Chapter 26
“Mum, Dad, this is Geoffrey Tashtrey. The guy I was telling you about yesterday.”
“Nice to meet you sir, ma’am,” Geoffrey said politely, holding his hand out to them in turn. “I mean, properly meet you. Obviously we’ve met before, when I was here for the study dates.”
“Yes, but you haven’t been over in quite some time now, have you?” Dad said, playing Dad, while Mum wandered into the kitchen to make tea. “Any particular reason?”
“I-” he looked at me before straightening up and looking Dad in the eye. “I was being selfish, sir. Amy was making up with her old friends and I was jealous, and I took that out on her. I have no excuse but I hope I’ve made it up to her by now,” he finished, shooting me a lopsided smile.
“I see, and why exactly would you be jealous of my daughter having friends? She’s not a thing to possess you know.”
“I’m going to be completely honest with you sir. Amy had told me she had a crush on Luke Eller and I didn’t like the way he looked at her whilst he had a girlfriend. A bad girlfriend, sure, but Amy wasn’t her. So, I got jealous when she decided to make up with him, which meant I was kind of an ass, if you’ll excuse my language sir.”
“Hmph,” Dad grunted but that’s all he had to say on the matter so I guess Geoffrey passed that test. “I’ll just go see if your mother needs any help.”
Once he was out of the room, Geoffrey let go of the breath he’d been holding. I giggled, touching his perfectly combed hair and ruffling it a little. “Hey!” he exclaimed, grabbing at my hand and smoothing his hair out. “Do you mind? I’m trying to impress my future in-laws here,” he grinned, holding my hand and brushing a fly away hair from my face. I started blushing, which made him laugh, tugging on a strand of hair. “I’m glad you invited me over. Even if it was prompted by that asshat.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t want to get them involved before I knew what was going on but Luke kind of forced my hand. I should probably put off meeting your parents, you know, officially, until we’re dating.”
“You mean ‘if’, don’t you?” he grinned, his eyes flashing. He leaned closer to me, eyes looking at my lips. “I mean, if you want to give in now and tell Luke where to stick it…”
“Tempting,” I said, meaning it. I could hear him holding his breath and I sighed. “Geoffrey, you don’t want me to rush this and end up feeling like I regret the choice, do you?”
“No, but I don’t think this is rushed. I think you know we’d be really good together but you’re scared of finding out,” his voice had lowered to a murmur, his breath tickling my eyelashes. I lifted my head to look him in the eyes and our lips were barely an inch apart. “You are wreaking havoc on my resolve, babe.”
“Sorry,” I whispered, not meaning it at all and lifted my lips a little further, so that they met his. A very chaste kiss, compared to some of our other ones but enough to make my heart beat faster and lose my breath in one big ‘whoosh’. I sighed and tucked my face into his neck. “How’s your resolve?”
“Practically non-existent. Be glad that your dad terrifies me or I might have had to take you upstairs for a little bit of ravishing,” he chuckled, the low rumble resonating in my head and relaxing me. “I really do want you to make up your mind soon Amy. Because I don’t know if I can stand the idea of you kissing him like this. Of him holding you and making you giggle and blush and- ok, I’m getting off topic.”
I giggled again, squeezing his hand and leaning away from him. “If it helps, Luke has never made me act like this,” I said softly, tracing a finger through an imaginary pattern on his arm. “And I’ve never kissed him. Not like I have you.”
“And I know this is stupid because I shouldn’t be pushing my luck but why are you even still deliberating then? If you’re already only doing this stuff with me, if Luke doesn’t make you feel the way I do, why can’t we just be together?” He sighed and changed topic before I could find an answer. “Sorry, I’m just feeling a little bitter because the girl I love is hung up on a guy who isn’t worth her time. So, what exactly are they making in there. Tea or are they picking the leaves by hand?”
“I- I’m not sure. Maybe they’re just giving us a little privacy because they know they’re freaking you out. Or maybe my Dad wants to see you sweat a little before he gives you his approval.” I tried not to let on that he had slipped up and said the ‘L’ word instead of like. I tried not to let on how incredibly happy it made me to think of him being in love with me. I ducked my head, letting the hair cover my face a little.
“Hey, cheer up! At least they haven’t thrown me out yet,” he grinned, pushing the hair back from my face and rubbing my cheek. “So, you know, I’m one step ahead of Eller.”
