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“That’s so great. You two should go out and celebrate,” Ma says, turning to look between the two of us.
“Ma, I thought you needed help cleaning up the yard today?”
“Oh, I can take care of it,” she says dismissively.
“Ma, I agreed to help you and I’m going to. Plus, I saw that you got the ladder out. Don’t think I forgot you mentioned cleaning the gutters last week. You are not climbing up there by yourself.” I place my hand on my hip, hoping the note of finality in my voice doesn’t rub her the wrong way. She is still my mother.
“Let me help,” Bodhi offers.
“No,” I shake my head. I should have seen this coming.
“Yes,” he fights me on it, and I know him well enough now to know that he won’t back down from this easily. Once he puts his mind to something, it’s almost impossible to sway him.
“Oh no, I couldn’t ask that of you.” Ma shakes her head, but I can see what she’s doing, and I raise an arched brow in her direction.
“You didn’t ask, I offered. Besides, I actually wanted to come over and invite Keaton out later this week to celebrate,” he says, turning to look at me.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, my mom wanted to have a family dinner,” he says, arching a brow at me, and I mirror his expression. “And I was hoping you’d come with me? I’d really like her to meet you.”
Bodhi does a great job at playing it cool, but I can see the anxiety brewing in his eyes. I know how he feels about going to his parents, especially after our phone call the other night and his admission about them never doing dinners. He must be on edge. But, after everything he’s done to help me out, I figure it’s the least I can do to repay his kindness.
“Yeah, that would be great,” I agree, and watch as a weight lifts off his shoulders.
“Perfect, just let me know what day you have off and I’ll let my mom know.”
I agree and ignore the nervous feeling over meeting his parents that keeps growing in the pit of my stomach.
“Now, since that’s settled, what first?” Bodhi claps his hands together once, like some high school football coach, before sending his players out onto the field. The thought has me curious as to what he would have been like in high school.
“Over here,” I say and turn to lead him up toward the house.
He helps us bag up all the weeds and lawn clippings, clear out the gutters, and plant two new trees, all without fuss. I have to admit that it’s gone by a lot faster than it would have if it were just my mom and I, and I grumble under my breath when Bodhi points this fact out once we break for some of Ma’s freshly squeezed lemonade.
“Do you always have to be so difficult?” he jokes, lifting the hem of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face.
His perfectly sculpted abs are on full display, and I don’t even try to hide the fact that I’m staring.
“See something you like, Princess?”
“Maybe,” I quip, smirking devilishly up at him. “And I am not always difficult.”
A burst of laughter erupts from him, and he throws his head back.
“Ha ha, so funny. Laugh it up,” I try to hide my amusement, but find it more difficult each day I’m around him.
He steps up to me, looping an arm around my waist and drawing me into him, and dips his head low to slide his lips over mine. Unlike when he greeted me earlier, this kiss is slower and could lead to something very indecent given we’re standing in my mom’s front yard.
The sound of the screen door clanking shut makes me jump, and I take a step back, dropping my head and covering my mouth. I can feel my face flush as my mom approaches us, sandwiches cut and arranged neatly on a tray with a pitcher to refill our glasses.
“Don’t stop on my account,” she teases, and my eyes go wide.
“Jeez, Ma,” I say, horrified. Bodhi isn’t nearly as affected by her comment and thanks her for the sandwich as he takes an enormous bite.
She winks, unaffected by my embarrassment, but something over my shoulder catches her attention.
I turn to see Sander pulling up in his cruiser, and sigh inwardly.
