Margot was so cute, still under the covers and her hair messy. I wanted to stay in bed with her all day, curled up with one another and trading kisses. There was a pit forming in my stomach at the thought of her meeting my uncle.
Wayne was well meaning but always accidentally embarrassed me. He would tell stories too loud or share details that he shouldn't. He had noticed my good mood over the last month and a half and had correctly attributed it to a girl. He peppered me with questions, wanting to know more about Margot. He had insisted on meeting her, and I had told him to cool it. Nothing sounded worse than my uncle embarrassing me in front of Margot Patterson – I was already lame, and I didn't need to give her more reasons to keep sneaking around.
But here we were.
Margot smiled brightly and held a hand out for me to take. I laced her fingers with mine and nervously smiled back.
"I'm sure Wayne is great."
"Eddie – get your ass up and get some breakfast!" Wayne barked. My stomach churned and I groaned. I pulled a shirt on and ran my hands through my hair.
"Keep your pants on, old man!" I snapped. Margot was getting out of bed and grabbed her bag of sleepover things. She kissed me quickly and smiled.
"Be sweet. I'm going to get changed," she said, padding to the bathroom. I waited for her to close the door before I angrily punched the air, desperately trying to figure out how to get out of this.
"Damn it, Eddie – hurry up!"
I felt a flash of anger and threw open my door, storming into the kitchen. Wayne was pouring himself a cup of coffee and smiled when I walked in.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty!" he chirped. I glared and started gesturing wildly.
"You need to be cool, okay? I need you to be cool, because if you're not cool, then it's going to be bad, and I need this to be good—"
"Eddie, take a breath – you're starting at chapter ten. I need you to start at the beginning," he interrupted, using a metaphor he often said to me to get me to give him the full story.
"I have a friend here," I said warily. He furrowed his brows, tilting his head to the side.
"You always have friends over. Is it Gareth or Jeff?"
"No, Wayne," I hissed. "I have a friend over."
He watched me for a beat, still confused. His face suddenly broke into a smile as he realized what I meant.
"Is it the mystery girl you've been hiding from me?" he whispered. I groaned and put my face in my hands.
"Wayne, please, I really like this girl, and I need you to be cool."
"I'm always cool!" he quipped. I glared at him, and the pit in my stomach grew when I heard my bathroom door open. I looked back to my room and watched Margot walk out – she had brought a change of clothes, shorts and a soft-looking t-shirt that had Queen on it. She grinned at me, and I felt like I was going to pass out.
"Wayne, this is Margot," I said, gesturing at her when she was visible to Wayne. Wayne's eyes lit up and he smiled at her. I turned to her. "Go, this is my Uncle Wayne."
"It's very nice to meet you, sir," she said sweetly, nodding at him.
"It is a delight to meet you, Ms. Margot!" Wayne replied, his smile growing. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and smiled up at me. "Are you hungry?"
She shook her head.
"No, sir – thank you, though!" she said, leaning into me. Wayne's grin was now ear to ear.
"You know, Eddie's been pretty tight-lipped about you, but I can tell how happy you've made him," Wayne announced, crossing his arms. I felt my face heat and I wanted to curl up and die from embarrassment.
"Oh, he's been tight-lipped?" she asked, her tone teasing. My blush got worse, and I wanted to set myself on fire.
"Don't blame the kid – he's never had a girlfriend before, so I'm sure he's just trying to make sure he doesn't jinx himself," Wayne said, saying and sharing things he absolutely did not need to share. She looked up at me, her eyes soft.
"Really?" she asked. I stared straight ahead. I was so lame. Why did Wayne have to say that?
"Really – but Eddie's a good kid, you've got a real gentleman on your hands," Wayne said. He walked past us, heading to his room. "He even stole all of my comforters for one of your dates a month or so ago. Ruined them with his boots, but it was still sweet."
I was going to kill Wayne.
"I agree with you, Mr. Munson," Margot said, staring up at me. I thought I was going to sink into the floor from embarrassment.
"'Mr. Munson' – never felt so fancy!" Wayne joked before going to his room. I continued to not look at Margot, wanting to disappear from the planet. She placed a hand on my chest, almost making my heart stop.
"Please don't think I'm lame," I said quickly. She furrowed her brows and shake her head.
"Why would I think you're lame?" she asked. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair.
"Just because of all the things Wayne said," I answered. She smiled.
"You mean how you're sweet and a gentleman?"
"No, no, I mean the whole, um, uh, n-never had a, um, a girlfriend b-before," I stammered. Her eyes crinkled and she pulled me in for a hug.
"Do you not remember that you're my first kiss? I've never had a boyfriend either," she assured. I felt a little better and hugged her back.
"Yeah, but everyone wants to be your boyfriend," I replied. She pulled back and brushed some hair out of my face.
"Maybe, but I only want you to be my boyfriend," she said sweetly. I felt my stomach flip and my butterflies swarmed my chest.