“They didn’t kick Luke out, Geoffrey; I did.”
“Even better, that means you don’t like him as much as you like me. Now, show me where I am to sit to receive this tea,” he said regally, clapping his hands together twice. I punched him in the arm and led him through to the kitchen. “So, Mrs Martins, how far along are you?”
“Oh, I, uh, I’m twelve weeks in. We’re expecting the little bundle of joy in June/July. Amy’s going to make a wonderful big sister,” Mum trilled, looking at me proudly.
“Oh, no doubt. She’s really good with my little sister, Tessie. And my can Tessie talk! I bet Amy’s the only one in this room who could keep up with her,” Geoffrey grinned and tugged my hair affectionately. “But, you know, they say siblings are just practice for when you have your own kids one day.”
My Dad almost choked on his tea, his face going bright red. My Mum had just stopped moving, her jaw hanging open and a teabag dangling from her fingers. “What?” Geoffrey asked, looking confused. “It’s true, isn’t it? My Mum always told me that if I couldn’t take care of Tessie, I was going to be useless when I found the girl I finally wanted to marry.”
“I…think they’re just a little surprised that you brought up having kids on the first time they invited you over,” I said drily, giggling at my Dad who was finally going less purple. “But that’s just because they don’t know you yet. He’s full of inappropriate knowledge and it just spills out of him at random intervals.”
“Right,” Mum said brightly, clapping her hands together. “How about you help me set the table for dinner Amy?” She gave me a look which clearly meant I didn’t have a choice so I grumbled an agreement, shooting Geoffrey an apologetic look. He grinned back, winking.
“Mum, what are we doing?” I whispered when we were in the dining room. “It’s totally not cool of you to leave Geoffrey on his own with Dad. And why do we have to set the table?”
“Well, I assumed you’d want to eat at the table if you have a friend over. And your father wants to get to know him, just in case this gets serious.”
I set the table in record time, creeping back towards the kitchen. I wanted to know what my Dad was asking him, to know what I wasn’t allowed to be in there for. Mum saw me standing at the swing door and rolled her eyes but didn’t stop me.
“…and I’m in her English class, with Mr. Robinson. She helps me keep up,” Geoffrey was saying, his voice a little tense.
“So, you met her in English? How come this is the first time we’re meeting you properly then? Or have you had designs on my daughter for a while?” I blanched, wondering if I should burst in or let them work this out on their own. When a silence began to spread, I figured I should interrupt and make them change the subject. But the Geoffrey began to talk.
“Look, Mr Martins, I understand that you don’t think very much of me yet. I know that Luke Eller is the typical boy next door, best friend that every father hopes their daughter will fall in love with. And I agree, Luke would probably have been what Amy wanted a month ago. But here’s the thing,” Geoffrey continued, and I could imagine him leaning in, looking sincere. “I love your daughter. I may not be the best guy in the world and I may not be what she wants. But if she does choose me, I promise that I will do everything I can to make her the happiest girl in the world. And if that’s not what you want for her, I can’t imagine what you do.”
My mum had come up behind me, listening as well and she raised her eyebrows at me. I’m pretty sure my mouth was hanging open and I was going red but all I remember is that my heart was pounding like crazy. That my hands itched to be held and my arms had goose bumps all over. Mum squeeze me into a one-armed hug and then she swept into the room, grinning broadly.
“Ok, time for the adults to make some food. Geoffrey, will you go keep Amy company in the other room? I’m sure she’s getting bored.”
“Sure thing Mrs. Martins. Let us know if you need help with anything.” He came over to the door, where I was still stood, blushing. His hand shot out, grabbing my hand and I felt how clammy it was. He was nervous. About meeting my parents. I felt my cheeks going an even deeper shade of red as my mum winked at me. And then the door swung shut between us and I was alone with Geoffrey again. “Hey, are you ok? You seem kind of out of it, babe.”
“I…” my mind went blank and I blurted out the first thing that flashed across my brain. “You love me? I mean, you said you did but…you love me?” I couldn’t stop my mouth from moving and making noise but Geoffrey went ashen, looking like he wanted the world to swallow him whole. My heart dropped. “Forget I said anything, I’m sorry I eavesdropped.”
