Popcorn Love (42 page)

Allison took a deep, steadying breath and squeezed
Elena’s hands. “Like you might actually want to keep me.”

Elena pulled Allison to her, releasing her hands, and
wrapping her arms around Allison’s neck. She peppered kisses along
Allison’s jaw and then pressed two soft kisses to her lips. “I do,”
she promised, and those quiet words blasted through Allison’s
heart.

Allison let out a shaky sigh as she dove forward to
capture Elena’s lips again.

“Stay, Allison,” Elena whispered. She kissed Allison
again, hands returning to the buttons on her shirt. “Stay with
me.”

Allison knew she would. She would stay forever if
Elena asked her.

* * *

Allison’s brows furrowed in her sleep as the distinct
feeling that she was being watched trickled in through the haze of
dreaming and brought her to the surface. She rubbed at her eyes
before opening them, and then yelped as she came face to face with
the wide eyes of a toddler.

“Hi!” Lucas’s face was so close to hers that their
noses brushed.

She chuckled and shifted back in the bed, the
memories of the previous night flooding back to her in a rushing
wave. She was in Elena’s house, in Elena’s bed with Elena’s son
sprawled out next to her and smiling so big that it looked like it
had to hurt, but Elena herself was nowhere in sight. She then
realized that under the thin blanket and sheet covering her, she
was completely naked.

Well, this is awkward,
she thought.

“Hey buddy,” she said, pulling the covers a little
higher. “Where did you come from?”

“Gram’s!” He kicked his legs up and down on the
mattress as he lay on his belly next to Allison. “What you doing in
Momma’s bed?”

“Uh.” Allison mulled that one over. “I had a
sleepover.”

“Oh,” he said, drawing out the word. “Where are your
clothes?”

A soft pink dusted Allison’s cheeks as she said, “Um,
on the floor, I think.”

“Why?”

“Because I took them off.”

“Why?”

“Uh, because I was hot.”

“Why?”

“Because it was hot in here.” Lucas’s goofy grin made
it clear that he was enjoying this little game.

“Enough questions kid,” she said and ruffled his
hair. “Did you have a good time at your Gram’s?”

“Time to get ready for my birthday.”

“Huh?” Allison asked. “What? Your birthday?”

“Yeah!” He leaned on his elbows and held up four
fingers. “I’m gonna be four.”

“Wow,” Allison said, doing her best to sound super
excited. “When is your birthday?”

Lucas’s face scrunched. “Uh, um…” He then shrugged
and said, “I don’t know.”

Allison chuckled, the sound still a bit raspy from
having just woken up. “I see. So why are we getting ready
then?”

“Gram’s taking us shopping!” He cheered, but
Allison’s stomach dropped.

“Your, um, your Gram is
here
?” she asked.
“Right now?”

“Uh-huh.” He resumed kicking his legs on the
mattress, smiling. “And Pop!”

“Shit,” Allison muttered. Lucas didn’t hear her,
though, as his mother arrived in that moment to distract him.

Elena slipped into the room, dressed in a silken
robe. She smiled apologetically at Allison before catching Lucas as
he jumped to his feet, hopped on the bed twice, and then leapt at
his mother. She swung him around before setting him on his feet on
the floor and patting his bottom. “Baby, why don’t you go play
dinosaurs with Gram and Pop while Momma gets dressed, okay?”

“Okay!” He ran out of the room and down the hall.

Elena closed the door behind him and let out a sigh.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I completely forgot that I made plans with
my parents to take Lucas shopping today for party supplies.”

“Oh.” Allison sat up and held the sheet to her chest.
“It’s cool.”

“I didn’t remember until the doorbell woke me up. I
didn’t tell them that you were here, but apparently Lucas snuck off
while I was talking to my parents and discovered it all on his
own.”

“Yeah, I woke up to his nose pressed against mine.
Thankfully I was covered up.”

Elena leaned her back against the door as silence
developed between them, and then a smile broke over both their
faces.

“I had a great time last night,” Allison said, and
Elena nodded.

“I did as well.”

“Good.” Allison pointed to Elena’s hair. "Your
bedhead isn't bad at all."

Elena ducked her head. "I brushed it."

"Cheater." Allison laughed as she threw aside the
covers and climbed out of the bed. She stood up, stark naked, and
stretched her arms over her head, coming up on her tiptoes and
groaning with the stretch.

