

“That’s great, kiddo. Way to get back out there.”

Denver cringed. “Thanks, Mom.”

I covered my mouth to keep from laughing.

“We were going to invite you over to help us paint pumpkins. We’re getting ready for the school carnival. But you have fun with Sadie.”

“No, come over,” his dad begged. “You wouldn’t believe how many pumpkins she bought this year. Can Sadie paint?”

“He’s teasing. We’re fine, Denver.”

“I’m not teasing. Lucky me. I’ll be painting pumpkins with your mother until the end of time.”

“That’s right, lucky you.”

“Alright. Lucky me.”

Denver hit the mute button while they continued to banter. “What do you think? Would you like to meet my parents before you go for your family dinner thing? We don’t have to stay long.”

“You want me to meet your parents?”

He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against my lips. “We don’t have to. It was just a thought.”

“Why not? Let’s go paint some pumpkins.”

He smiled and unmuted the call. Not that his parents would have noticed. They were still talking in this old-couple flirty way that was adorable, mostly because of how embarrassed it made Denver.

“Okay, we’ll come over for a bit.”

“You will? Oh, we’d love that.” His mom sounded so surprised and pleased, and it made me glad Denver had offered. “When should we expect you?”

“In about fifteen minutes.” Denver kissed me again, being careful to not make a sound. “Maybe thirty.”

Chapter 36 – Denver

I couldn’t decide if this was a bad idea or a really good one as we walked up to my parents’ perfectly decorated doorstep. Their bright-red door was decked out with a cheery Halloween wreath the size of a semi-truck tire. When it came to holidays, Mom didn’t hold back. She also didn’t wait. This wreath had been up for weeks, and the inside of the house was a festive Halloween spread straight out of Home and Garden. Go big and go early. That was her motto.

Sadie had been quiet on the drive here, which was not unusual. But I needed to know what she was thinking.

“When you’re ready to go, give me the signal.”

Sadie glanced at me. “Why don’t you give me a signal? I’m fine, but you look like you’re not.”

“No, I’m fine.” I was so not fine, but I couldn’t even put my finger on why. My parents were embarrassing, but not pushy. They wouldn’t ask Sadie any probing questions or make us feel obligated to stay long. “But um, you do need to be prepared for how lovey-dovey they can be.”

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