“Play nice,” I see him mouth to her when he thinks no one is looking. “Play nice,” she mouths back mockingly as he chuckles. She rolls her eyes while finishing off her champagne.
And to round off the gang, my parents, Bethzaida, and Anna are here.
Everyone in this suite besides the parents know about Mateo and me. So tonight will be the night I rip off the Band-Aid and let the mothers rejoice in the satisfaction of being right to push us toward one another.
Honestly, now that I think about it, it’s a small price to pay for the man I now get to call mine.
Speak of the devil.
He walks in, scanning the room until his eyes meet mine, and his smile threatens to weaken my knees.
Long gone are the days when I couldn’t read this man or was greeted with barely constrained scowls. Now, I’m the lucky woman who gets to witness those loving smiles, the ones that are only directed at me.
And the other women in his life that he loves.
Love.
Shit. I’m in deep and I know it.
I’m trying to pace myself, but it’s no use. I know my heart has long belonged to that man since before my head ever gave it permission to.
Now I just need to grow some lady balls and tell him how I feel.
Although it wouldn’t kill me if he said it first. Yeah, I know I’m probably setting feminism back fifty years with that kind of mentality. But if you only knew the things I let that man do to me in the bedroom, you’d already know that ship has long since sailed.
He moves into the room, greeting people as he gets closer to me, until I hear, “Shit, you’re Evan Fucking Cooper, right?”
“Says Mateo Fucking Martinez.” Evan laughs as they do that weird bro hand slapping and hug combo.
“Tony, nice to see you again, man.” Mateo repeats the same ritualistic handshake.
“You remember me? Uh, I mean, yeah, man. Nice to see you again too. Have a good game out there tonight.” He nods repeatedly, clearly still starstruck by Mateo.
Nikki winks at him from across the room and whisper-shouts loud enough for all to hear. “You’re doing amazing, sweetie!”
Tony silences her giggles with a stare I recognize all too well. Oh, she’s in for it tonight.
Mateo changes trajectories, opting to say hi to my parents before he comes over to me. Smart man.
The wink he throws my way as he hugs my mother lets me know he agrees.
They chat for a few minutes, my mother very loudly singing his praises for giving me a job and a place to stay.
Yep. Looks like it’s time to put an end to this dog and pony show.
I simply walk up to Mateo. His gaze tracks my every move, as if to gauge what my intentions are. Yet he doesn’t skip a beat when I lean into his body, wrapping my arms around his middle. He slips his hand to my hip and drops a quick kiss to my forehead.
We’re barely able to get the words out before my mother and Beth are in hysterics.
We honestly let them be, as Mateo shifts me slightly to shake my dad’s hand and whisper something in his ear. Something chivalrous, I’m sure. But my dad has always been a big softie, never one for intimidation tactics. So before I know it, I’m in a group hug started by my dad. We’re quickly joined by the moms and Anna, who won’t stop singing “I knew before you guys did!”
With the way our mothers are wiping away tears, you’d believe we’d just had our first kiss at the altar as husband and wife.
Although their thoughts aren’t far from it, as they shout and call each other suegras. Spanish translation: mother-in-law.
This is Mateo’s cue to get out of Dodge, yet the small shrug and smile he gives me make me nervous for a whole other reason. “Do you not hear these cackling women? They are essentially planning our wedding, and they’ve known for five seconds.”
He leans down, whispering in my ear. “Did you think being mine had an expiration date, tesoro? I might not be a fan of the term boyfriend, but husband? That one I can get behind. Especially if it means I get to call you my wife.”
