Drawn to You | ✔️

18

My stomach twists. This is it. Landon meeting my parents, like it's some huge thing. Well, it is. He's my first boyfriend. If my parents won't approve of him, they probably won't let me see him anymore, and I definitely don't want that.

I reach the door and slowly turn the door handle. When I open the door, my eyes first spot a huge bouquet of flowers. Landon's face appears next to it and smiles.

"Hey there," he says.

"Hi. You brought flowers?" I ask and gesture to him to come inside. He walks in and I close the door.

"Yeah." He scratches his free hand on the back of his neck. He looks nervous. "I thought I'd make a good first impression of myself if I did so." He's really taking this dinner seriously. He's wearing dark khaki pants and a white button-down shirt. His hair is styled in a sexy way that makes me want to run my hands all over it. Gosh, Shelby. Stay cool.

"Well, technically this is the second time you'll see my father since he saw us together the other day," I say teasing. His smile fades away; like I just made the whole situation ten times worse. I squeeze my hand on his arm. "Hey. Sorry, I was just joking. You'll be just fine," I say.

His smile is insecure like he doesn't really trust my instincts.

"You look really beautiful, Shelby," he says. I want to lean in and kiss those pretty lips but I hear my parents appear.

"So Shelby. Is this the lucky Landon?" My dad asks. My mom stands beside him, smiling at both of us.

"Yeah. Landon this is my parents. Mom, dad, this is Landon." I wave between them to introduce them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hasting. It's a pleasure to meet you," Landon says and shakes their hands.

"Oh, the pleasure is all ours," my mom says. "I'm Jennifer, Shelby's mom."

"It's great to finally meet you," my dad says. I know he's referring to the incident when he caught Landon and me together. Luckily, he doesn't make a huge deal out of it.

"Yes, my apologies for that," Landon says. His voice sounds really shaky. "Oh, these are for you, Mrs. Hastings." He hands my mom the flowers.

"Well, thank you, Landon. You shouldn't have. What a nice gesture." My mom gives my dad a huge smile and walks into the kitchen and leaves my dad with Landon and me.

We stand and look at each other for a brief moment without saying anything. Landon puts his hands in his pockets.

"Landon, I hope you like pot roast," my mom yells from the kitchen.

"Oh, yeah. Definitely" Landon says. I smile at him. Why was I so nervous about this? He's doing really fine. Landon is like the perfect boyfriend. He's so nice and thoughtful, despite the secrets he's been keeping away from me. But I choose to let them by. He's obviously dealing with some things with his friends, which is not my place to pry. I trust him. If he wants me to know, he'll tell me. If not, then that's all right too.

After a couple of minutes of small talk, my mom asks us to take a seat at the dining table. We eat the starters. My mom's homemade mozzarella sticks are really the best. Landon's already eaten three, so he must also really like them.

After the starters, my mom starts cutting the pot roast and I help her bring out the food and plates. I hear my dad small talk with Landon. I hope he doesn't hate me for leaving him with my dad. I get a glimpse of them and notice that they're both laughing.

I walk back to the kitchen to get the rest of the plates. "So, Landon seems really nice. I think your dad likes him," my mom says. "How come you kept him a secret from us?"