Just Sign Here~ MewGulf Imagine

Chapter 14

Fourteen

A man with my name on a board waited at baggage claim, and he seemed surprised by the lack of luggage, particularly since I was traveling with Julia. I only had my rollaboard carry-on, and Julia's booster seat was attached to it.

"Coming home, sir?" he asked.

His question threw me. Because suddenly, I had this image in my head of spending more time on the West Coast, and Gulf's family would be the reason. His contract at this point was sort of moot; I hoped he'd be with me as my assistant without an expiration date until he was ready to work as a teacher. But a year or forty years didn't matter. His mother and sister still lived out here, and he hadn't indicated he would be ready to move to Boston permanently.

"A second home, perhaps," I replied distractedly.

We'd have to come up with a solution, of course. I didn't want to take Gulf away from Washington if he loved it here, but maybe we could compromise. My cousin had a summer residence in Italy. We could have one here.

"I'm hungry," Julia complained.

"I know, darling. We'll get something to eat." I buckled her into her seat in the car and closed the door. As soon as the driver joined us, I said, "A quick stop at the nearest McDonald's drive-thru before we leave the city, please."

"Yes, sir."

We had to lay off the McDonald's. Soon.

Once we pulled away from the curb, I brought out my phone and called Gulf.

"Are you calling Gulf?" Julia demanded.

"Yes—"

"Hey!" Gulf picked up. "I was gonna text you again, but I didn't wanna come off like a needy fucking child."

I laughed, so relieved to hear his voice again. "I like it when you're needy, love."

"Hi, Gulf!" Julia shouted.

I winced at the volume.

"Oh, she's up late. Tell her I said hi. I miss her so much," Gulf sighed. "And you. Fuck. This is harder than I thought it would be."

"He says he misses you very much," I told Julia, covering the phone a bit.

She nodded, satisfied.

"Well, I officially throw in the towel," I announced. "You're in your hometown, I assume?"

"Yeah. There's some community picnic in the park tomorrow that we'll go to, I think. Mom's picking up some extra shifts at the hospital, so she's on call."

"Sounds nice. Should Julia and I bring anything?"

Gulf chuckled. "Huh?"

I smiled. "Give me your mother's address, baby. Julia and I just landed in Seattle."

There was a beat of silence before Gulf's quiet voice filtered through again. "Please say you're not joking, Mew."

"You're not joking, Mew," I said.

Julia gave me a strange look, and I mentally high-fived myself for the excellence in my delivery of a dad-joke.

"Holy shit," Gulf exclaimed unsteadily. "You're really on your way?"

My mirth faded when I heard the uncertainty in his tone. "We'll be there in two hours, love. I promise. I just need the address."

He swallowed audibly. "Okay. Okay. Shit, I can't believe you. Oh my God, I'm gonna see you both tonight. I'll text you the address—fuck, I gotta tell Mom. She'll go ballistic if I don't give her a heads-up. Address, right—texting you right now." Without another word, he hung up.

I grinned to myself.

It was too dark to get much of an impression of Gulf's hometown, but from what little I saw, it definitely had potential. We drove through patches of forest and a cobblestone neighborhood called Cedar Valley. Signs for places such as Silver Beach, Olympic Falls, and Downtown Marina with the ferry to the Chinook Islands made it abundantly clear that we were a long way from Boston.

This seemed like a place where I could go fishing again.

We arrived in what I assumed was a working-class neighborhood, although back home, these three- and four-story buildings would fit right in. Gulf had once told me he'd grown up in the "bad part of town," but I supposed it depended on what you compared it with.

After passing an empty square, the driver made a couple turns before he announced we were here.

I peered out of my window just as the hall inside the building lit up. A second later, Gulf appeared in the window and opened the door. He smiled widely and jogged down the steps.

"Theu's Gulf!" Julia exclaimed. She was out of her booster seat in a flash, and then she was climbing over my lap to get out first.

I grinned and let her out before I followed.

"Hi!" She ran straight into him, and he picked her up and hugged her tightly.

"Holy fuck, have I missed you, sweetheart."

I joined the two on the curb and gave Gulf a hard kiss. "It turns out we're nothing but a couple miserable McDonald's regulars without you."

He exhaled a laugh and fidgeted with my tie. "So, don't let me leave again. I don't know what I was thinking."

"We'll learn from our lesson." I gave him one more kiss before I dealt with the driver. Gulf and Julia could catch up for a while; soon, he'd be mine.

"Have a good Fourth of July, sir," the driver said and shook my hand.

"Likewise." I tipped him, then strapped the booster seat to my rollaboard.

Julia was going a mile a minute about how fast Daddy had run in New York so we wouldn't miss the flight, and Gulf was soaking it all up with a big smile.

"Darling, we have all night to talk about how fast Daddy can run," I reminded her. "Tell Gulf why we were running in the first place."

She furrowed her brow and hooked an arm around Gulf's neck. "We were in a hurry."

I chuckled and bent down to open the outside pocket of my carry-on. "Partly because we couldn't decide on the gifts for Gulf's mother and sister."

"Oh Christ, honey, you didn't have to get them anything," Gulf said in a rush.

"Nonsense. It's the first time we meet your family. It's customary to bring something." I handed the two folded-up bags to Julia, who'd already declared that she wanted to give the gifts to them. "You'll have to forgive my lack of creativity. We were in a rush, and, well, I don't know your family yet."

Julia scratched her nose and flung the two bags over her shoulder. "I wanted to pick a Minion lunchbox, but Daddy say no. It had chocolate in it!"

"And that right there was why I asked the saleslady for assistance," I finished.

Gulf laughed softly and pressed a kiss to Julia's cheek. "You're amazing—both of you. And my mom is probably pacing in the hallway right now, so let's get this show on the road."

"Want me to carry Jul—"

"Hell no. You had your turn." Gulf turned on his heel and walked up the steps.

"I can walk," Julia said casually.

"Not now." Gulf kissed the side of her head and opened the door.

I followed them, happy and amused, and we crammed ourselves into a tiny elevator to take us to the third floor.

Gulf watched me with so much affection in his eyes that it was almost impossible not to steal him away. I needed a proper reunion. It didn't have to be anything remotely dirty, but I craved the intimacy. The long hugs, the unhurried kisses, just having him in my arms.

"You'll have to let me know if I should make reservations for the night somewhere," I mentioned.

Gulf shook his head. "Mom's gonna insist you stay. I have a room here, and we have an airbed in the closet for when Anna has friends over."

Then there would be no problems whatsoever.

As the elevator stopped, I had to admit I became nervous. I hadn't met a partner's parents in...oh, fifteen years? I hadn't dated in the traditional sense in ages.