“Almost there, babe?” he mumbled as he worked, knowing better than to remove his tongue.
“So close.”
I shattered a minute later. He retreated from his spot between my legs and stood with a stretch.
“Almost had a tongue cramp, too. I better up my magnesium.”
My bones were liquid and my brain too mellow to care what he was saying.
“Hey, what do you think about going out of town this weekend? I’m going home for a few days.”
That caught my attention. In the two-and-a-half years we’d been together, I’d never met his parents in person. Sure, I’d said hi in the background when his mom called. Or managed to wave if they did a video call. But I hadn’t been introduced, officially, in person.
“For real?” I asked, sitting up and looking at him.
“Yeah. It’s about time, don’t you think?” He grinned at me, his boyish smile melting my heart even as it raced.
“Yes. It is about time, and yes, I’d love to meet your parents.”
We’d been living together since last May. Now, two weeks before our final year, I was finally going home with him. Excitement and anticipation filled me because I knew what meeting his parents meant. And I couldn’t wait.
A few days later, I not only met his parents but also his aunts, uncles, cousins, and brother at a backyard cookout in Missouri.
I lost count of how many people hugged me and said, “Welcome to the family.” My mind was already racing with when and how Adam would propose. He liked attention, so I fully expected it to happen at any moment as the evening wore on. But then, the first person left. And after that, the number of people slowly dwindled. Maybe Adam meant the moment to be private. The idea warmed me as I helped his mom with the clean-up.
When it was just his parents and us, he kissed my forehead, took my hand, and led me to the room we’d share. My heart was racing.
“They loved you. Uncle Jack even gave us an open invitation to come down and see his farm. I know that probably doesn’t seem like a big deal, but trust me, it is.”
“Everything about today was a big deal for me. Thank you for this.”
“Just wait until tomorrow.”
It took forever for me to fall asleep, but all those nerves were for nothing when the next day turned out to be a day hunting with his dad. I managed to keep my disappointment to myself through the remainder of the evening and the following morning when we packed up.
“You’ve been pretty quiet,” Adam commented, thirty minutes into the drive back to the university. “Did something happen?”
“No. Nothing happened. But I thought something was going to.”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought you had another reason for taking me home this weekend.”
“Something other than meeting my family, the thing you’ve been after me to do over a year now?” He glanced at me, his expression going from confused to “lightbulb.”
“Oh. Oh, man, June. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were going to think that. I mean, we’re still in school, you know? And we don’t know where I’m going to end up and where your job is going to take you—”
“Whoa. Are you saying you don’t think we’re in a long-term relationship?”
“Of course not. We are. We both know that. I’m just saying I didn’t think marriage was going to be something we’d think about for another five to ten years.”
I stared at him for a long moment.
“Ten years? I’m going to be thirty-two in ten years, Adam. I thought we’d want to be married a few years before bringing kids into the equation.”
“Kids?” He glanced at me again. “What if I sign with another team? Are you going to want to uproot a family like that?”
He knew me well enough to know living apart wouldn’t be an option for me.