LOVE OR RIDE | LESTAPPEN

Chapter thirty-three - family reunion

"And if..."

"Honey, if they don't like you, I'll get out of there and we'll go home, forgetting about this meeting, because now you're the most important thing in my life, okay?" I look at him. I see him nod with relief. I know he was afraid that if they didn't like him, I would break up with him. And maybe I would have done so in the beginning, but now, after what has happened for this short time, I am sure of us and I will do everything to make it last forever.

I hear the boy violently draw air into his lungs as my mother opens the door. With a wide smile, I let go of the boy's hand and walk up to the woman, hugging her. She greets me happily, and after a while Arthur and Lorenzo also appear in the hallway.

"I thought you had already forgotten about the family." Arthur says, and Lorenzo slaps him gently on the back of the head. "Hi Charles." He improves, to which I am amused to greet them and glance at Max, whom my mother is hugging and says something quietly in my ear, to which the boy smiles broadly.

I feel warmth spreading through my gut as I see the happy boy whom my family already loved before I understood how I felt about him. As they pull away from each other, the woman invites us into the dining room and we sit down at the table. We each have our own unassigned seat, but today Arthur officially stated that he was ceding his to Max and sat next to Mom.

"So, Max, I would ask, as any mother would, where you work and if you love him, but about work it's hard for me not to know, and about the latter I'm sure, because I've seen in the office how much you care, and I think Charles should be thanking you on his knees for wanting him."

"Oh, he definitely thank him on his lap." Arthur says suddenly.

I roll my eyes, Max smiles under his breath, and Lorenzo spits out the water he's been drinking on the floor. The confused mom takes a moment to understand what her son meant and looks indignantly in his direction as he raises his hands in a defensive gesture.

"Arthur, you would be ashamed." the woman shakes his head brokenly.

"But..."

"Don't even say anything." I raise my index finger, at which he snorts a laugh and nods, returning to his food.

"If Charles ever does something, remember to call me. Now you are part of the family, because if my son trusts you and loves you, so do we." the woman looks at Max with a smile.

"Then I guess I'll have to take your phone number, just be forewarned that I'll be calling every day, because he's unbearable." He says seriously, at which I part my lips in surprise. "Just kidding." He adds, glancing at my face. Arthur suddenly slaps his hand on the table, making us all look at him in shock.

"I already like him." he says contentedly.

We spend the next half hour talking and joking. I sit quietly most of the time, watching the boy happily chatting with my brothers. I am quietly pleased that he feels comfortable here and that they liked him. I was stressed about getting to know them with each other, because although they had already seen each other, he was not yet my boyfriend.

"Come on Max, you're going to win me a race, because Charles is too weak." says Arthur suddenly and he and an amused Max get up from their chairs.

"Deny it." I say, looking at the Red Bull driver.

"I love you too, Charlie." He winks at me and disappears with Arthur behind the door to his room.

Suddenly I feel my mother's gaze on me, so I look at her as well. She smiles, looking at me intently. I furrow my eyebrows, not understanding what she means, and run my hand over my mouth, thinking I've gotten dirty.