“Mom!” I shriek in horror.
“Joking, Everly. I’m joking.” She shakes her head and pulls vegetables from the fridge, placing them on the cutting board. “I’ve never seen you so wound up before.” She grins at me, her eyes sparkling. “He must be different.”
I move my head in a slight nod. “He’s something,” I agree, as the door rings. It’s too early to be Sawyer, but the relatives have started to arrive. My brother Eric will be here with his wife, Erin. My grandparents, an aunt and uncle and two cousins will be here too. I hear my dad opening the door to let whoever’s arrived first in. At least Eric won’t make a scene about me dating Sawyer in front of the relatives. I hope.
My teenage cousin Vivian bounds into the kitchen a moment later squealing and hugging me. She’s graduating from my old high school Ridgefield High this spring. She takes over the cookies and updates me on all the schools she’s applied to and where she’s hoping to go to college next fall. I listen and take over the salad prep from my mom, feeling like it was a lifetime ago when I was in her shoes. Except of course, I only sent in the one application, so dead set that I would be accepted to Penn and everything would work out like I’d planned. I was right about getting into Penn, but wrong about everything else.
“What are your plans after graduation?” Vivians’s finished her updates and looks to me expectantly, swiping a cookie and stuffing it in her mouth.
“Um, I don’t exactly know yet,” I admit. “But I’ve got time to figure it out.” I smile and wave it off like it’s no big deal. As if it doesn’t cause me a moment of worry.
Vivian nods, a frown across her forehead. “Sure you’ve got time.” She nods encouragingly. “I don’t think I’ve ever known you not to have a plan though,” she says, laughing as the front door opens, Eric and Erin arriving.
Eric arrives in the kitchen a moment later and points a finger at me with a simple, “You.”
“Leave her alone.” Erin’s on his heels and slips an arm around his waist, fitting her head onto his shoulder and patting his chest with her free hand while he continues to scowl in my direction.
The door rings as we have a stare-off and my dad opens the door and says, “Nice to meet you.” There’s only one person coming tonight my dad’s never met.
“Even better,” Eric announces with a smirk and whirls back to the front door.
My eyes widen and I drop what I’m working on in the kitchen and wipe my hands on a towel as I take off behind him. He’s going to cause a scene. This is mortifying, and I don’t do mortifying. It was one thing when Eric messed with my high-school boyfriends, but this is something else altogether.
Erin and Vivian slam into me as I get to the hallway and stop. “Damn it,” I whisper. Sawyer and Eric are already outside. Talking.
“What’s going on?” Vivian whispers in response.
“Your cousin’s lecturing Everly’s new boyfriend on his intentions,” Erin fills in as we all file into the living room so we can spy on them through the front window.
“Why?” Vivian asks.
Erin shakes her head in disbelief. “Eric’s worried about Sawyer’s playboy past. Like Eric didn’t get around plenty before he met me.”
“Eww, Erin!”
“Oh, sorry.” She blushes.
Outside they’re doing the bro back clap so we beat a hasty retreat back to the kitchen.
Vivian snorts. “Your brother is so overprotective. Like worse than your dad.”
“We put it in his allowance,” my mom announces and we all turn to stare at her, watching as she slides the lasagna into the oven next to a roast that’s already baking. “He got a bonus for cockblocking you.”
“Mom!” I’m not sure what’s more horrifying, what she just said, or hearing the word ‘cockblocking’ come out of her mouth.
“Joking!” She flashes a grin at us.
I groan. When the hell did my mom become a comedian?
Eric and Sawyer walk into the kitchen a moment later, all smiles. Sawyer kisses my mother’s cheek and hands her a bottle of wine, thanking her for inviting him. She actually blushes under his attention.
“That’s your new boyfriend?” Vivian whispers to me, eyes wide.
“Yup.”
“Damn, girl.” She’s openly eyeing him head to toe and I elbow her in the ribs.
Sawyer turns his megawatt smile on us next and I introduce him to Erin and Vivian before dragging him off to a quiet corner.
“What did you say to my brother? He looked like he was going to kill you, then poof, you’re having metaphorical cigars together.” I cross my arms and stare up at him, conscious that we’re not really alone.