Holding Her Hand (Reed Brothers Book 15) (21 page)

“I know,” she says, covering my hand with hers. “I just worry.”
She grabs my face and presses a sloppy kiss to my cheek with a loud smack. “Go shower. You smell like a man.”

I laugh and go do as she says.

She calls to me as I go into the bathroom. “Hey, Lark.”

I look back. “Yeah?”

She grins. “So how big
is
his dick?”

I laugh out loud. “Huge. Like porn-star standard.”

She chuckles. “Figures. It’s always the skinny guys with the biggest dicks.”

Thirty
minutes later, I’m primped and ready. I tell them all goodbye as they wish me luck, grab the box of cookies Marta made for me to take with me to the party, and I go to the corner and get a bouquet of pretty flowers for Ryan’s mom. Then I take a deep breath and get in the car to go pick up Ryan.

I can’t believe I’m doing this. I’m going to meet his parents. Parents who probably won’t like me just
because I’m not deaf.

I text Ryan before we get there, so that he’s standing on the sidewalk when the car arrives. He doesn’t wait for the driver to open the door for him, he just opens the door and slides in. He’s wearing a sweater the color of plums that’s tight across his broad shoulders but folds at the waist, and a pair of worn blue jeans. The smell of his subtle cologne washes over me as
he pulls me close and kisses me.

“
I missed you
,” he says.

I look down at the watch I’m not wearing. “
For all of two hours?
”

“
I missed you the first minute
.” He grins and kisses me again, and my heart does that flip-flop thing it does whenever he looks at me like that. “
And the second. And the third.
”

I look up to find my driver staring at us in the rearview mirror and I realize he’s waiting
for instructions. “
Can you give me the address?
” I ask Ryan.

He types it into his GPS phone app, and shows it to the driver, who then pulls out into the street traffic.

Ryan reaches over and picks up the box of cookies Marta made. “
What’s this?”

“Cookies for your mom. Don’t eat them.”

He tips the box.
“What kind?”

“I’m not sure. Marta made them.”

He sets the box to the side.

“What did you
get for your mom for her birthday?”

“Nothing.”
He points to his chest.
“She gets the gift of my company for a whole day.”

“Are you serious?”
I stare at him until he starts to laugh.

“I am serious. It’s a rule. No presents unless we make them.”
He shrugs
. “I drew her a picture.”

“Where is it?”

“In my back pocket.”

“What did you draw?”

“I’m not telling. You’ll have to wait and see.”

He kisses
me again and I feel like I’m going to melt into the seat.

“Can we have a sleepover tonight?”
he asks.

I grin. I can’t help it. “
What are you? Twelve?”

He nods.
“We can make a blanket fort and heap up some pillows.”

“I love blanket forts.”

His eyes grow hooded and hot.
“I can lay you back on the pillows and fuck you in the blanket fort.”

My heart skips.

“So, is that a yes?”
he asks, pressing
his hands together like he’s praying.

“It’s a maybe.”
But inside, I know it’s a
yes
.

“We can play the hot lava game, and make a path of pillows and we can only step on the pillows when we leave the fort to go the bathroom or to get something to eat.”

“What happens if I fall off a pillow?”

He laughs and rubs his hands together like a mad scientist.
“Then I get to come up with wonderful things
that will make you scream.”

“In a good way or a bad way?”

He shrugs.
“Whatever way you prefer.”
He licks his lips.
“You liked it last night when I licked your pussy.”
He makes the sign for “pussy” by making a triangle with his fingers and then licking down the center of it.

I shove his hands down in his lap.
“Stop it!”
I cry, glancing toward my driver.

He laughs and puts his arm around me,
then kisses my forehead. “I did miss you when you were gone,” he says out loud.

This time when my heart pounds, it does it for a completely different reason. I lay my head on his shoulder and settle against him.

His phone goes off in his pocket and he pulls it out. Then his mouth falls open and he glares at me.
“You told your sisters how big my dick is?”

“What?”
I grab for his phone and read
the text that just came in.

Josh:
So I heard your dick is gargantuan and that you know how to use it. I guess things went well with Lark, huh?

I bury my face in my hands and groan. Then I look up.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. Star must have told him.”

Ryan grins and kisses me quickly, and then starts typing into the phone.

I take it from him when he’s done.

Ryan:
I can’t help it if your
wife’s jealous because my dick is bigger than yours.

Another text comes in and Ryan laughs.

Josh:
Dude, my wife likes my dick just fine
.

Ryan (with me watching him type over his shoulder):
Then why are you texting me about the size of my dick?

Josh:
Because that girl is like a sister to me, and if you hurt her, you and your gargantuan dick will soon be parted, because I’ll chop the fucker
off. You feel me?

Ryan (after giving the front of his jeans a little pat for good measure):
I don’t want to feel you. I do, however, UNDERSTAND you.

Josh:
Good. Have fun today. Tell your mom I said happy birthday
.

“He knows your mom?”
I ask Ryan.

“She comes into the tattoo shop when we’re both there sometimes. She likes him. Says he’s funny.”

“I don’t think him texting you about personal
stuff is very funny.”

