Straddling the Edge (15 page)

I cry out with pleasure, but he hushes me with another assault on my mouth. His tongue battles with mine before he tears his mouth away and feasts on my breasts. “How do you want it, Shelly?”

My hands hold his head in place over my chest and I tell him, “I want it slow and easy,
and
hard and messy, Matty. Give me all you got, baby.”

Summer

I’m starting to rethink Dean’s request to meet his parents today.
We did finally have dinner with some of his friends and that went well. The wives were really welcoming and they all continued to tease us about being fans of rival teams. But it was all in fun and I had a great time.

I have to wonder what it will be like to meet the parents though. Disastrous right? Movies are made about this kind of freak show.

We’ve been seeing each other for close to two months and it seems a little soon. I only met Jeff’s parents twice when they came to town to visit. I never went home to Colorado with him, so I never had the opportunity to get to know them. And Chase’s parents … they weren’t my biggest fans. They had their heart set on Shelly being their perfect daughter and I was not the replacement they had in mind. Too bad for them, they will probably never have a daughter-n-law with the son they raised to be a complete ass. But with Dean, like everything else I’ve come to find out about him, meeting his mom and dad will be different. For one thing, they seem to be thrilled to meet me. I spoke to his mom on the phone for a brief minute and she even called me honey. And secondly, they live only fifteen minutes from either of us. Like my parents, they are just a phone call away and will definitely be a permanent fixture in our home if things continue to go so well.

“What are you doing?” Dean’s voice booms across the expanse of his large family room.

I glance back at him, yanking my hand away from my mouth. Whenever I’m nervous, I start chewing on my thumbnail. “Just looking around to make sure everything is in place.” Since I left home, I’ve only lived in a dorm room, small apartments, and a decent sized condo. Not a three bedroom house with a large family room and formal dining room, along with a kitchen that would make Rachel Ray envious. “I put the veggies on your coffee table. Is that okay?”

He closes the distance between us, sliding his body against me from behind and circling his arms around my waist. “Sweetheart, everything is fine. My parents come over all the time. My mom will be happy to see my shoes aren’t out on the floor and that you got me to take my hat off the kitchen counter. They don’t care about what this place looks like. They just want to meet you. And they’re going to love you. I promise.”

“I hope so.” I turn around to face him. “Because you’re next to face the firing squad. My dad wants to meet you more than you can possibly imagine.”

Dean’s eyes widen and he sports an exaggerated frown. “I think I’m getting sick.” Cough, cough. “I feel a cold coming on.”

I poke him in the center of his chest. “Well then maybe we should call your parents to cancel.”

He chuckles, softly jabbing his own finger at the tip of my nose. “I’m just kidding. I can’t wait to meet your mom and dad
, so stop worrying.” A chime sounds and my body tenses. “Relax. Please, Summer. Trust me.” A quick peck caresses my forehead. Dean tips my chin up so our eyes meet. “I love you.”

“And I love you.” I pucker my lips to him for another quick kiss. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Dean steps away from me and goes to the door. Suddenly, I feel like a total dork, not knowing what to do. Do I sit down and wait for them to come in? Do I go to the door too? Do I just stand here looking like a total idiot? But before I can answer my own question, the door flies open and Dean’s mom comes barreling at me with open arms.

“Summer, honey, I’m so happy to finally meet you.” She engulfs me in a huge bear hug, swaying back and forth. She pulls back and holds out my hands to get a good look at me. I smile for her, not knowing what else I should do. “Dean, she’s beautiful. What a lucky son of a bitch you are. Literally.” She winks, putting me at ease and I let out a quiet laugh at her joke.

“Thank you, Mrs. Michaels. It’s a pleasure to meet you too.” Her crazy energy reminds me of Melissa and Shelly and makes me feel like I can do this and get out alive. I’ve had enough practice in the last few months with them. It was like training in disguise.