"Secret boyfriend," I corrected. I felt a pang in my chest when a flash of sadness crossed her face. I pulled her back to me. "I'm sorry, I know better –"
"It's okay," she said, setting her face in my chest. "We'll figure this out."
We? I knew what I wanted to do. There was nothing for me to figure out. This was on her.
But then she looked up at me and placed a hand on the side of my face, tracing my lips with her thumb. God, she could convince me of anything if she wanted to. I'd run right into Mordor if it meant she would always look at me like that. I leaned down and kissed her, wrapping her tighter in my arms.
I pulled back and smiled as she crinkled her eyes at me.
"Do you have plans today?" I asked. She shook her head.
"I need to go home so my parents know I'm alive, but other than that, I'm free," she answered. I nodded.
"Hellfire is meeting today. Want to be my date?" I questioned, smiling at her.
---
I grinned up at Eddie. Hellfire meant no one from my social circle, which meant we could act like a couple. Gareth and Jeff had gotten more comfortable around me, and I often joined them in their teasing of Eddie. His eyes were soft but still held the usual panic he always carried when he was with me, like he was convinced something was always about to go wrong.
"Can I play?" I asked, making him laugh. He shrugged.
"You can, but you should know that now that you're my girlfriend, I don't have to impress you, so I won't be as nice when you play," he teased. He took my hand and led to me to his room. I furrowed my brows.
"As nice? I kicked the bad guy's ass last time," I replied, smirking at him. He turned to me, his eyebrows raised and wearing a patronizing look.
"Princess, you thought that on your first time playing, that you'd have a ranking as high enough to re-roll during an attack?" he asked. My jaw dropped.
"You cheated!" I exclaimed. He shrugged and winked at me.
"No, I helped you cheat," he quipped. I crossed my arms.
"Eddie Munson, you thought that helping me cheat in Dungeons and Dragons would impress me?" I replied. He came back to me, wrapping his hands around the back of my neck and pulling my face close to his. Whenever he did this, it made me putty in his hands, and he knew it.
"No – it was before I knew you were a secret nerd. Now, I know it would impress you," he whispered. He pulled me to my lips, and I felt my knees buckle. He grinned into my mouth, kissing me again before letting me go.
"As if – I'm not that dorky," I squeaked, knowing I wasn't telling the truth. It was cute that Eddie had been willing to compromise his integrity as Dungeon Master to try to impress me, especially since he hadn't known about my budding crush on him. He did it genuinely to try to seem cool. Eddie turned to me, smirking.
"You sure about that, Mrs. Bowie? Should I ask your puppets?"
"Oh, my god, you are annoying!" I yelped as he traipsed into his bathroom to get cleaned up. I sighed and padded back into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I was still feeling the butterflies left from when he kissed me, and I was trying to calm down.
"I hope I didn't scare you off."
I shrieked and jumped, turning to Wayne. He looked apologetic and I flashed a smile at him.
"You scared me, Mr. Munson," I sighed, setting a hand on my chest and taking a breath. He winced.
"I'm so sorry – didn't mean to. I just know I tend to put my foot in my mouth, and it drives Eddie crazy. So, I want to apologize if I said anything wrong," he explained. I shook my head.
"Nothing to apologize for, sir," I insisted. He smiled.
"So polite. I'm so glad to have finally met you – he's been a whole new person over the last couple of weeks. Happy and helpful. I almost don't recognize him," Wayne said, patting my shoulder. I felt my heart swell and my face heat. Eddie had put me in a good mood for the last couple of weeks as well.
"Thank you, Mr. Munson. I really like him," I admitted, looking at my hands. I glanced up and Wayne looked like he was about to say something.
"Go? Where are you?" Eddie called. He tromped out into the kitchen and his eyes widened when he saw me and Wayne talking. "Wayne! Leave Margot alone!"
"He's not bothering me!" I replied, smiling at Eddie. He took a deep breath and nodded as he walked over to me. He looked at Wayne.
"Margot and I are going out for a bit – you okay on your own?" he asked. Wayne grinned.
"I'm a big boy, nephew. I can handle that," Wayne quipped. Eddie rolled his eyes and Wayne winked at me. "It was nice to meet you, Margot – hopefully I get to see you soon."
Wayne padded back to his bedroom and Eddie groaned when he closed the door.
"God, he is so annoying!" Eddie whined. I shook my head and took his hand.
"You need to chill out," I teased. Eddie's face twisted into a smile, and he pulled me in for a kiss. The air was suddenly charged as he snaked his arms around my back, and I threw my arms around his neck. I pulled back and stopped him as he chased my lips.
"When do we have to go to Hellfire?" I asked breathily. He grinned and started pulling me to his room.
"Not for hours, princess," he answered as we got to his room. He slammed the door behind us, his lips and hands all over me and making me foggy. We fell back on his bed, and he started moving down my neck, making me sigh as he continued to kiss me softly. I held him close to me, smiling as he started scratching my thigh.
I was so into my secret boyfriend.