“Are you kidding? That shit’s hilarious.”

I hide my face a little in shame and then look up at him.
“I’m sorry I talked about our private stuff with my sisters.”

He kisses my forehead again.
“It’s okay.”

“You’re not mad?”

He shakes his head.
“If you told them really personal stuff, it might bother me. But not girl talk, no.”

“What qualifies as personal stuff?”
I bite
my lower lip
.

“Like if we were arguing and I said something stupid and you told them and they held it against me. That might bother me. But not girl talk.”
He grins at me.
“You gloat about the size of my dick all you want.”
He waggles his eyebrows playfully.
“I want to shout to the whole world about how tight your pussy was. But I won’t say a word, because that was special to me.”

I tilt his
face up so I can look into his dark eyes.
“It was special to me too.”

He nods.

“Peck was talking about how Sam’s dick is pierced, and I just kind of fell into the conversation—”

“It’s okay!”
he says dramatically
. “I think it’s sweet that Josh wants to protect you.”

“I’m going to kill him,” I mutter to myself.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“What did you say?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

He glowers at me.
“It does matter. What did you say?”

“I said I’m going to kill him for even texting you. That’s all.”

“He already warned me about you.”

“He did?”

“Yes, after our first date.”

“Oh.”

“He loves Star and Star loves you. It’s only natural for him to feel protective.”

I nod and settle back against the seat.
“So, is there anything I should know about your mom?”

He smiles wolfishly at me as the
car slows down in front of a small brownstone.
“You’ll have to ask her yourself.”
He gets out of the car and holds a hand out to me. “Ready?”

No, not really. I wish I’d worn something else, something that didn’t show sweat at all, because I’m worried I’ll walk in with pit stains. I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous. But I put my hand in his and let him pull me from the car. He gathers my
gift and we walk hand in hand up the sidewalk.

He lifts my hand to his lips and kisses the back of it. “
I could hold your hand forever
,” he says, staring into my eyes. “
Ready
?” he asks. “
Take a deep breath
.” I do, but I feel like I’m about to pass out.

“
I just hope she likes me
,” I admit. Then I square my shoulders.

“
I love you enough for both of us
,” he says. Then he opens the door and steps
inside. He looks back at me, his eyes twinkling.

“You can’t say something like that and then expect me to just walk in and meet your mother.”
I try to take a step back, but he grabs my hand and pulls me inside. We walk in and find that the house is completely full of people. They’re lounging on sofas and sitting on chairs, and people are spread into the other rooms. The sliding glass door is
open and I see that a bunch of people are milling around on the back deck where a grill is being used.

People stop and greet us, and Ryan introduces me to people. I recognize a few of the guys from poker night, and some of them come to say hello. One of my security guys is right behind us. He’ll go back outside as soon as he sees that the place is secure, but he gets a few strange glances.

“He’s not blending in really well, is he?”
I ask Ryan
.

“Who cares?”
He shrugs.

Me?

Finally, Ryan stops in front of a dark-haired woman who has her hair pulled back with shiny barrettes. She opens her arms to him and he picks her up, jostling her around, and she squeals. “
Happy birthday
,
Mom,
” he signs. She pats his cheek affectionately, and then he steps to the side and motions to me.

“
Mom,
this is L-A-R-K
,” he says, and he waves his hand like he’s Vanna White and I’m the Q no one ever gets. “
My girlfriend
.”

My face heats, but I push it back. “
Nice to meet you
,” I tell her in sign language. I hold out the pretty box full of cookies. “
My mom made some cookies for you. Happy birthday.
”

She looks at me warily, then she steps toward me. I instinctively take a step back, and walk right
into a wall. Of man. I look over my shoulder.

“Hey, Lark. Good to see you again,” Mick says. Then he puts his hands on my shoulders to keep me still. No fair.

Their mom stops when she’s inches from me and takes in my facial features, her eyes falling on my nose, my lips, my hair. “
This is the hearing girl, right
?”

“
Mom
…” Ryan warns.

His mom rolls her eyes, and Ryan smiles.
“Lark is very
pretty,”
she says. She looks at Ryan and nods. In approval? Maybe. The grip around my heart starts to ease.

“
Thank you
,” I reply.
“And thank you for inviting me.”
I take the flowers from Ryan.
“These are for you.”

She takes them with a smile and brings them to her nose. Then she hugs me.
“I’m glad you’re here.”

Ryan and Mick look at one another and then they both fall into dead heaps on the
floor at the exact same time. I take a step back, stepping over Mick’s body to get out of the way. Then I squat down next to Ryan and tap his shoulder. He looks up at me, grinning.
“Why are you lying on the floor?”
I ask him.

“Well, my mother said it would be a cold day in hell before she let me date a hearing girl,”
Ryan tells me.
“So when she hugged you and welcomed you, I fainted.”
He points
to Mick, who is still pretending to be out cold.
“Mick did too. See? We’re just overwhelmed.”

Mick lifts his head.
“Did the body snatchers take Mom?”
he asks. He doesn’t get up, though, and neither does Ryan. They just lie there.