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She curled her legs underneath her. She wore an oversized sweatshirt and matching lounge pants with fluffy socks. With her hair tamed in a loose braid and her face scrubbed shiny clean, she was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
"You know what I just found out? My parents have a standing pastry order that they place weekly from Ma Chérie. Can you believe that?"
"Absolutely yes. It makes sense to me. Your parents know good food."
"But I mean...it's so weird. For the majority of my life, it was always, ‘Go to medical school. Be a doctor.’” She mimicked her parents’ mannerisms and accent as she repeated their words. “I don't know...it's like by the time I attended my first chemistry class, all I wanted to do was figure out food and flavor. How it all went together. The artistry in making something. I don't know, I can't explain it. But at any rate, after that, I couldn't help feeling like I was a disappointment.”
"Ah, and that is why you pre-reject yourself with them?"
Her mood shifted, and for a moment, I was afraid that I said the wrong thing. And then she dunked her cookie and popped the rest in her mouth, chewing in silent contemplation. "Maybe. I honestly haven't thought about it before now. Is it weird to admit that knowing they actually like my desserts is like changing my entire worldview?”
“I understand. We live our lives wanting our parents’ approval, and don’t trust it when we have it. Well, even if they don't say it out right, it is clear to me that your family loves you."
Plum’s face flushes in a pink glow. I was afraid I upset her even more, but her expression looked peaceful and relaxed. She asked, “Ready to go to bed?"
More than she could possibly imagine. I cleared the new dishes to give her time to brush her teeth before following downstairs. I turned around and her mother was there. She barely came up to my chest, but she intimidated me as much as my own mother.
"Do you have all you need?" she asked.
"Yes, Tita,” I said, using the honorific for an older female. “Thank you for welcoming me into your home."
"Of course. It's easy when you treat my daughter well."
I wasn't used to lying to family. There was never a need for me to. Plum had a different relationship that she was still working out with her parents, so I also didn't want to get into something and possibly ruin things. However, there was a way that I could still speak the truth without outing the fact that Plum recruited me to be her stand-in boyfriend. "I want nothing more than to make sure she is happy."
"Good. At least we agree. Anyway, in case you need it, I left some condoms in the bedside table. Monster-size. I want grandchildren but I don't need them right away. We still have a lot of vacations and trips to go to this next year."
She was gone an entire minute before I was able to recover from the shock.
Did Plum’s ma just give me permission to sex up her daughter?
Plum was already snuggled in bed with a book by the time I made it to the bedroom. "Hey there, the bathroom is all yours in case you need it."
"I used it, thanks." I stretched out next to her, careful to give her all the room she needed. Just because her mother clearly wanted grandchildren did not mean I was going to touch Plum without her enthusiastic consent.
As soon as I settled myself, Plum angled herself so that her feet were propped up against the wall and she rested her head on my shoulder.
"Good lord, I didn't think I'd be able to do this but this bed really is ridiculously big. I can literally sleep sideways for no reason. Anyway." She straightened herself out. "Thanks again for hanging out with me and my folks. And for not being weird about it all."
"I should thank you. It's been a while since I've had this."
"Me too, to be honest. I just work and then I sleep. Not much of a social life, though it's not like I really looked for it. Kinda like the whole ‘I don't realize what I'm missing until I'm missing it’ kind of deal."
"I get that."
"I set my alarm for eight, I hope that's cool with you?"
"I'll wake whenever you want me to." I wouldn't get much sleep tonight, anyway.
"Cool. Nighty night." It took her all of two seconds before her breathing patterns switched and she was asleep.
This was going to be a long night.
Every minute wrapped in Plum’s warmth and softness was horrible torture. I wanted more of it. Too much.
She was curled all over me, her hot body scorching against my side. I wanted to turn her over and find relief in her but I needed her to be conscious and willing for that to happen.
I extricated myself from her arms, and steeled my heart against the sad whining noise she made in the back of her throat. I grabbed the spare blankets and pillows that were in the closet and slid myself onto the floor. At least this way I wouldn't wake her—or accidentally did something I would regret by grabbing more of her than I had any right to.
