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“Well—”
The sound of an engine roaring near has her stopping mid-sentence.
We both turn and I see Bodhi pulling up to the house and parking along the curb. I didn’t even realize he was back yet and seeing him has my stomach flipping.
“Is that him?” I hear my mom ask from beside me as she reaches for my glass, and I swat at her as he steps out of his car.
Our eyes meet and he smiles so brightly I stop breathing. Sometimes I forget just how gorgeous he is.
He jogs over and scoops me up into his arms, spinning me around before smacking a loud kiss against my lips. His smile is infectious, and I laugh, steadying myself on his shoulders as he turns us around again.
“I won,” he exclaims proudly.
My eyes go wide and my jaw drops.
“Shut up,” I smack his shoulder. “Did you really?”
“I did,” he beams up at me.
“Oh my God, that’s amazing!” I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him close. “I feel so bad for missing it now; I had to work all day yesterday and didn’t even think to check this morning.”
“It’s okay, Princess,” he chuckles, and I pull back to look into his eyes and see that he isn’t bothered by my admission.
I’ve never seen Bodhi light up like this before. The more time I spend with him, the less he acts like that douchebag from the first time we met.
A throat clears from somewhere behind us, and heat rushes to my face when I remember my mom standing there.
Bodhi sets me down, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly as we turn and approach her.
“Ah, you must be Bodhi,” she smiles in her warm, motherly way, and Bodhi relaxes, extending his hand to greet my mom.
“Yes ma’am, Bodhi Kane.”
“Oh,” she waves his hand away and steps up to embrace him.
He is stiff at first, probably shocked at her loving nature, but he quickly recovers and hugs her back. It makes me wonder more about the strain on his relationship with his parents.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, and it’s so wonderful to finally put a face to the name,” she says, smiling up at him. She reaches up to cup his cheek. “A very handsome face at that.”
“Ma,” I exclaim.
Bodhi chuckles softly, “Well, thank you, ma’am.”
“Enough with that,” she playfully swats at his chest. “You call me Regina or Mom.”
“Okay,” he smiles, and she pats his arm affectionately.
“So, did I overhear correctly? You won your race?” She asks.
“I did. It was the first one this season,” he says proudly.
“That’s wonderful, Bodhi. Congratulations. I’m sure you worked very hard to achieve that,” she says, and pats him on the shoulder, the pride only a mother can feel shining through in her expression.
I know how much she misses having Eli around, and with the way Bodhi’s parents aren’t a huge part of his life — from what I understand — maybe this encounter will do them both well.
“Well, Keaton definitely played a big role in helping me center myself and remember what it is I’m racing for. She’s been great.” He turns and smiles at me, but the look in his eyes tells me that the next time he gets me alone, he’s going to show me just how thankful he is.
I won’t complain about that.
