I walked out of the garage and into the kitchen, leaving them to their man time. Popping the tab on a can of Coke, I leaned my hip against the counter and took a gulp from the sugary soda.
To say I was shocked by the open-armed, constant-back-patting greeting my father had been giving Kline, would be the understatement of the century. My dad was never this nice to any guy I brought home. Growing up, it had been a common occurrence for Dick to clean his guns in the living room if he knew a boy was picking me up.
Sheesh. No wonder I’d fallen so fast for Kline’s charms. He practically had my dad, the boyfriend ballbuster, eating out of the palm of his hand.
I walked past my mother’s office, finding her typing away on her laptop. She paused, sliding her glasses to the brim of her nose. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing much. Dad and Kline are in the garage talking car shit.” I shrugged, leaning against the doorframe.
“Seems like they’re hitting it off.”
“Pretty sure Dad’s going to propose to my boyfriend before we head home.”
“I hope he lets me plan his bachelor party,” she joked.
See what I mean?
She smiled a wistful smile. “It’s always been a dream of mine to jump out of a cake and do a sexy striptease for your father. The closest we ever got to that was when I—”
I held my hand up. “For the love of God, I do not want to hear about you and Dick doing the nasty.”
“Georgia, sex is a normal human urge. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how many kids you have, you’ll still want to do it.”
“Are you finished psychoanalyzing my views on human sexuality, Dr. Cummings?” I asked, raising a skeptical brow.
Her smile turned curious and I braced myself for the next question that would come out of her mouth.
“Speaking of sex, how are things with you and Kline?”
“I’m not talking about my sex life with you.”
She pouted. “Oh, come on, sweetie.”
“Nope.” I raised both hands. “Not happening.”
My mother cupped her mouth, whispering, “Last night, it sounded like things were going really good.”
I groaned. “I get that you’re a sex therapist and you’re extremely open when it comes to talking about sex, but it’s a little creepy you were eavesdropping.”
“Actually, I wasn’t eavesdropping. You were just that loud.”
I gaped.
“I can’t tell you how happy this makes me.”
“You realize this isn’t a normal mother-daughter conversation, right?”
“It’s not the normal conversation society thinks we should be having, but I know it’s the conversation we should be having. Just know, I’m beyond thrilled you’ve found someone who makes you happy in every facet of your life. Not just in bed, which I have to say, from the sounds of it, Kline knows what he’s doing.” She winked. “But it’s obvious he makes you really happy. And anyone who can make my daughter walk around with a constant glow and a gorgeous smile is someone I hope she keeps around.” She paused as I smiled, and she considered me closely. “He seems like a really good man, Georgia. And he’s extremely lucky he found you.”
Although my mom was her own type of crazy, she was still my mom and I loved her. I’d always want her acceptance. And I’d definitely want her to like the man in my life.
I walked toward her, leaning down and wrapping her in a tight hug.
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, sweetie. I’ve missed having you home. I hope you’ll start visiting more often.”
“Consider it a done deal.” I squeezed her tighter. “As long as you promise not to eavesdrop.”
“Deal,” she agreed, laughing.
As I walked out of her office, she added, “But seriously, sweetie. I was a little jealous. That orgasm must have lasted a good two minutes.”
“Three minutes,” I called over my shoulder. “It was three minutes and it might have been more, but I’m pretty sure I lost consciousness.”
I heard her laugh the entire way to my bedroom.
The second I stepped into my room, I threw my body onto the bed, my back hitting the mattress, causing pillows to fall onto the floor. My eyes took in the many nuances of my childhood stronghold. My parents hadn’t changed a thing since I’d left for college. Everything was as I had left it. Old pictures of prom and homecoming littered my desk. My graduation cap hung next to the door. And the pink and yellow flowered wallpaper still lined the walls.
It was hideous by all accounts, but it was still my room. The bedroom I had grown up in. The place I’d had sleepovers and gossiped with friends about our latest crushes. The place I’d had my first kiss with Stevie Jones, even though we were supposed to have been studying for our algebra exam.