"Baby?" A smooth voice called out as I stood at the stove and checked one of the dishes that Sergio was cooking for dinner. I smiled at the velvety voice that still made me weak at the knees. It probably always will.
"Why did you make so much food?" I asked him, as I stirred some kind of pasta sauce.
"I'm hungry." He answered, as if it was completely ordinary that a man would eat enough for a family of six.
I put the lid back on the pan and turned to see Sergio leaning against the kitchen doorway with a huge smug grin on his face. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.
"What did you do?" I asked, scanning the room for evidence. This behaviour from Sergio was particularly unusual since he had only been home from Brazil for a few days and he would often slump into bad moods, which was understandable I supposed.
"Oh nothing." He shrugged his shoulders and grinned even wider, flashing his white teeth. "Nothing that you need to know about just yet."
I groaned loudly. "Seeeergio!" I whined childishly. "You know I hate surprises!"
He just rolled his eyes at me. "I'm cooking tonight remember?" He used his hip against mine to push me away from the stove so that he could take my place.
I knew he could cook well, but I still worried. Whatever, I decided as I took my place on top of the counter, if he wanted to cook he was welcome to. "Fine. Just give me a clue?" I really did hate surprises.
He took one look at me and smiled. "Your clue is that you need to run upstairs and put pants on before our guests arrive."
I looked down to my bare legs and smiled. I had been spending a lot of time recently wearing just Sergio's shirts around the house. Wait. "Guests?! Who?"
"You'll find out shortly!" He took my hands and pulled me down from the kitchen counter to stand on the cool grey kitchen tiles in my bare feet. "Go change!" He smacked my butt gently and pushed me towards the door, making both of us laugh as I ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his bedroom.
I had no clue who his guests were or why he hadn't told me they were coming but I decided to get dressed nice just in case it was someone special. Thankfully I had a couple of outfits at Sergio's house along with my straightening iron and my make up bag. I quickly washed and brushed my teeth before I used my straighteners to curl the ends of my long, light brown hair. Next I added light, natural make up, just some bronzer, mascara, blusher and lip stick. I danced into a tight pair of skinny jeans and pulled a shirt over my head, careful not to ruin my hair.
I was just fastening a silver watch around my wrist as the door bell rang. My anxiety spiked for a minute, and then it was replaced with excitement to discover who was here. I rushed down the stairs and into the hall way where Sergio was already approaching the front door.
"Quick, we can open the door together." He suggested, so I rushed to the end of hall and pulled open the door with him.
My initial thought was that there was a quite lot of people here for just a small informal dinner, around 6 or 7. All ages, both men and women. And then I noticed the resemblance. Family. He was introducing me to his family without telling me.
"Welcome! Come in!" Sergio stepped aside to let them pass into the house and suddenly we were both swarmed with the usual Spanish double cheeked besos and people introduced themselves to me in rapid, excited Spanish.
I met his mother, father, two siblings and their spouses, and his young niece. They seemed lovely but I was shy nonetheless. I always was around new people. My shyness was worsened by my desire to impress Sergio's family, especially his mother. His mother's view of me could make or break our relationship.
Sergio cleared his throat loudly and everyone shut up momentarily. "Everyone, this is Olivia."
"Hi everyone." I waved awkwardly and shifted on my feet at the feeling of 8 pairs of eyes on me.
"Hola!" They chorused back cheerily.
"Great! Now let's eat!" His father suggested while rubbing his hands excitedly and making his way towards the kitchen where the delicious scent of food was drifting from.
Dinner was fun. His family was funny and very loud, which made me feel at ease and comfortable to just sit back and watch them crack jokes and tease each other. Sergio was in his element sat beside his father, and opposite his brother, eating delicious food and talking football. His mother would scold them often and this always made me laugh. She reminded me a lot of my own mum.
Half way through desert, Marc, Sergio's brother in law smiled at Sergio mischievously as if an idea had just popped into his. I glanced at Sergio but he hadn't noticed.
"So." Marc began, trying to repress a smile. "When's the wedding Olivia?"
I choked on the food I had just swallowed. "What?" I manages to get out between coughs.
"It's just Sergio told me that-"
"Stop Marc." Sergio warned seriously, while one hand swatted my back to stop me from choking to death.
The rest of the family exchanged curious glances between the two of them.
"Sergio told you what?" Sergio's father asked.
Sergio rubbed his forehead slightly and glared at Marc. Marc apparently couldn't feel the tension though because he just laughed. "Sergio told me that he's in love!"
Sergio's brother and father laughed while the girls rolled their eyes at Marc's childishness. His mother on the other hand gasped dramatically.
"Are you really in love, cariño?" She asked with one hand over her heart.
"You're an idiot!" Sergio pointed at Marc and then changed his tone to speak to his mother. "Si mama."
"Ohhhhh!" She squealed excitedly, making the whole family laugh except Sergio who groaned and looked over at me with a worried look on his face. She jumped from her seat and approached us with a proud look on her face. She held my cheek in one hand and Sergio's in the other and squeezed like you might with a young child. "My baby." She said to Sergio, kissing his head, then she turned to me. "Thank you. Welcome to the family dear."
I blushed slightly and mumbled a thank you. Truthfully I was a little confused about what had gone down just then. I'd have to ask Sergio later. An hour after the weird incident Sergio's family were leaving and I was exhausted but mostly relieved the whole thing had gone well. I think they liked me. At least I hoped.
"They liked you." Sergio said as he piled dishes into the sink.
"You think so?" I smiled. I had thought they did.
"Definitely. My mother adores you."
I grinned. "I like her too." Sergio finished stacking the plates and turned to face me. He came to stand between my jean covered legs, making his face level with mine as I perched on the counter. I ran my hands through his messy, chestnut coloured hair and sighed. "Why didn't you tell me they were coming?"
He smiled at my question. "Remember how nervous you were meeting my teammates?" I nodded and he continued. "Well I thought if you were to have enough time to work yourself up about meeting my family you might have an actual heart attack."
I chucked. "Thank you." I pecked his lips quickly. He was completely right. "Why did your mother act like that when you said you loved me?"
He shrugged. "I've never told her- or any of the others- that I have been in love before."
"And have you?" I looked into his eyes before extending the question. "Have you ever been in love before?"
"I thought I had." He answered honestly. "But now I'm not so sure."
I lifted my face to kiss him, slowly and passionately. A kiss that fully expressed my feelings for him.
"Any more questions?" He whispered against my lips.
I shook my head.
"Good. In that case..." He paused to wrap his arms around my body and wrap my legs around his waist before slipping me off the counter and carrying me out of the kitchen. "Let's continue this upstairs."
He ran up the stairs, both of us laughing all the way as I clung onto his neck to avoid falling. At the top he stopped breathlessly and looked up into my face. "Hey." He pulled on my chin to move my face towards his. "I love you."
"I love you too." and I did. I was completely, stupidly and crazily in love with him.
(Heeeey, vote/leave a comment homies ✌️love, Eva)