TRUE LOVE 2 [Chapter 9: The Past & Present]

I woke up in a warm bed, however the surroundings much different. I noticed the bedroom was very masculine, with signed sports memorabilia, photos of the High School football team and trophies. Nick had his arm wrapped around me as we cuddled in his bed. I woke him up by shifting, he kissed my shoulder and greeted me.

“Morning babe.” He smiled, stretching his arms

“Morning.” I smirked

I stood up, forgetting I slept naked, and I quickly grabbed my underwear and slipped them on.

“Don’t get dressed…I love your perfect ass.” He laughed

I gave him a smile, crawled on the bed and leaned down to kiss his lips.

“What a tease.” He said as I jumped back out of bed

“Let’s brush our teeth first and then I’ll give you a real kiss.” I said

I opened the door to find a young man, only a few years older than me standing there appearing as if he were about to knock. He looked at me up and down, noticing I was only in my underwear.

“Fuck…um…hello.” I said nervously

“Yo.” He said calmly and looked over at Nick, “Want coffee?”

“No thanks.” Nick said

“You?” he pointed at me

“Oh um…no thanks.” I said

He looked oddly familiar.

“Thanks, Brad.” Nick yelled out to him as he walked back towards the kitchen

Holy shit. I just remembered who he was. He was the server from the restaurant I had gone to with my parents, not once, but twice. The most recent when I had to relive my embarrassing moment.

“Your brother works at Guy’s Diner?” I whispered loudly

“He did. Just for a couple years. He works at a garage now.”

“I wonder if he recognized me.” I said in a low voice

“He remembers you.” Nick chuckled

“Wait…you know how he knows me?” I asked mortified

“Oh yeah.” He laughed

“Shut up.” I smiled

He got up out of bed as his morning wood greeted me. His naked body was perfection. There was an attraction towards his body hair, maybe because I never experienced being with someone like that before. But what I loved about his body hair was that he maintained it. He trimmed it, giving him that light peach fuzz look on his chest and legs. Fortunately his ass and back were hairless and he really manscaped his pubic area. He smacked my ass as he walked by me towards the hallway.

“Let’s take a shower baby.” He said walking into the bathroom

I followed him and closed the door behind us. I was hesitant because I didn’t want to have sex in his brother’s house and be obnoxiously loud. We brushed our teeth, luckily for me, Brad had spare new toothbrushes. We only made out after taking care of our dental hygiene, of course with some light fondling and oral suckage.

I felt an instant connection with Nick, and not because we had spontaneous sex on the beach, but because of what he said afterwards. He dreamed of making me happy. It showed me what his true intentions were. Could this be the start of something wonderful?

            Another two weeks had passed, I had now been broke up with Cameron for a month and rebounded with Nick two weeks after that. That sounds horrible, but was it true? I didn’t want Nick to be a rebound. He really liked me and I really liked him. But maybe this was too soon, too fast? Maybe that was my problem, that I overthink things…or maybe that I don’t give myself enough time to be alone, or get to know someone? Stop it Joey. Just enjoy life. After a couple of dates, Nick asked me at the beach to be exclusive with him. I told him yes, as long as we take things slow still. I mean, why not? He did make me happy. The sex was amazing, he made me smile and I knew he wouldn’t mistreat me.

            A few days after we made it official, I got a call from my mother.

“Hi, hun.”

“Hi mom.”

“I wanted to invite you and Cameron over for dinner this Saturday.”

Shit. My mom doesn’t know about Cameron and I. How do I say this?

“Mom…thanks, but maybe another time…things are a little strange right now.” I stumbled over my words

“Why? What’s going on?” she asked concerned

“Wait…is Dad going to be there?” I asked trying to change the subject

“Yes. Don’t worry, he’s going to be good.” She tried to comfort me

“I’m not sure if now is a good time…”

“Joey…talk to me.” She said firmly

I hesitated, but then I filled her in, “Cameron and I broke up.”

“Oh, sweetie…I’m sorry.” She said in a painful voice

“It’s fine mom…I’m fine.” I expressed

“Well, you have to come for sure then…spend time with your parents. I’ll make you some cookies.” She said

My mother was so cute. She always tried to make me feel better with baked goods.

“Mom…” I began

“Yes?”

“I met someone else.” I said flatly

“Oh you did? Well, that’s good!” she said excitingly

“Is it?” I asked

“Yes! Does he make you happy?” she asked

“He does.” I admitted

“Then bring him along…I want to meet this man that makes my son happy.”

