I stared at my phone like a silly teenager. I could feel Sarah’s eyes on me. “Rodney is on his way. Did you send the order?”
“Yup, I just got confirmation. It will be here in twenty-five minutes. The delivery to the penthouse across the street will be in twenty minutes.” I thought she was going to swallow her tongue. Her face turned red, and I thought she was holding her breath.
“I was thinking a Starbucks is a given in the new building?” She blinked hard. Her eyes watered. Torturing her was fun.
“The order was accurate, right?”
“Yes. So, Starbucks?” I was sure she was about to pass out.
I turned my back to my desk, trying to focus on the vendor applications. “I like him a lot.”
She squealed, then started to giggle uncontrollably. I thought I broke her. She was unable to form words for nearly a minute. “Oh, Aaron! I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to see your smile again. I am hoping the absolute best for you.”
Rodney walked in the door, holding up his arms. “Come here, you beautiful ladies.” Rose and Daisy flew over to him like he was a tree. They rubbed against his head and shoulders while he petted them both.
“Like I said, we missed seeing you happy. Your smile is very nice, Aaron.” She continued her thought from before Rodney came in.
“Mother!” We both turned our heads at his tone.
“I swear, Rodney, he brought it up first. I didn’t ask. I didn't even make a joke.” She looked at me to confirm for her.
“She didn’t. Honestly, it was creepy.” I realized that Rodney must have given her a little talk about making a big deal about me dating someone.
“We are incredibly happy for you, Uncle Aaron. We will let your personal life remain private until you want to share it. Right, mom?” He looked at her again.
“Yes. We will mind our own business.” She didn’t look happy about it but thought Rodney was right. I appreciated their caring so much.
“Guys, we are family, and I don’t mind you asking questions or teasing me. It sometimes helps with the insecurities I am feeling about this whole thing. We haven’t even gotten naked together yet!” Both opened their eyes wide.
“Well, that’s surprising,” Sarah said. “How come?”
“I think it’s because I like him so much. I want to know everything about him, and he is so hot that I think sex would distract me from that.” I raised my eyebrows, looking for validation.
“Wow. You must like him if you haven’t had sex.” Sarah and Rodney shared a look.
The door opened, and a delivery driver we knew walked in. “Hey, Patrick.”.
I was relieved by the interruption. Just talking about River made my heart beat harder. I wasn’t ready to unpack that just yet.
“I already dropped part of the order off across the street," Patrick said. “Here is everything else." He puts the bag on the desk. I handed out the other food to Rodney and Sarah. “Come on, Daisy, let's talk to River and Charlie.” Daisy left Rodney and settled on me. “I’ll be in the back room for lunch.” As I walked out of the room, I didn’t miss the smiles between mother and son.
River answered the call quickly, with Charlie sitting on the table and looking at the burger. “Hi, you,” I said as soon as I saw him.
“Hi you.” He looked down and smiled at his food.
“I want you to know I am a forty-two-year-old man, and you have me tangled up like a teen going through puberty. I feel almost silly, but I can’t help myself.” River propped his phone up on something. I could see he had moved everything to his potterytableware.
“You are older than me, so you should know more about life.” I gave him my best glare. “I must admit, though, I feel the same way. The food you ordered looks delicious, by the way.
I stared at him while he cut into his burger. We ordered from one of my favorite places, and I wanted him to like it. It’s not like something homemade, but you couldn’t go wrong with Dave’s food truck for takeout. He took a bite of the burger and made a filthy noise. Oh, I couldn’t wait to make him sound like that. “What do you think?” he continued to eat. With each bite, he closed his eyes to savor it.
“This is fantastic. Cooked perfectly, flavored perfectly with the onions and the cheeses. Whoever makes this is magic.” I took a bite of mine and agreed on how good it was. Daisy made a chirping noise. I tore a small piece of meat off and put it in front of her.
Suddenly, Charlie’s head filled the screen, and he started chirping. I laughed. I guessed he heard her asking for food. I put a fry down with her hamburger. “Try the fry sauce.”
“Charlie, you need to move so I can see my boy…friend.” That was a noticeable slip of the tongue. He already considered me his man. I didn’t hate the idea, that was for sure. Those butterflies in my stomach liked it very much.
He gave Charlie a little bit of his burger. “Remember not to overfeed him. They will expel it if they feel too full.”
