“Why are you sorry? I’m the one who fucked up.”
She sits up again, hugging the sleeping bag to her chest. “You think you fucked up? Like, that this was a mistake?” Her worried gaze meets mine, and I see what she’s asking.
“No,” I say, quickly, reaching out and cupping her cheek. “No, that’s not what I meant. This was not a mistake. Maybe it was a mistake doing it in my parents’ living room, where they could walk in at any point, but kissing you, pushing past that fine line, that’s not a mistake.” She nods. “I promise, Larkin,” I continue, “I’m happy last night happened.”
She smiles softly. “Me too. Really happy.”
“Good.” We stare at each other, and then together we let out a quiet laugh. “Fuck, I’m sorry about my parents.”
She pinches my side, with humor. “Why? They’re precious, utterly concerned with their son being a pervert. I find it charming.”
“You find that charming?” I ask. “I think you need to get your priorities checked.”
“Possibly.” Her grin does all kinds of fluttery things to me.
“So, should we get dressed and go discuss with my parents?”
“Or”—she cringes—“I can go take a shower and you can do all the dirty work.”
I laugh. “No fucking way am I going in there by myself. You made the first move, so you have to go in there with me.”
“What? I did not make the first move.”
“Uh, you kissed me first.”
“Because you said I made you smile,” she counters.
“That’s just a compliment.”
She shakes her head. “No way. Now get me my clothes so I can ask your parents who made the first move.”
“You are not asking them that.”
I finish putting on my pants and then snag her clothes. I watch as she drops the sleeping bag, revealing her perfect breasts before putting on my borrowed sweatshirt. She glances up at me with a sly smile. “None of that gawking.”
I press my hand to my lower back. “Can’t help it, barely got my fill last night.”
She rolls her eyes, puts her pants on, and then climbs out of the tent. I take her hand and kiss her knuckles. “There’s still a scenario where you can avoid this—pretend it never happened, and I’ll convince my parents they’re going senile and that they came up with the entire thing.”
She chuckles. “But that would mean giving you up, right?”
“Unfortunately, that would be the trade-in.”
She stands on her toes and presses a soft kiss to my jaw. “Then if that’s the case, let’s get this over with.”
My parents are sitting at the dining room table, two glasses of champagne and a cheese danish resting between them. Mom is in a jovial mood, Dad is happily coloring in his coloring book, and, to my surprise, there is something already baking in the oven. That was fast.
“We popped a quiche in; should be ready in about twenty minutes. Until then, have a danish,” Mom says, gesturing toward the counter.
“I’m really okay,” Larkin says while she plays nervously with the hem of her shirt.
“Take a seat,” I say to her softly. “I’ll grab some coffee for you and a danish, just in case you change your mind.”
Her eyes have a hint of surprise in them before they turn to gratitude. Yeah, it’s a different dynamic in this very moment. Not that I’m an asshole boss who demands she get me my coffee every day, but she is always the one taking the initiative to make sure I’m well fed and caffeinated. Now . . . it’s different. Just like that, and I like it. From the look in her eyes, she does too.
Once I grab everything, I take a seat next to Larkin at the table and set the danish plate and cups of coffee down, only for Dad to jump in with the questions. The invasive questions. “So, let me get this straight,” Dad says. “You both decided to just . . . have sex last night. Out of the blue? In our living room? In a tent?”
It’s hard not to feel like a teenager in this moment, getting apparently grilled by my dad.
“I don’t think it was out of the blue,” I say. “It wasn’t like we were bored and I turned to Larkin and asked her to have sex.”
“So then how did it happen?” Dad asks.
“You really want the details?”
“Not those kinds of details,” Dad says flippantly. “But, you know, how did this all come about?” He waves his hand in the air and then goes back to coloring.