Chapter 5
Dare
When my phone chirped, I’d expected it to be Scott or Ryan, so I had to laugh when I saw it was my mother. For the past week, almost every message or call had been from the guys, and I hadn’t realized how used to it I’d been getting until that moment.
Heading back through the apartment, I swiped my finger across the screen and answered it, still smiling. “Hey, Mom.”
She chuckled. “Why is that so funny?”
Oversharing was an ingrained habit; I didn’t even think twice about answering her honestly as I walked into my bedroom. “I’m turning into Pavlov’s dog. When the phone went off, I automatically thought you would be Scott or Ryan.”
The smile in her voice was obvious. “How are they doing? Any advancement on the communication front?”
I sighed, not caring if I sounded overly dramatic. “No, and I don’t want to back either of them into a corner, but it’s ridiculous. They’re each missing huge red flags the other is waving, and so far, the only thing they’ve discussed is the idea of us dating.”
She clucked her tongue at me like I was a kid again. “You have to letthemtalk it out, Darren. Anything else would be like outing them.”
I rolled my eyes, thankful she couldn’t see me. “I know. It’s just frustrating because I know once they get past it they’ll both be happier. Right now, they think their own desires are so obvious the other has to be just ignoring them because they’re not ready to talk about it.”
“Just because you’re right doesn’t make it the right thing to do. People need to make those kinds of decisions on their own.” She knew me too well.
If we were going to eventually have sex, they’d have to move past their inability to talk about it. “At some point, it will become obvious.”
“Darren, if they’re important then you shouldn’t be rushing them into bed. If you take your time they’ll feel more special.” I was pretty positive most people didn’t have conversations like this with their mother, but she’d always been that way, so we’d all gotten used to it.
I laughed and started digging through my closet. I had about half an hour before I had to be out the door, and I needed to get ready. “Just because you and Dad had the longest courtship in history doesn’t mean I’ve got that much patience.”
“Learning to communicate and taking our time made everything sweeter.” HerI was so innocentact was so believable it was scary.
Some people would have thought she meant learning to talk things out or something like that, but my parents had a unique start to their relationship. “I’m not learning a foreign language to talk to them. They just need to share more with each other.”
I could almost hear her shaking her head. “I think everyone should have to learn a new language when they fall in love. It made your father and me a much stronger couple.”
I ended up coughing to cover my laughter as I tossed a pair of pants on the bed. “I’m not agreeing to that. I’m glad you learned to sign for Dad, but I’m not going to take a year for our first date.” Just because she’d had a hard time getting him to realize that she was into him didn’t mean I was taking the same path.
Please, God,do notlet my guys be as clueless as my father.
My mother was priceless. “I didn’t say you needed to wait a year, just until they’ve talked things out. Otherwise, your first time with them is going to be very awkward. You don’t want that to be their memories thirty years from now, do you?”
I couldn’t contain my laughter. “We haven’t even gone on a date yet. Don’t you think you’re jumping the gun?”
“Of course not. You’re a planner, and I knew as soon as you talked about them it was serious.”
“There’s a difference between planning my day and planning out theweddingbefore we go on a real date.” A big difference.
She sighed and her voice dropped quieter as if she was hoping she didn’t hurt my feelings. “I’m not trying to get you down, sweetie, but I think it will have to be a commitment ceremony. If you think I’m waiting to celebrate until the three of you can getlegallymarried, you’re crazy.”
How was I supposed to respond to that? “You know I love you, right?”
She snorted. “And you know I’m not falling for that, right? It didn’t work when you were a teenager, and it’s not working now to distract me. But yes, I know you love me. And I love you so much I haven’t even mentioned your new boyfriends to your siblings yet.”
That right there was the only reason the phone hadn’t gone crazy this week. “And I appreciate that.”
With seven siblings, when the gossip tree got going, my phone went crazy. Nosy busybodies.
“Okay, I’m at the store now, but don’t forget to message your father later.”
“Date night, remember?” Grinning, I grabbed the shirt I knew they’d love. My big teddy bears didn’t have a problem with me being smaller than they were, so I wasn’t going to hide it. The fitted button-down wasn’t too casual, but it was soft, and I knew they’d be imagining running their hands over it all night long—and probably imagining asking for permission too—my sexy subs.