“My God,” Elena whispered.

“What?” Allison asked, bending to grab her clothes
from the floor. Thankfully her shirt was only slightly wrinkled.
She didn’t want to look like Elena’s sloppy one-night stand when
she inevitably encountered the woman’s parents.

“You are beautiful.”

Allison smiled and tucked a rogue strand of hair
behind her ear. “So are you.”

Elena stared a moment longer before asking, “Would
you like to join us today?”

“Shopping for birthday supplies?”

“Yes. With my parents, Lucas, and I.”

Allison hesitated. “Would your parents be cool with
that?”

“I believe so, yes,” Elena replied. “I’m sure Lucas
has already informed them that you are here, and you know my mother
will insist. She has taken quite the shine to you. Lucas will
insist as well, I’m sure.”

“All right,” Allison agreed. “As long as you don’t
mind me wearing the same clothes I wore last night. Otherwise, I
can catch a cab back to campus and change. I’m sure I probably
smell like a bar.”

Elena crossed the room and wrapped her arms around
Allison’s waist. She sniffed her shirt and shook her head. “You
smell fine. But you can borrow some perfume if you would like.”

“Thanks.” Allison bent and pressed a kiss to Elena’s
nose. “Wanna take a quick shower with me anyway?”

Elena kissed her neck. “Absolutely, but we have to
hurry.”

“Okay. You can start the shower and set the
temperature. I’m gonna brush my teeth first, though.”

“Good plan.” Allison laughed and smacked Elena on the
ass.

“So when is the kid’s birthday?” Allison asked as
they entered the bathroom and she grabbed a spare toothbrush from
the drawer.

“Not for another month.” Elena slid back the shower
door and reached for the knob, “But we’re having his party in two
weeks, because Vivian will be out of state on his actual birthday,
and she insists on being at his party.”

“Oh, okay,” Allison said, her words muffled from the
toothpaste now foaming in her mouth. “Makes sense.”

They showered and readied themselves quickly, Allison
in the same clothes from the night before but otherwise fresh. She
knotted her damp hair in a tight bun at the base of her head and
watched Elena, looking as immaculate as ever, slip into a set of
heels. Allison admired her from across the room until they were
ready to go out and face the family together.

* * *

When Elena and Allison stepped into Lucas’s playroom,
Nora instantly stood from the small chair she was seated in and
made her way over to them.

“Allison, dear!” She leaned in to kiss Allison’s
cheek, which made Allison blush, before Nora pulled her into a
quick embrace. “It’s lovely to see you again.”

“You too,” Allison said, patting Nora’s back. “I hope
it’s okay if I tag along with you all today.”

Nora pulled out of the embrace and squeezed Allison’s
bicep. “Of course it is, dear. Of course.” She then led Allison
over to where Elena’s father was playing with his grandson. The
man’s gray hair was a bit ruffled from Lucas climbing on him, and
he patted it down as he stood and offered his hand to Allison.

“This is my husband,” Nora said.

“Lucas Vega.” He shook Allison’s hand, and it was
gentler than Allison expected, more of a soft squeeze than
anything.

“Allison Sawyer. It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

“Oh, there’s no need for formalities. You can call me
Lucas.”

“Okay then, Lucas.”

The toddler on the floor looked up. “What?”

“Uh-oh. That might be a bit of a problem.”

Lucas Sr. laughed as he nodded. “Good point.”

“You can call him ‘Dad’,” Nora said, a knowing smile
decorating her lips. “Vivian does.”

“Vivian’s known him since she was six, Mother.” Elena
said.

“I’m almost four!” Lucas shouted.

Elena rested a hand on Allison’s back. “You don’t
have to call him ‘Dad’. Lucas is fine. We will figure something
out.”

A strange mixture of nerves and excitement swirled
through Allison’s gut. The thought of Elena’s family becoming
her
family flitted through her mind, and Allison couldn’t
deny how good it felt even inside her head, though she said nothing
of it aloud. Maybe someday, though.

“Can we go now?” Lucas asked, jumping to his feet and
tucking one of his dinosaurs to his chest.

“Yes we can, munchkin,” Elena said. “Do you want to
ride with Allison and me or with Gram and Pop?”

“Alson!”

Nora gasped. “I think you may have replaced me as his
favorite, Allison.”