            I told Nick about the dinner and he was excited to meet my parents. I on the other hand was nervous as shit. The day had arrived and Nick drove us to my parents’ house. It had been a while since I was over for a visit. We drove down the long gravel path, through the tall pine trees and pulled up to the two story home with the wrap-around porch. We got out of Nick’s black escalade, which he admitted to only being able to afford it with the money he had made from working two jobs in Seattle and now saving much more money by living with his brother for free for the time being. He reached out for my hand and I nervously grabbed his as we walked up to the front door. Before we reached the center of the porch, my mother burst out of the door.

“Joey!” she squealed with her arms wide open and kissing me on the cheek

“Hi mom.” I smiled and hugged her tightly

I noticed my dad standing behind the screen door with a blank face. He slowly opened the door and walked out.

“Hi Dad.” I said releasing my mom

He held out his hand, waiting for me to shake it, “Joey.”

I reluctantly shook his hand.

“Mom, Dad, this is Nick…Nick Johnston.” I introduced him

“Where’s what’s his face?” my dad asked bewildered

“Joseph…I told you already, they broke up.” My mother whispered loudly

This was embarrassing. I looked at Nick who just smiled at me.

“Dad…Nick is my boyfriend. Cameron and I broke up about five weeks ago.” I said plainly

“How long you two been together?” he drilled

“…Three weeks.” I said giving him the stare of daggers

“A two week break…that’s my boy.” He said turning around huffing back into the house

“I can’t do this.” I said frustrated

“Stop it! Joseph…get back out here.” My mother snapped at my dad

He shuffled back outside standing in the doorway of the house.

“We hardly get to spend time together. I made us a nice dinner…we have a handsome new addition to the family and we are all going to behave ourselves.” She said calmly

Nobody responded except Nick.

“So…what’s for dinner?” he asked

            We all sat around the dinner table and at first, quietly ate our dinner. My mother made an oven roasted chicken with all the trimmings including mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, biscuits, steamed vegetables and salad.

“This is delicious Mrs. Ramirez.” Nick said with a smile

“Thank you Nick and please just call me Marie.” She smiled back with a wink

“Reminds me of Thanksgiving.” Said Nick

“We’re eating chicken, not turkey.” My dad said under his breath

“Dad!” I said firmly

“Oh…I know. I just meant…that the presentation and the sides just remind me of Thanksgiving.” Nick clarified

“You eat chicken for Thanksgiving?” my dad asked sarcastically

“Joseph!” my mother snapped

“Please excuse my dad…he gets cranky around dinner time…or any time of the day.” I said

“So your name is Nick?” my dad began again

“Yes, sir…Nick Johnston.”

“Nick Johnston…weren’t you the kid that beat up my son and his ex at school?” my dad said biting into a biscuit

I was mortified. My mother had her mouth full and wasn’t able to stop my father from talking.

“Oh…um…” Nick began

“Dad! Please stop.” I said calmly

“Jesus Joey…don’t you date ugly guys?” my dad said again with sarcasm

“Oh…well thank you, sir.” Nick smiled

“That wasn’t a compliment.” My dad snarled staring directly at me

“Let’s go.” I said standing up and dropping my napkin on the table

“No…wait…please don’t go.” My mom said trying to stop us

“No, mom. Obviously this man still hasn’t grown up! Just because he’s fucking miserable with himself, doesn’t give him the right to make everyone around him miserable. You deserve better.” I told my mother

“Get out of my house!” my dad snapped, “you too, dick, rick, or whatever the fuck your name is.”

“Fuck you.” I snapped at him

I kissed my mother on the cheek and Nick and I walked out of the house. I wanted to cry, but I was so heated. Nick grabbed me before I could get in the car. He spun me around and hugged me tightly.

“I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve to experience that.” I said in a shaky voice

“Stop…It’s not your fault.” He said rubbing my back

I felt his lips press against my forehead. I tilted my head back to look up at him. I felt a rogue tear dropping from my eyes and about to roll down my cheek. He gently lifted his hand and wiped it away with this finger. He then leaned in to kiss me.

Nick was a good man…and an even better boyfriend. It was that moment as we stood there…as he wiped the tear from my face…that I knew I was falling for him.

            

© 2015/2016 Copyright J.M. Casas Jr. of Royalty Novels / The True Love Saga. All Rights Reserved.

All characters and likeness are pure fiction. Any resemblance is pure coincidence. Models and Actors used in marketing material for the True Love Saga were used as inspiration and to provide readers with an image of what the characters may look like.