“Oh, please. Call me, Lucy.” She sidles up to me with her arm around my waist. “It used to carry a different meaning
until I met this big guy, if you know what I mean.” She raises her brows up and down, and my eyes widen completely taken aback by this funny little woman.

“Mother!” Dean
says, his hands on his hips in disapproval. I smile widely at him and I can tell he wants to run and hide, like any son would in this situation.

The
big guy
takes a step toward us. “Come on, Lucy. Don’t scare her off already. You’ll never have grandchildren if we show her our true colors so soon.”

“Dad!”
Deans calls out, his face turning a light shade of pink.

“Hi, Summer.” Dean’s dad opens his arms and his mom pushes me toward him. “It’s nice to meet you, honey. We’ve heard a lot about you.”

I wish I could say the same. Dean sure didn’t tell me how fun his parents are. I might have introduced him to my parents if I had known. My parents are about as normal as these two. “Thank you, Mr. Michaels. I’m so happy you’re both here.”

“Now let’s cut the formalities. You’re like family already. I haven’t seen my boy so happy in a very long time. Call me, Jim. All my friends do.” He tosses a big arm around my shoulder and starts walking me to the back door. “I think it’s too soon to call me dad but if I’m right, it won’t be long before you can.”

“Oh my God!” I hear Dean call out behind me.

“That’s what your mom calls me sometimes, son.” To this, I can’t stop laughing. It’s uncontrollable
until I start snorting and have to try calming myself long enough to catch my breath.

“And you thought I was going to scare her off.” Dean’s mom says as she opens the sliding door and the three of us head out onto the deck. “Dean, go grab that tray of goodies from the table. It’s gorgeous out, so let’s chat outside.”

“Isn’t this
deck beautiful?” Lucy asks, looking around at Dean’s handcrafted work.

“Yes, it’s amazing. He’s so talented. I still can’t believe he’s made most of the furniture in his house. And that kitchen …” my words trail off as I think about the dark wood cabinets, granite countertops, double oven, and six-burner stove. The decorative detail on the cabinets is stunning along with all the brushed nickel hardware.

“He gets it from his dad. Jim has done custom woodwork his whole life. When we were young and just married, we bought a fixer-upper and he turned it into a beauty. The before and after pictures are like night and day. That cute guy with the crazy hair on TV, what’s his name? Ty? Yeah, that’s it. He doesn’t have anything on my husband.”

“Wow. I’d love to see it some
time.” And I’m not just saying it to just say it. The way she speaks of her husband’s hard work has me very interested in learning more about their family.

“You’re welcome at our house any time, so long as my son keeps the silly smile on his face. He’s completely smitten with you, honey.” She smiles and her eyes twinkle. And that’s when I notice she has the same beautiful blue eyes that Dean has.

“Well, if I’m being honest, I must say that I’m completely smitten with your son too. You’ve raised one heck of a charmer. He’s absolutely incredible.”

“Thank you,” she says, reaching over and patting my hand across the patio table.

Dean glances over and narrows his eyes. He’s grilling our lunch about fifteen feet away, standing with a spatula in his hand while his dad holds a beer.

I call out to him, “Don’t worry. Your mom’s just telling me about how you used to run around naked in nothing but a pair of red cowboy boots.” She did mention that earlier. His mouth drops and I continue, “Until you were
five
.”

Lucy begins to laugh. “I like her.” She points to me and Dean turns back to his dad, shaking his head. “So
, Dean tells me you work together.”

“Yes, we do, although
we didn’t even realize it until the last day of school. You know how big that place is since that’s where Dean went. I’ve been there a few years and I still don’t think I’ve met everyone. I think it’s great that he came back to teach at his alma mater.”

She takes a sip of wine. “I agree. Jim and I
are alums too. I always thought Dean would end up teaching at Carver, but when he found out Chase was working there, he wasn’t so sure it would work.”

“Really? Why wouldn’t he want to work with Chase?” I always sensed there was something Dean was leaving out about his friendship with my ex, but I wasn’t completely sure. I guess now I am.