“Nah.” Allison patted the top of Lucas’s head. “I’m
just a novelty.”

“Oh my dear,” Nora said. “You are
much
more
than that.” She squeezed Allison’s arm before turning and heading
toward the door. “Come along, dears. We have much to do.”

Allison turned to look at Elena, and Elena smiled at
her before reaching out to cup her cheek, sliding her thumb over
the smooth skin. She motioned for Allison to go ahead as she
hoisted Lucas up onto her hip.

Lucas Sr. surprised Allison by stepping over and
putting his arm around her shoulders to lead her toward the door.
“So, Allison,” he said. “I hear you are quite the musician.”

“Uh, yes, sir.” She cleared her throat. “Sorry, yes.
I play guitar.”

“That’s what my darling daughter tells me,” he said.
“You’ve seen my collection, yes?”

“Oh yeah.” They made their way toward the front of
the house, Elena trailing behind them. “It’s incredible.”

Lucas had to see
everything
available in
every
party-supplies department in
every
store that
Elena, Allison, and Elena’s parents visited. He wanted square
plates, not round plates or divided plates, and he wanted the hard
plastic ones instead of the Styrofoam ones, because the former felt
better when he squeezed them between his small fingers. He wanted
napkins with dinosaurs on them and tablecloths that matched, but at
least one of the dinosaurs shown had to be a T. rex. He wanted
streamers and party horns, but the horns had to make the right
sound, which meant testing a few sample horns to the annoyance of
other shoppers.

He wanted a bounce house, despite Elena claiming they
had no room for one, which meant their house could no longer be his
party venue. He decided they would have to have the party in a park
or some other open space large enough for a small bounce house.
Nora was on her phone within seconds making arrangements.

Lucas wanted a dinosaur piñata, but three different
stores had three different dinosaur piñatas, which meant three
piñatas at Lucas’s party, because although Elena said, “No, dear,
three is too many,” Nora responded with a resounding “Of course,
darling. One can never have too many piñatas.” Apparently, Gram’s
approval trumped Momma’s disapproval.

He wanted balloons as well, tons of them, but not
just any balloons.

“Green balloons, Momma,” he said as he bounced on
Elena’s hip and pointed at all the different greens available. He
had been alternating between walking on his own while holding
someone’s hand, and throwing his arms up so that he could be toted
around on someone’s hip. He had just rotated back around to Elena’s
hip after she scolded him for his daring attempt to climb on top of
Allison’s shoulders with the speed of a baby cheetah, a move which
took Allison completely by surprise.

“This green?” Elena asked, pointing to the nearest
one. It was a vivid green, a
grass
green as Allison put
it.

“Reminds me of the park,” Allison said, and Elena
smiled, remembering the day her son barreled over Allison in
Central Park.

“It does me as well,” she said, bumping Allison with
her side.

“No.” Lucas shook his head with certainty. “Too
green.”

“
Too
green?” Allison gasped. “There’s no such
thing, kid.”

Lucas stuck his tongue out at her as he continued
shaking his head. “Too green.” He giggled around the words.

“Perhaps a nice chartreuse, dear?” Nora asked,
pointing to one of the balloons that was a much yellower green.

“Too yellow.” Lucas shook his head while Allison
nodded in agreement.

“What about this one, munchkin?” Elena pointed to a
teal balloon. “This is lovely.”

Lucas sighed dramatically. “Too blue.”

“It really is.” Allison said.

“It is,” Nora said as well.

“Excuse me,
chartreuse
,” Elena teased, rolling
her eyes at her mother. It wasn’t as if her mother’s choice had
been any more successful.

“Mi nieto quiere verde, mija.” Lucas Sr. grinned as
he came around to poke Elena’s side, before patting her back.

Elena rubbed her temple and sighed. “Tu nieto está
siendo difícil.”

Allison cleared her throat and stepped a little
closer to Elena. “So, I know that ‘nieto’ is grandson,” she
whispered, and Elena turned to her, surprised. “And ‘verde’ is
green, so I think I got what your dad said, but can I ask what
you
said? Something about Lucas…”

Allison’s pronunciation was a little bland and
slightly off, but Elena’s heart swelled all the same. “Being
difficult,” she said. She squeezed Allison’s hand. “I thought you
didn’t speak any Spanish.”