“Wait, Amy, let’s talk about this,” he said, voice a little strangled. “I didn’t mean for you to hear that. I just…I didn’t think you were listening.”
“So you didn’t mean it?” I whispered, feeling crushed. My heart ached and I could feel tears threatening.
“I didn’t say that. Crap,” he said, running both his hands through his hair. “Look, I know this is really early, especially since we’re not actually dating. But I’m completely smitten with you. When I think about you I feel like I can be better. At anything. Because I know I have to be better if I want to stand a chance at being your boyfriend. But at the same time, I know that I won’t ever really change. I’m saying this wrong,” he said mournfully, covering his eyes with one hand. “Amy, I love you. I just didn’t want to say it until you’d made a decision because I didn’t want you to think I was using it to win you over.”
“Oh,” I said, my voice small. I didn’t know what to say back. I knew I should be saying something, but I couldn’t get the words out. “Geoffrey, I-”
“Amy, wait. I don’t want you to say it back unless you’re one hundred percent sure you mean it. So, I’m willing to wait for an answer. I’m willing to wait so that when you choose me, I’m the only thing you think about. The same way you’re the only thing I think about, because that’s all I want.”
I threw my arms around him and buried my face in his chest, feeling his surprise at the suddenness. But then his arms came up around me and his face nestled into my hair. I could feel his lips moving against my scalp and he was whispering my name in the gentlest way imaginable.
* * *
“So, how did I do?” Geoffrey asked as we stood on the doorstep of my house. He was about to go home and I was seeing him off. “I mean, I think it went well but maybe that’s just wishful thinking. Do you think it went well?”
“It went great,” I promised, feeling the cold but trying not to let it show because I didn’t want him to leave. “I think they really liked you. My mum’s talking about the next time you’re coming over so you’ve definitely won her over. I guess you’re better at this then you thought you’d be,” I grinned, tugging on his lapels.
“Ok, that’s good then. I should probably go, before you freeze to death.” When I blushed, he just chuckled. “Come on babe, you knew I’d have to go home eventually. I already stayed way later than I thought I would. Just promise me you’ll come over tomorrow? Because I’ve got your Christmas present and I want you to have it on Christmas.”
“I…might have to be somewhere else in the morning,” I admitted, feeling guilty. “But I can probably drop by in the afternoon for a couple of hours. We could chill out and watch a movie or something.” I chanced a look at his face and saw he was beaming, full out. My heart did a little sideways flop and my stomach erupted with butterflies. He leaned in close and kissed me on the cheek, his breath warming me all over.
“See you later babe,” he murmured before turning and walking down our street. “Get inside and get warm!”
I watched him until he turned a corner and then floated back inside, smiling dreamily. I drifted into the living room, my heart full of light and air. I barely noticed that my mum was saying something to me until she laughed and said something to dad. “What?” I said, jerked out of my fantasy bubble.
“I said, when is he coming over again then?” Mum said patiently, smiling indulgently. “He seems nice.”
“Isn’t he?” I gushed, grinning goofily. “I think it’ll be after Christmas now but I should be going to his tomorrow for a couple of hours.”
“I thought you were going to Luke’s tomorrow?” Dad asked, a frown marring his brow. “Or did you guys cancel?”
“No, I’m going over to Luke’s first. Then, when I’m done hanging out with him, I’ll head on over to Geoffrey’s for a while.”
Neither of my parents said anything to that but I saw the look they shared and I rolled my eyes, muttering something about going to bed. When I was safely trapped in my room I grabbed my phone and saw I had a couple of texts waiting for me. One was from Louise, asking if I wanted to hang tomorrow and one from Luke, saying he had a surprise for me.
I felt a twinge of guilt, texting Luke when I knew what I was doing tomorrow. But I knew what I wanted to do now, knew that whatever he and I might have had was over before it had a chance to begin. Much as I didn’t want to admit it, I had changed since the start of term and I wasn’t sure I didn’t like who I was becoming. And I knew that most of this change was due to Geoffrey, being there for me.
Just then, my phone lit up with a new text.
Hey, just letting you know I made it back safe! Can’t wait for tomorrow babe xxx
And that just made me glow all over. I went to sleep happy and content, knowing that Geoffrey was going to get the answer he was waiting for tomorrow.