“Oh, that’s not my story to tell. They have issues that go all the way back to high school. It’s been well over a decade, you’d think it wouldn’t matter anymore, but I guess I understand where Dean is coming from. I probably wouldn’t let it go either.” She must sense the worried look on my face. “Oh, don’t worry yourself over this, honey bun. You used to date Chase, right?” I nod. “That’s probably why he hasn’t mentioned anything. I’m sure he’ll tell you when the time is right. Just give him time.”

“I hope you ladies are hungry because we cooked a feast.” Dean’s dad sets a tray of chicken kabobs in the center of the table while Dean places a bowl of fruit next to it.

“Don’t worry, Dad. Summer isn’t afraid to eat. She had two Dodger Dogs and a boat load of fries when we went to see a game. Her appetite is one of my favorite things about her.” Dean winks at me and I put on a fake smile, trying to process what Lucy just told me, and wondering what the hell could have possibly happened between Chase and Dean that would make Dean not want to work with him.

“You went to a Dodger game, son? Has hell frozen over?” Jim shouts at him and then turns his focus to me. “What have you done with my boy?”

This pulls me from my funk. “It wasn’t my idea. It was his.” I point to Dean. “Although, I do believe he had a good time. I saw him clap a few times when my guys made a good play.”

“Don’t say anymore. I don’t think my heart
can take it.”

Dean’s cracking up at his dad’s dramatic clutch
to his chest. “Take it easy, old man. It’s not like I’m buying season tickets or anything.”

“Now that’s an idea,” I tell him.

The narrowed look both Dean and Jim give me tells me that’s not going to happen anytime soon.

“Let’s not take it that far
, sweetheart.” Dean reaches across the table to hold my hand. “Okay, enough baseball talk. Let’s eat.”

“So what did you think?” Dean says, after we come in from walking his parents out. “Are you ready to pack up and run like crazy?”

He leads me to the family room where he flops back into his sofa and pulls me down along with him. “They were a hoot. They totally cracked me up. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much.” He curves an arm around
my side and I lean into him, resting my hand on his chest. We always wrap up our nights, sitting on the sofa, cuddled together and talking about our day.

“They’
re nuts is what they are. Sometimes I wonder how I turned out normal. I’ve been hearing dirty jokes my whole life. I used to be embarrassed by it when I was a kid and friends would come over. You think they’d tone it down, but they didn’t.”

“That’s how Mel and Tyler are going to be when they grow up. Mia is going to be saying the same thing you are right now.” The thought makes me laugh inside.

“Poor girl. She’s doomed to a life of watching her parents smooch all over each other in front of her and her friends. That’s traumatizing as a kid.”

I let out a little belly laugh. “I wish you could’ve seen your face when your dad said your mom calls him God sometimes. It was priceless.”

He was massaging his way up and down my back but stops suddenly. “Please. Don’t remind me. That’s not the image I want in my head while I have you in my arms.”

I sit up to get a good look at him. “Well, what image would you like in that sexy head of yours?”

“Ummm. I’m not sure. Can you help me think of something?”

I get to my feet, take a few steps to the switches on the wall, and dim the lights. It’s dark outside and all the blinds are closed. Perfect for what I’m about to fill his head with.

“I kinda like where this is going,” he says, following me with his eyes as I move around the room toward him.

When I’m right in front of him again, I wedge his legs open and stand between them. “How about we start with this?” I grab the hem of my shirt and peel it off my body, slowly but surely. “And then this?” I flick open the button on my khaki capris, tug the zipper down, and slide my pants down my legs. Dean reaches out to touch my legs, but I stop him. “I’m not done yet,” I say, pushing him back. “I still need to give you this image.” I yank the band off my braid and unravel my hair so it flows down my shoulders. “And this one.” With a quick flick of my fingers at my back, I unhook my bra and let it fall to the floor. “And last, but surely not least …” my sentence trails off as I glide my panties down my hips, my thighs, and finally let them fall to the ground next to my bra.